The following is by Larry Hunter, who regularly contributes a fishing column to the Stanly News & Press.

Most of the happenings recently, both regarding fishing and life in general, have revolved around water. I’m sure most of you have figured out that I am a fan of most things wet but a hurricane is a horse of a different color.

Hurricanes Florence and Michael merely emphasized the different weather that the summer of 2018 brought. Hotter, dryer, wetter, windier, more humid are a few adjectives that come to mind about the last three months. I laid low for a few days after each hurricane hit and tried to repair the damage my home had endured.

As soon as possible I returned to a normal life and began to do “research” for this column. Within days of the storm local waters were mostly muddy as could be expected. I did, however, find that Badin seems to have been spared much of the debris and staining found in other lakes. In our county it was Tuckertown that was most affected. Even now the water in area lakes is still stained but improving daily.

Most boat ramps are as crowded as you’d expect in early autumn. Local fishermen tell me that while bass are around, most that are caught are on the small size. In just a few words, bass are hard to locate and running small now.

Catfish and crappie are also in the same boat, pun intended. The brightest spot are the ever-present (waccamaw) white perch and white bass. Area lakes are holding schools that can yield a good cooler full if you can find them and stay on them. Badin in particular has a lot of top water action from these small fighters.

Expect cooler and dryer days for the next little while and if things run true to form it will be rather chilly by November and we will have to modify our techniques for winter fishing.

Fishin’ Tip of the Week: This week’s tip has to do with equipment instead of fishing. I met an angler who was having issues with interference from the trolling motor affecting his fish finder.

Google is a source of information, but in my experience most of the time interference is a result of running the depth finder off the trolling motor batteries.

Rewire and take power from the starting battery and make sure to route the fish finder power and transducer leads as far from the trolling motor leads as possible. This may help.

Thanks and Good Fishin’.

Larry Hunter writes a regular fishing column for The Stanly News & Press.