October 2020; Fishing with Rich Lingor
Lake Nacimiento, image by Thomson200, licensed by Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication, image has been cropped.
Lake Nacimiento
October's weather in our neck of the woods mixes cooler nights with gentler sunshine. As an angler, this is a favorite and even exciting time of year to be out on the water. More windows of comfortable conditions are pushing my "I want to go fishing buttons". While our comfort improves, surface water temperatures become more welcoming to the creatures that swim in our lakes. Fish begin to emerge from the deeper refuges following the forage and feeding more often during hours that are friendlier to casual angling.
Productive shallow summer angling patterns that tended to quickly evaporate as the morning sun would pop up from behind hill tops seem to hold a little longer. Mix in a few clouds, fog, or a fall breeze and morning patterns can last all day. Deeper water patterns can be productive, but shallow patterns that lend themselves to faster presentations with reaction lures can be more fun. October’s active, more energetic fish can be pursued with the reaction baits that fill the biggest section of wall at your favorite tackle department. The entire collection of shiny, sparkly, flashy, spinney, cute fishy looking gizmos that can be cast out and wound back in are at their best in October. The slower, more deliberate finesse presentations can be effective in October as well as any other time of the year, but it can be good to enjoy the opportunity to use different techniques while the promise of fall holds the window open for us.
When gentle cooling weather shifts to just plain cold, slow moving deeper presentations will be the only reliable pattern. Fishing for white bass has been EXCELLENT. Past October trips to Nacimiento have produced wide open action to make memories that would spoil even the most seasoned anglers. So, get out on the water. The bitter curse of winter’s cold will be here before you know it!
Tight Lines!
Notes on a Scorecard: Nacimiento, Lopez, and San Antonio Lakes
September found the Fishing with Rich team looking for the coolest days to sample the angling. At Nacimiento, white bass and spotted bass have been active, biting a wide mixture of lures when our paths and timing match. A stray catfish or two occasionally put in a surprise appearance on the business end of a bass lure. Bluegill and crappie were regular visitors to small jigs until the extreme water releases forced them from their preferred habitat.
Lopez Lake Marina, Image by Mew Times San Luis Obispo
Lake Lopez was a pleasant escape from the heat where the largemouth bass and smallmouth bass created good memories as they momentarily visited the deck of the boat. Lake San Antonio has been very good for crappie and bluegill. Undersized smallmouth bass have been hooked fairly regularly suggesting that the lake's ecosystem is recovering from the algae bloom fish kill of 2017. Lately, the abundant population of catfish seem to be mysteriously evading most angling efforts. Perhaps this is because the biomass of shad minnows has been extraordinarily abundant keeping the catfish well fed while providing forage for all the newly recovering game fish.
Lake San Antonio, Image by Cam Vilay, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported, image has been cropped.