Lake Lanier is down 8.6 feet and the lake is clear and 89 degrees…
Lake Lanier is down 8.6 feet and the lake is clear and 89 degrees…
Bass fishing is slow. A few bass are being caught on Carolina rigged Zoom finesse or u-tail worms in the green pumpkin or watermelon color. Fish these baits on 12 pound test Sufix line with a 2 to 3 foot leader using 10 pound test line. Fish the long main lake points and under water islands. The points on the right side of Lathem Creek with the rocks and wood have been fair. Slow down and watch your line for any movement. A Texas rig worm in watermelon color fished on 6 pound test line with a 1/16 ounce weight on the points will catch a few fish. Fish all baits slowly. If you must use a crank bait, use a small Fat Free Shad in Citrus Shad and bump the bottom up lake. Go to the bridge at Wahoo Creek and work the left side past the bridge and concentrate on the docks that are right past the old road bed.
Spotted bass fishing both day and night has been barely. The pattern is typical for this time of the hot summer days means worms on drop shot rigs or a Spot Sticker head fished slowly in the brush. Use a Texas rigged Zoom finesse worm into 25 to 35 foot man made brush and you should be able to catch decent numbers of fish. There are some really big spots in 35 to 50 feet. The Shoal Creek points and deep points that drops off into the deeper channel are best. Work spoons and Texas rigged works right where the bottom flattens out. Add a blue back on a down line and drop them to the bottom and reel them up one turn. Expect only a few deep bites but the fish are very big. Stick with the productive Lake Lanier colors in the finesse worms and use green pumpkin, limeade, natural green and natural blue. Keep a spoon tied on to drop into the brush if you see the fish on the Lowrance. There are some schoolers showing up, but they are up and down pretty quickly so have bait tied on and ready to go. Top water lures like small Pop R’s, small all white buck tails or inline spinners like the Rooster Tails are good choices for the schoolers. Around the Lula Bridge there are some fish feeding on Leverage all white spinner baits with solid white skirts. Bass can be caught on a #5 crawfish color jointed Shad Rap while fishing on or near the old river channel. Move out to deeper water and throw deeper diving crank bait like a #7 shad rap in either crawfish or natural colors. Work any and all points as well as any creek channels that might be present.
Striper fishing is good and the lower lake fish are biting best. Trolling several lures and techniques with lead core or downriggers or fishing live blue back herring on down rods will work. Troll until the fish are located on the Lowrance until the fish show up then go to live bait. Troll over the major creek channels and cover the main river channel. Keep a large spoon like the Strata spoon or the Flex-it spoon wand hop these baits over the heads of the fish. Trolling lead core line out 7 to 8 colors with white on white or blue/chartreuse Mack Farr jigs over the main river. There are fish being caught in Flowery Branch Creek, Big Creek, Orr Creek, Young Deer Creek and Six Mile Creek. Troll with the new Lowrance LCX38C color sonar and you will see the fish over the 60 foot and deeper bottoms on the main lake. Several 15 pound plus fish have been caught on blue backs, gizzards, bream and all sorts of trolling methods. Chipmunk jigs from one to two ounces in white or white/Mylar with a chartreuse trailer trolled eight or nine colors on lead core. But live bait and even a dead herring on a buck tail jig hopped into schools of fish could get the rod jerked out of your hand. Please keep the striper surveys coming to stripersurvey.com. The DNR stocked 555,000 fingerlings this year. Check this site for the DNR results.
Crappie are still holding tightly in the brush around deep docks and they have been a little more active especially up lake. It’s a good night bite at 13 feet especially on bridges. Some cooler weather will make these fish active. Night fishing has been good and it can really turn on with a good week’s worth of rain and cooling waters.
Be sure to go to www.havefunfishing.com and listen to the new FREE! Show, “The Have Fun Fishing Show” "It's Watch and Listen Radio". Just click on the link and you are ready to hear and see this new show.
If you would like to have a free set up sheet for your sonar, send me an e mail to kensturdivant@earthlink.net and ask for the “Sonar Setup Quick List”.