Weather
In a weather pattern like this one, the fishing doesn't change much, but it's really good if you can beat the heat. Highs in the 80s are finally expected next week.
Crappie
Jeff remembers his late friend Jerry, who was well known around the lake. September was their favorite Crappie month: light winds, low humidity, sunny days and few people on the lake, perfect for sitting on brush piles. Not much has changed. Haydn is lining up more Crappie trips. The fish are a little shallower than they have been, and the farther up the lake you go, the shallower they are. Size is good: Haydn says about 80% of his fish are 10 inches or longer now. The lake went through a stretch of lots of 9- and 9.5-inch fish, and those have grown into 10s and 10.25s, which helps fill limits.
Cooking tip
Blackened Crappie. Fillet them clean, dry them off, sprinkle on blackening seasoning and cook them in butter on a griddle. Serve as fish tacos, on a salad or plain. Jeff likes them better than fried fish.
Catfish
He watched anglers drift-trolling on the east side of Shangri-La with rods spread around the boat, probably in 35–40 feet of water along the edge of the river channel where it turns and comes off the bluff. Keep it under 1 mph and drag the edge of a river channel.
Tackle
Fish Lucke Tie2 jigs (a loop on top and bottom) have become incredibly popular — the easiest way to fish two jigs, or a jig ahead of an inline spinner or crankbait, without tying a loop in your line. Available in three sizes and several colors; check Littlefield's or Grove Walmart.
White Bass
Go out about an hour before dark around Governor's Island. Troll or cast to the banks a 1/4-ounce Dinner Spinner with a swimming minnow on a 1/16-ounce Tie2 jig ahead of it, and get ready to take fish home.