Allatoona: Level: Full pool. Temp: 88-92 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Fair. Matt Driver reports, “Hurry up fall, because summer has been tough out there for bass, with near 100-degree days and the boat traffic. We have been catching a few keeper fish on the drop-shot rig using the Big Bite Bio Minnow and a new bait on the market a drop-shot fly called the Bird Shot by Red Rooster.” Matt said the better fishing is at night. “The bite doesn’t start to get...

Bartletts Ferry: Level: Full pool. Temp: High 80s to low 90s. Clarity: Slight stain on the main river; clear in Halawaka Creek.

Bass: Fair at best, said Dennis Hudson. Dennis said the grass bite seems to have petered out. You can still catch a few small fish off the edge of the grass with a green-pumpkin Texas rig or a fluke, but most of them are short fish. The mayflies finally started hatching last month, and they should continue on bank bushes sporadically through the month....

Blackshear: Level: Full pool. Temp: 92 degrees. Clarity: Slight stain on the main river.

Bass: Poor. Jim Murray Jr. reports, “The high water temperatures have put the fish in their summertime pattern. Big shady docks and brushpiles have been the most reliable cover lately. Both of these can be fished with CBT shaky head and a Zoom Trick Worm in a green-pumpkin-blue color. The schooling activity should start up soon, and the keepers will begin to show up on flats chasing...

Blue Ridge: Level: 10.4 feet below full pool. Temp: 84 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Slow. Eric Welch, of Reel Job Fishing, reports, “The bass have been scattered. You can catch some bass by either fishing a Texas rig with green-pumpkin plastics or by fishing a drop-shot rig with Roboworm in Aaron’s magic color in 20 to 30 feet of water. Anglers should also keep a topwater plug tied on at all times for breaking fish. There has been some some topwater activity in...

Burton: Level: 1.7 feet below full pool. Temp: High 70s to low 80s. Clarity: Clear.

Spotted Bass: Excellent. “We’ve had the best postspawn and spawn bite I have ever seen,” said guide Wes Carlton. “These fish have really gained some weight this year from eating the bluebacks. Several trips we had spots over 6 pounds and many in the 3- to 5-lb. range. I have had good luck with a Zoom Super Fluke in white or blue. Some of the bigger fish came from shallow...

Carters: Level: 0.6 feet below full pool. Temp: High 80s.

Bass: Guide Louie Bartenfield reports, “The bite on Carters at night has been strong. It’s not very consistent, but on any given night you could have the night of your life. There have been some really big weights in the tournaments over the past month, even 25 pounds on a Friday night a few weeks ago! Before dark, a jig-head finesse worm and a drop shot are the best ways to get a limit. After dark is when you...

Chatuge: Level: 0.6 feet below full pool. Temp: 84 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Good. Eric Welch, of Reel Job Fishing, reports, “It’s been taking around 12 pounds to win tournaments on Lake Chatuge. Fish have been hanging around 20 to 30 feet deep on brushpiles. Try fishing a Texas rig with green-pumpkin or watermelon plastics. Fishing a drop-shot rig with a Roboworm in Aaron’s magic and bluegill colors has been producing well. If it’s a windy day, pull...

Clarks Hill: Level: 2.5 feet below full pool. Temp: 88 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Slow. Dale Gibbs said the fishing has been tough, with 10 to 12 pounds winning most tournaments. The standard schooling bite around main-lake humps has been mostly small fish, with the occasional 2-pounder thrown in. You can catch a bunch of small fish on topwater, though, throwing a Zara Spook Jr., a small Sammy or a popping-cork rig. Dale said you can also catch some fish on big Texas- or...

Eufaula: Level: 1.3 feet above full pool. Temp: Upper 80s to mid 90s. Clarity: Ranging from clear to stained.

Bass: Good. Sam Williams, of Hawk’s Guide Service, said bass are hitting Big Bite Baits Top Toads and the new Revere Maxx weedless frogs early and late. “The old popper baits are holding the fish up on top very well after the tight-cover hit is over. Pink and bubblegum colors are getting a lot of attention. The different shaped baits are doing well as bass tire...

Hartwell: Level: 1.7 feet below full pool. Temp: 87 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Fair. Josh Fowler reports, “The bass are set up on points, humps and ledges all over the lake. The topwater run-and-gun bite is still the key to catching the quality fish during the daylight hours, but the high water temps have made things a little tougher than it should be. The best bite is happening during the mid morning, and as the day goes along it begins to slow down. You can still catch...

Jackson: Level: Full pool. Temp: 90-91 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Tough. Aaron Batson said, “If it gets any hotter, we’ll just have to run around in our tournaments, and just see who can scoop up the biggest fish.” Aaron said to cover a lot of water, and you can pick up fish here and there. You can run the banks hitting shallow cover to pick up a few fish. For this bite, Aaron likes to flip a 3/8-oz. Net Boy Baits flipping jig. In low-light early or late,...

