This week's report by fishing expert, Ken Sturdivant, says that Lake Lanier is down 7.11 feet, the creeks are slightly stained, and the main lake is clear and 87 degrees...
LAKE LANIER IS DOWN 7.11 FEET, THE CREEKS ARE SLIGHTLY STAINED AND THE MAIN LAKE IS CLEAR AND 87 DEGREES
Black bass fishing is barely fair. Go as far up the lake as possible and work the stained waters with spinner baits, Pop R’s, Rico’s, High Rollers and Senko’s. Look for the bass right on the old river stump rows and deep trees lines. Docks and old creek channels are the only places to fish halfway into the backs of major creeks.
All the spotted and largemouth bass are being caught on the upper end of the lake on Carolina rigged four and six inch worms in the watermelon green, chart./pepper and dark green colors. Zoom u tail worms are preferred but many kinds are working. Rock with wood is the key to finding and catching these fish. Keep moving all day, as the fish aren't concentrated on any one spot. Singles and maybe a double on one given brush pile or stump are all that you will find. Also use a gold blade and skirt on a Leverage buzz bait and cast these bait dead on the banks. Any wood in the water may have some active fish so be sure to add a Zoom Super Fluke and a 4/0 Mustad hook.
Although we only found a few small bass and nothing over two pounds, all the largemouth were right next to some kind of wood. The gold blade and gold skirt on the Leverage buzz bait was the best top water bait. Bone Zara Spook Jr’s were a close second, even on the points close by the main lake points.
Spotted bass fishing is tough for sizes and numbers as the lake continues to drop. Fish deep points from 19 to 30 feet and also find some rock and gravel points and work soft plastics slowly. For the bigger fish work the deep man-made and natural cover with small hair jigs and worms. Worms should be greens, Smoky Joe and sand on a Texas rig.
Fishing has been fair. Work the Fish Head Spin 3/8 ounce head and add a Zoom baby bass Super Fluke Jr’s. Use the Texas rigged worms in the lime aide colors and be sure to work the lure all the way back to the boat on points. Pick rocky points right at the mouths of the major creeks and work a 1/8 ounce Bitsey Bug with a twin tail trailer. Cast shallow after dark and put the baits right on the banks. During the day, keep an eye out for any surface action in these same areas. Spots are feeding on tiny shad as the full moon have hatched.
There is not much top water except at dusk. On windy and/or overcast days, use the darker colors of finesse worms. The river fish are not very shallow like the lower lake fish except at dusk. Cast and slow roll a Stanley 3/8th ounce spinner bait with all silver willow leaf blades. Cast this spinner bait right on the points. Work the spinner bait and then use a small all white Bandit 200 crank bait. Use light 8 pound test Sufix Elite line and make sure to hit the bank on every cast. The bass will attack this lure, so be sure to add a bright trailer on this lure. Night crawlers on any dock will get a strikes from the hungry and aggressive spots.
The dock bite is about dead except for deep docks close to the main lake river points. Even on these docks the fish are small. Skip a Zoom trick worm in any color under these docks and let it sink to the bottom. Green pumpkin and all white have been a good colors.
Striper fishing is good and there are fish on and over deep water as well as main lake points and humps. Trolling or idling over these areas is the key, and put baits out as soon as the fish show up on the Lowrance. Set the depth finder with the sensitivity to 87% and turn it to manual to see these fish in 50 feet of water or more. Main lake from Flat Creek to Young Deer are good deep water areas. Watch for the fish to be at 33 feet and over a 40 to 80 foot bottom. These fish are on summer patterns and will be there the rest of the month. Fish are suspended over the creek and river channels from the dam all the way up the to Browns Bridge. Troll over a bend in the channel looking for fish with 1 ounce Chipmunk jigs with chartreuse trailers. Live bait is still a great option and blue backs are the best baits. Fish the live baits on a 2 ounce sinker and a 7 foot leader and small hooks at 15 to 35 feet deep. Main lake humps at 20 to 40 feet deep are key areas but do not spend a lot of time unless the fish show up on the depth finder. The water is so hot the bait will die as soon as they hit that warmer water so get them down fast. Put at least 15 pound of ice on the blue backs to keep them cool.
There are some fish very deep in the middle of the main lake creeks as deep as 70 feet over a 100 foot depth. Quality depth finders are critical to success, and tune them way up in manual instead of automatic.
From The Dam Store: As we approach our 5th anniversary, we have never seen the striper bite as hot as it has been. Trolling 7, 8, or 9 colors of lead core has seen catches of 10, 20 or 30 plus fish a morning. Also down lines are hot right under the boat using herring and many are getting the same numbers. Also, dropping a 2 ounce chipmunk jig with a dead herring through the school will also trigger some bites. The mouth of any creek up to Browns Bridge in about 70 feet of water will find schools of stripers. Lead core line is getting scarce, so call to reserve some. Also we have Quicksilver 2 stroke oil on sale for $19.99 a gallon. We are hearing that there is a good night bite for spots with black JP spinner baits. The DNR has been stocking some larger trout recently in the Chattachoochee River and full creels are being caught on Pin Minnows, Phoebes, CD1 and CD3 Rapala’s and the new rebel ghost minnow in trout colors. Call a daily report or to get in on the action with our guides. 770-932-2031.
Crappie fishing has been very slow unless you have an Aqua Vu underwater camera, allowing you to read the Lowrance. The crappie are in off shore deep manmade and natural structure. Find the structure, and the fish are there as deep at 25 feet. Live bait is the ticket.
Current books available for sale include: “BASS FISHING ON WEST POINT LAKE,” “BASS FISHING LAKE RUSSELL,” and “BASS FISHING LAKE HARTWELL.” They are $39.00 each. Tim White and Ken Sturdivant have opened lakes up to avid bass anglers with lots of key bass fishing holes. Send an e-mail for a sample to: mailto:kensturdivant@earthlink.net
Our mailing address is: Southern Fishing Schools Inc. 106 Hickory Ridge, Cumming Georgia 30040
We teach “ON THE WATER SCHOOLS”: Rods, Reels and Lures for Bass or Maps and Depth Finders. Call 770-889-2654 for details.
Take a look at www.aquavu.com. You really need a camera. Copyright 2006, Southern Fishing Schools Inc. Call us to set up a school -- “Rods, Reels and Lures for Bass”. See our web site, www.havefunfishing.com for more details, or call us right away, 770-889-2654.