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Hello from the Excel 230 Elite. I hope you are enjoying the cooler weather as much as I am. My poor yard is dead due to zero rain in weeks but at least I'm not having to mow.

I took a lot of August off to work the Excel Boats Dealer Meeting and some family time.

The Excel Dealer Meeting was a wonderful experience in many ways. It gave me a chance to get to know dealers from all over plus show them my boat on the water, how I use it and my equipment, plus let them run the boat on Ky Lake. Run it they did! Some just wanted to plane the 230 Elite off then run it to top speed. Others wanted to try high-speed turns, figure 8s, or slow plane thru high speed. My boat was put into situations that I have never tried and it performed flawlessly. A few times I found myself sitting in a jump seat where I could have literally leaned over slightly and put my shoulder into the water on high-speed turns. Being able to run the boat led to sales for Excel. I had dealers from coastal Georgia, Louisiana, and South Carolina plus from Missouri, Kentucky, and some I failed to get where they were from on my boat.

The full line of Excel models were available for the dealers to run. Some new models were debuted.

I got on the lake several times in the last couple of weeks. The surface temperatures have dropped almost daily and that is causing fishing conditions to change daily too. Finding crappie one day doesn't mean they will be there the next day or two. The fish are relating to baitballs and the baitballs are moving slowly into the bays and creeks. That doesn't mean the crappie have all left the main lake ledges. Several are in deeper channels and are aggressively hitting our baits.

I had guide trips last week with two long-time client and friends father/son teams. I love visiting with old friends and hopefully putting them on fish. The first trip was frustrating because the crappie had totally left the area I had found them two days earlier. The second trip was glorious because the crappie I had found the day before were still there along with several of their bigger friends.

I've been concentrating on secondary channels and points along those channels. As the surface temps have dropped, many of the crappie have gotten deeper. Most of the crappie we caught Friday we had 80-100 feet of line out to our crankbaits. Pico Lures INT cranks were the ticket.

Along with the crappie have come catfish. They will crush a crank and put up a tiring fight. While prefishing for a trip last week,I got tired of catching both blue and channel cats. Had I been keeping them, I could have put on a huge family fish fry. I can’t discount all the yellow bass we caught plus a bonus keeper sauger.

As we get closer to fall and some of the best crappie action of the year, we should see action pick up in areas of 10-15 feet deep and even shallower where baitfish are relating to cover like stumps and stakebeds. Small crappie will probably be the bulk of the shallow water bite around cover. The larger fish will tend to be deeper than the short fish. Cover like points shouldn’t be overlooked.

Since Labor Day is now behind us and the cooler weather that is forecast will bring the water temps down into the 70s, we will soon see recreational boat traffic drop dramatically. Many fishermen who have not been on the lake since late spring will be headed back to the lake. Make sure your boat is running properly and keep in mind the fact that many boat ramps are getting too shallow to use without risking motor or prop damage. The gremlins that have stayed submerged since spring will also start showing back up. Stumps and rock piles are unforgiving when in contact with boats.

Another thing the fall fisherman should always expect to encounter on morning trips is fog. Running one’s boat in fog is not only challenging but also dangerous. Even having a GPS map in front of you while running doesn’t lend itself to confidence. Unless you have marine radar, that GPS won’t show you the other boats or floating debris in front of you. Take your time in fog or just wait at the ramp until it lifts. There won’t be the daybreak crowds like spring so the likelihood of somebody beating you to your secret spot is less.

Being safe is always the best bet. Wearing your life jacket is too. There will be far fewer boats on the water in the fall so your chances of help or rescue will be less.

Be careful out there. Have fun in our slice of Heaven.