Lanier: Level: 0.7 feet below full pool. Temp: High 80s to low 90s. Clarity: Clear.

Spotted Bass: Tough. Ryan Coleman said the size is pretty good, but the numbers are off. Mid-lake to down-lake has been much better than up the lake for spots. He said he’s getting a good reading of the thermocline at 28 to 30 feet deep. The best bite going is on 20- to 30-foot man-made brushpiles. Ryan said you can draw the fish up with a Sammy, Spook or any other walking bait. Use a medium...

Nottely: Level: 0.8 feet below full pool. Temp: 84-85 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Stripers: Good. “They’re finally schooled up good and tight,” said Jeremy Seabolt. He said you’ve got two options on Nottely right now. You can either fish between points 4 and 6 to catch a mixed bag of smaller stripers and hybrids, or you can fish from the dam up to point 4 to catch some the lake’s better fish. The bite for fish in the 2- to 8-lb range is fast and...

Oconee: Level: Full pool. Temp: 89-90 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Slow. Kim Carver said you can catch a few fish early on rip-rap and seawall rock on a Sammy in shad color. The best bite has been mid-lake in the Lick Creek area. Once the sun gets up, switch to fishing main-lake structure deep and slow. Drag a Carolina-rigged Critter Craw in green pumpkin on main-lake humps and points in 25 feet of water. When they are generating, this bite gets a little better and a little...

Russell: Level: Full pool. Temp: Low 90s. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Good. Trad Whaley said the bite is about the same as it’s been all summer, and the patterns should continue through the month. The small spots are easy to catch when there’s moving water, but the big fish are harder to find, and the bite dies when generation stops. Trad said they’ve been moving water from about 1 to 8 p.m. during the day, and then there’s been a lull until about 10 p.m., when...

Seminole: Level: 1.1 feet below full pool. Temp: 86 to 92 degrees. Clarity: Clear. Note: The corps is hammering the grass. “Spring Creek has been the target thus far, with grass nearly gone from Sealy’s up. They are spraying it with some type of chemical on airboats, and it works in just a few days. We went out today and saw one of the airboats heading over to the Hooch. I heard they were killing all of the pad fields. It is definitely changing things on Seminole,” said Matt...

Sinclair: Level: 0.7 feet below full pool. Temp: High 80s to low 90s. Clarity: Slight stain.

Bass: Good. Kim Carver said there’s a good bite for numbers on Sinclair. There’s a buzzbait bite first thing in the morning around grass up the Oconee River. Once the sun gets up, fish docks with a shaky head and a green-pumpkin Trick Worm. The night bite is also pretty good. Fish the deepest main-lake docks you can find that have lights on them with a chartreuse Shad Rap. Also...

Tobesofkee: Level: 0.6 feet below full pool. Temp: 90-92 degrees. Clarity: Slight stain.

Bass: Clayton Batts reports, “Bass fishing has been tough with all the hot weather and boat traffic, and it probably will not get any better next month. The best bite has come during low-light hours and at night. Fish a Spro Hydro Pop around seawalls and grass near deep water during the low-light hours. When the sun comes up, move out deeper on points and humps, or stay shallow and skip...

Weiss: Level: 0.7 feet below full pool. Temp: 89 degrees. Clarity: Lightly stained.

Bass: Very good. Guide Warren Barnes reports, “Largemouths and spotted bass are still up on the flats early and are being caught on all types of topwater baits. The best producers are hard baits like the Jackall Bonnie or the Mud Sucker. Buzz Frogs and buzzbaits are producing early along the steeper channel banks. I have also been catching some quality largemouths in these same areas using a...

West Point: Level: 0.2 feet below full pool. Temp: High 80s. Clarity: Clear on the main lake; stained up the creeks and up the Chattahoochee.

Bass: Fair. Micah Frazier said bass will be holding on deep structure like rock piles and brush on the ledges, roadbeds and humps. Fish hard until you find the bass, then stay on them, because they’ll often be grouped up tight this time of year. Micah likes to fish a big crankbait like a Norman DD22 or Strike King Series 5 or 6 in...

Paradise PFA: Levels: Most lakes are 3 to 6 inches below full pool. Temp: 86-88 degrees. Clarity: Lakes lightly stained; 24-inch visibility on Lake Patrick.

Bass: Fair, according to area manager Charles West. “Fishing for bass has been very tough. Try topwater baits during early morning periods,” Charles said. “Switch to crankbaits by mid morning, and concentrate on the deeper water down to about 6 feet. Some anglers are reporting good luck fishing Texas-rigged,...

Saltwater: Capt. David Newlin reports, “Everything is in the usual late-summer pattern. The small redfish seem to be everywhere. They will hit anything you throw at them. The big redfish can still be found on high tide up in the marsh grass. High tides late in the day with no wind have been really productive. Trout are showing up in fair numbers. The beaches have been producing a fair number of big fish. St. Catherines Sound has been producing good fish for me. I had several groups...