So, it begins! Fall, the greatest time of year down here. This is the time God seems to apologize to us for making us suffer through August and September. Fall fishing is incredible, hunting season is in, college football is going strong, and you can sit outside and cook without dying.

Oct. 9 starts muzzleloader season here, and the following weekend, Oct. 16^, starts rifle season. To all of you itching to get out — good luck! 

Thirty-three years ago, I killed my first deer on opening morning in Taliaferro County right outside of White Plains. I’ll never forget it and I can still see it happening in my mind’s eye. My grandfather and I had built a deer stand in the crook of a white oak that had split into three trees about eight to 10 feet up. It was a 2×4 platform, and I was proud of it. It was situated on a ridge that usually had a good acorn crop. It was full of red oaks and white oaks, and it ran between a cattle pasture and a big creek swamp. Now, keep in mind the imagination of a 12-year-old boy, a swamp of any size was a world unto itself. To me, this was where I was going to kill a monster!

The Christmas before Santa had brought me a Winchester Model 94 XTR 30-30 rifle. I had spent the months between the end of deer season and opening day practicing with that gun. I loved it and I oiled it probably every day. It’s a miracle it didn’t squirt right out of my hands that morning as I held it tight. My grandfather believed firmly that you had to be in your stand or spot a minimum of an hour and a half before light so everything could settle down. As light began to break, I heard a shot from where Grandaddy was sitting. Suddenly, a monster broke through the brush and was running from my left to right at about 75 yards. I don’t remember anything other than all of a sudden, the rifle kicked and the deer flipped over and skidded to a stop. It seemed to take forever to get down from the stand and get to the deer. I remember seeing my breath and feeling the crunch of leaves beneath my old hand me down browning boots. That 1 1/2-year-old 8-pointer is still one of my most special mounts and is on my trophy wall to this day. 

Fall fishing is just right around the corner. As of right now on Lake Oconee, we are still catching small hybrids and stripers. White bass and crappie are biting good. Guide Mark Smith with Reeltime Guide Service has been having good luck trolling Mini Mac rigs anywhere from 100 feet to 230 feet behind the boat at 3 mph. He’s been catching solid hybrids in the early mornings on this. Guide Kevin Smith has been on a solid crappie bite all summer and it’s still holding strong. He’s fishing minnows over treetops and brush piles. Most of those are deeper than 15 feet. You can jig these fish too using jiffy jigs and other crappie jigs but from what I have heard it’s not as consistent a bite. One key thing to crappie fishing lately has been electronics. As these fish get hit more and more it’s important to have good electronics on your boat to find fish others miss. Spend money and time learning your electronics and it will pay off. 

The bass bite is hit and miss right now. When water temps drop below 80, I personally get more excited and have better luck. However, bass are still biting Zoom monster worms rigged Texas-style, Shakey head rigs, and over in Lake Sinclair, you guys know you can probably throw a square billed or small billed Bomber in fire tiger and have some luck. Keep a spook-style plug or a frog tied on for topwater action. If you happen to find schooling fish, a Rat-L-Trap is always a killer. If you want to throw something a little different from what most anglers here are doing find you a 6^th Sense Quake or an Azuma Shaker bait. Both are lipless designs but have a different sound and action than the old tried and true Bill Lewis lures. 

Atlantic coastal fishing is going to get good this month too. In Savannah and up through Georgetown, S.C. you can catch big bull reds in the month of October. Most of those will be caught on dead bait such as crab or mullet fished in deep holes but if you play your cards right you can find monster reds up shallow and catch them on a fly. Speckled trout fishing will start to turn on around creek mouths and weed lines as well. Gulf Coast is going to be largely dependent on the hurricane season. More rain means freshwater being pushed into the gulf and it will shake up the patterns. However, fishing places like St. Joe Bay, Keaton Beach, and the like where there is minimal fresh water will be good. Look for schools of mullet being crashed by reds and trout. Big trout follow reds too. A One knocker top water lure or MirroLure She Pup is a great bait this time of year. 

Good luck and enjoy the first taste of fall.