Submitted by Jeff Buchanan, Insider's Maps

Date Fished: 9/8/2008
Water Temperature: 80s
Water Clarity: 2-3 feet

FISHING UPDATE I fished the Media Bass Tournament out of Jackson Hill with my Dad over the weekend. While we caught tons of fish, we weren’t able to snag a big one and came in with 12 pounds. The tournament was won with a 24 pound stringer, and there were a total of 3 stringers over 20 pounds. It took more than 14 pounds to make a check, and most of the fish came off of the outside grass edge and deeper. The shallow bite produced for some anglers early but under the sun and high pressure that we had on Saturday, the deeper bite was the best. We got on one spot about 1pm on tournament day and caught a fish on just about every cast for 30 minutes straight. It was a deep drop topping at 14 feet and dropping into 25, and they were loaded on the break. We ended up leaving the spot because there were no big ones, but the fish were still biting when we left. I probably caught 15 keepers on that drop. Most of the big fish are being caught somewhere along the outside of the grass by flipping or casting big worms or jigs. The key in the summer is fishing the hydrilla flats. There are many big main lake flats to choose from including Farmer’s Flats, Needmore Point, and Buck Bay on the south end. In the mid to upper lake good ones are Caney Flats, Bird Islands, & Peckerwood Point. Above the 147 Bridge head for the Canyons and the Deer Stand areas. All of these areas have hydrilla and the depth of the grass depends on which flat you choose. The outside edge ranges from 6-12 feet in depth, and this is where lots of fish spend their summer. Fishing a Tx rigged worm is probably the most productive bait, either casting it with a light 1/8 to 1/4 ounce bullet weight or fishing it vertically on a heavy ½ to 1 ounce weight-punching through the thick grass. Early in the morning the top water fishing over these grass beds can also be very productive, especially since the nights have been getting cooler. There have been some great schooling bass along these flats in the middle of the day. It is best to target these bass on calm days when you can see them breaking the water, and I usually see them after 10 am when the sun gets up high. This is a great way to catch bass when the grass bite falls off, but you will have to dedicate some time looking for a school that is active. Don’t let the depth of the water deter you from searching for a school of bass, many times you will find the biggest midday schools in 30-40 feet of water along a creek or river channel toward the center of the lake. These fish aren’t relating to structure, they are chasing big schools of shad so depth doesn’t matter. The best bait for catching these schooling fish is just about anything that imitates a shad and can be cast at a great distance like a Rattle Trap, Zara Spook, or a spoon.

The crappie fishing has been great on the deeper brush piles in 25-35 feet of water. The shallower brush doesn’t produce nearly as well in hot summer months. There have also been some hybrids schooling in the main lake around Calhoune Point and the mouth of Harvey Creek early in the morning and as the sun is setting.

If you have one of my Rayburn INSIDER’S MAPS you will find great hydrilla growth around spots 2, 11, 14, 21, 26, 30, 31, and 41. These areas will have good grass for flipping the outside grass edge and will be awesome when the top water bite takes off in a few weeks. The best schooling areas have been around 12, 25, and 44 with the flat around spot 44 having the best sized schooling bass and the potential for a 15 pound stringer (midday schoolers). There has been a good deep bite on some of the drops in areas 3, 28, and 34 when keying on 14-20 feet with a carolina rig and a big crank bait.

The best short cut to learning a lake is our INSIDER’S FISHING MAPS, which can be purchased on our web site at www.insidersmaps.com . The maps are actually books that have GPS coordinates along with individual maps and descriptions of the spots, how to fish then, when to fish them, and what lures to throw on those particular spots. We have maps for many lakes including Lake Sam Rayburn, Toledo Bend North, Toldeo Bend South, Lake Fork, Richland Chambers, Lake Amistad East, Amistad West, Lake Conroe, Red River (Pools 4&5), Lake Texoma, Cedar Creek and more that are on the way. Please call if you have any questions about our products. Vacation Rentals We have some openings this month at our vacation homes and cabins at the lake. We would love to have you come out and spend some time with us. Bring your boat and enjoy some great fishing this fall. You don’t want to miss the fall Rayburn fishing–it’ssome of the best top water fishing in the country during the months of September and October. We continue to grow our vacation rental business at Jeff Buchanan Realty with great private places to stay on your next trip to the lake. We provide great cabins and waterfront homes for rent throughout the lake area. Some of these homes we own, but other homes we manage for the owners. If you own a lake house and are interested in letting us manage it as a rental, feel free to give us a call. It is a great way to help pay the bills while you aren’t using it.

Real Estate Click on this link to check out the latest real estate listings on the lake: http://www.navica2.net/displays/?n=261&i=77294&k=ps5486

If you are interested in real estate at the lake, we have some great new listings. The link above will show you some of the latest listings -- just copy and paste if you can't click on it. We just listed two new water access homes for $95,000 and $139,000 ,along with a $95,000 very nice log-covered mobile home that is on 4 ½ gorgeous acres surrounded by National Forest. For those of you who have been searching for waterfront acreage, we now have it. We have just listed two gorgeous waterfront tracks in Etoile. One tract is 13 acres and the other is 19 acres, and they both have waterfront that is perfect for building and offer an incredible sunset view. This is a great opportunity for a developer or someone wanting to open an RV park. This land is just off a hard top county road and only 20 minutes from Lufkin. Check out these listings and call us if you have questions. We are the only Realtors that are in both the Lufkin MLS and the Jasper MLS and have access to ALL the properties and developments around the lake. We also have a new agent working the Toledo Bend area named Michelle Gay, and she is very helpful and competent if you are looking for some property there. We look forward to serving you, and if you have a house that you want us to help you sell, feel free to call us at any time. We also have some beautiful waterfront lots that would make the perfect place to retire or escape for the weekend. There are new developments at the lake, and many of them you won't find on the MLS. So if you're searching for a waterfront lot, give us a call and we will be glad to fill you in on all your options. Hope to hear from you soon, and we look forward to making your dreams at the lake come true.

God bless and good fishing,

Jeff Buchanan

INSIDER'S MAPS www.insidersmaps.com

JEFF BUCHANAN REALTY www.jeffbuchananrealty.com

office 936-897-1099 cell 936-240-1700

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