Hey everyone, Captain Anthony Awgul the Lake Nockamixon fishing guide here! As part of my mission to help people catch more and bigger bass, I post free Nockamixon fishing reports at the beginning of each month from April through November as I guide on this lake full-time 5-7 days per week. Also, if you're interested in extra detailed daily Lake Nockamxion Fishing reports and monthly livestreamed Nockamixon fishing seminars, be sure to subscribe to my, "Nockamixon Fishing School" by visiting www.awgulfishing.com/nockamixonfishingschool
September 2024 started out more difficult than usual. It wasn't until later in the month that the fishing really started picking up! For most of the month, the water was lower than usual, clearer than usual, and a little bit warmer than usual. We ended September 2024 with 4 bass over 5 pounds and 1 giant bass over 6 pounds. We averaged 2-4 bass per guided fishing trip (An average of 3-10 fish per day after 2-3 trips in a day) with the averaged sized bass ranging from 1-2 pounds this past month. Later in the month, we started averaging 5-10 fish per trip with (And average of 5-15 fish per day after 2-3 trips in a day).
Water temperatures have been relatively consistent all month long. Generally, the water temperature was in the low to mid 70's throughout all of September. With the cooler weather and rain at the end of the month, temperatures are now stabilizing in the upper 60's.
With the lack of rain throughout most of the month, the lake's water level was noticeably lower than usual. Historically, low water levels on Lake Nockamixon cause the bass to flee the shoreline and concentrate on cover and structure offshore and in deeper water as their environment compresses. This has been exactly the case as the shallow water fishing has been much more difficult than usual this past month. Our most successful bites and patterns came from deeper vegetation and deeper structure during this low water situation.
The lack of rain and wind combined with the plentiful vegetation growing around the lake has caused the water to become much clearer than usual. Lake Nockamixon bass are pretty conditioned to stained and murky water conditions. That means when the water becomes extremely clear, the fishing usually gets tough. Lake Nockamixon bass tend to not be nomadic hunters. Instead, they're notorious ambush predators that focus on conserving energy while maximizing calorie intake by hiding themselves in or around cover and using short bursts of energy to quickly ambush their prey. With the increased water visibility, bass have a harder time hiding and concealing themselves from their prey. Also with the unusual amount of water visibility, the bass are more easily spooked and startled. Simply put, the result of the clearer water has been tougher fishing for most of the month.
September has historically been a month of transition on Lake Nockamixon as bass transition from their deep summertime patterns to their shallower fall patterns as the water temperatures drop and the days grow shorter. Usually, bass start pushing up shallow during the middle of the month and begin their early fall pattern. This is when we usually see large quantities of big bass caught! However, this year it seemed like the majority of bass didn't start pushing up shallow until the last week or so of the month. At the time of writing this report, I wouldn't even say the early fall bite has kicked in full swing yet as we still have fish moving out of their summertime patterns. While this made for a pretty difficult first half of the month, we had pretty successful fishing trips towards the end of the month.
The lily pads around the lake are really starting to thin out while the milfoil grass is reaching peak thickness. Milfoil grass mats can be found all around the lake and scattered milfoil grass seems to be everywhere. As the pads started thinning out, we finally started catching more fish in the milfoil grass. We still caught a lot of our shallow largemouth bass out of lily pads this month though; especially in the thickest patches of lily pads available in the lake! Punching an Awgul Fishing 4" Clumsy Craw in the thick grass was key to getting big bites up shallow. Or, working an Awgul Fishing Freaky Frog over the grass produced some nice fish up shallow as well! Lastly, the Awgul Fishing 3/8 oz Alive Spinnerbait allowed us to catch some of our best fish while covering areas with sparse and scattered vegetation.
Hard cover and structure around the lake seemed to be the top producing spots in September. Areas with bluff walls, laydowns, rock piles, road beds, and other manmade structures produced many of our bass this past month. Several smallmouth bass made an appearance this past month on these spots! The Awgul Fishing 1/2 oz Compact Jig was a go-to bait for quickly covering these areas with hard cover. When I wanted to slow down on a high-percentage spot, the Awgul Fishing 5" Silly Stick was a top producer. We also caught some nice fish on a drop shotted Awgul Fishing 3" Finesse Fry. Regarding lure color, we opted for more natural colors with the clear water visibility and the endless bluebird sunny days.
Here at the beginning of October, some bass are pushed up shallow, but I believe the biggest push is still yet to come. With cooler weather finally in the forecast, I expect water temperatures to settle in the mid to low 60's soon which will hopefully trigger a very hot fall bite. While there's historically a hot shallow bite in the fall, don't overlook the deep bite as well! In years past, some of our best fishing in the fall has been in deeper water.
Stay tuned for my Lake Nockamixon Fishing Report for October 2024 that will be posted at the beginning of next month. In the meantime, be sure to subscribe to The Nockamixon Fishing School at www.awgulfishing.com/nockamixonfishingschool and book your guided fishing trip with me as soon as possible! We have just a couple slots remaining for October until I'm fully booked for 2024, so be sure to get a spot on my calendar so we can target giant fall bass! Book now online at www.awgulfishing.com or call/text me at (267) 730-3203.
Also, be sure to sign up for notifications for 2025 bookings on the top of my website. If you're interested in booking a last minute opening, feel free to sign up for my 2024 cancellation list on the bottom right corner of my website so you get notified when I have a last minute opening!
Tight lines and I'll see you out on the water!
-Captain Anthony Awgul
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