Lake Lanier is down 2.1 feet, the creeks are slightly stained and the main lake is clear and 51 degrees.

Largemouth bass have been slow all week with the winds and cold winds. And another blast of cold rain is on the way. Some of the fish are already in the creek channels where they will spend the rest of the cold weather. Spoons and jigs are fair and concentrate on the ledges on the old creek bends. Use both ½ and 5/8 ounce Flex It spoon on heavy 14 pound Stren Magna Thin line and a heavy action bait casting rod is the right rigging. Add an all black jig and use the Uncle Josh all black eel and drag this bait on the same bait casting rig on and over these locations. Use a DT 10 hot mustard Rapala and a red shad or green shad Fat free fingerling. These should be fished with very long casts on light line and get the baits deep and stop them. Look on the old creek channels and the back of Latham Creek and the old creek channel in the back of Thompson Creek are typical locations.

After the cold weather last week and heavy rains, most of the fish are hugging the structure. Find these old creeks with the depth finder and there are log jams in the ditches that hold winter bass. Up lake is the best area because the creeks are small enough to only have to spend a few minutes riding on and over these areas. If there are some shad schools in the coves and creek, even better.

Spotted bass are feeding in man made brush piles at 20 to 35 feet deep. Small bright crank baits like Shad Raps on, over and around these locations can draw strikes. With the weather acting up, the fish are still unpredictable from day to day. Drop shot rigs, spoons, jigs and finesse worms are effective and docks and the same deep locations down lake are perfect to try these techniques. Rig the drop shot with a 1/0 or 2/0 Mustad offset worm hook. It really does not seem to matter what color worm you use, after 20 feet deep, they are all black. Keep your rod tip tight and do not drop the rod while fishing this bait. Pick deep docks down lake and around Lake Lanier Islands. The deeper the docks, the bigger the spots. Also look in the marinas like the back of Lan Mar and there is a good pattern on docks from 25 to 40 feet deep. The fish are moving around under these docks so keep a close eye on the Lowrance. Try some extra scent on the plastics and this may help the fish hold the baits long enough to feel the strike and set the hook. Try a small ¼ ounce jig in pumpkinseed with a small trailer by Zoom in the same colors. The docks around the Lake Lanier Islands resort at the rental boats and the service dock are great areas that are rarely fished.

Striper fishing has been tough with the cold weather. Earlier last week before the heavy winds and the cold rains, there were a few stripers in the backs of some of the lower lake creeks and in the mouth of the rivers. But as the bad weather came in, all the fish were pushed out to the main river. Now the fish are roaming and the rivers may be the better areas until the weather settles. Get out the trolling rigs and the umbrella rigs and pull them over points and humps. Loons and sea gulls are ready to show anglers where the bait schools are concentrated so use these free fish find and look and fish around them daily. Look for the birds working bait and put out either herring or large shiners on free lines with or without balloons. Place these baits 60 to 100 feet behind the boat and cruise the area while searching. This week fish marker #4 in the Cheastee River and the deep docks right out in front of Lan Mar over 100 feet of water. We found fish at 60 feet and caught several in the mid teens. Look in the shallows in the back of Flat Creek on the right side just as the creek makes the right hand bend.

Several fish around 10 pounds are very close to the banks and all came on flat lines. Keep the boat in 15 feet of water or less and have flat lines out 60 feet with herring and trout. Both should produce especially in the middle of the afternoon. In addition, throwing a 5/8 oz white buck tail with a white curly tail trailer should pick an extra fish or two.

There is little surface activity but that will change next week as the weather gets settled. Be sure to keep a buck tail and a large top water lure ready anytime you are on the lake. Flat lines seem to be taking almost all the fish this week so get shallow in pockets and small coves and pull the baits into these areas or a bobber or a planer board.

Crappie are still schooled up under major marina docks mid-lake. We can see the larger fish down 25 feet on the Aqua Vu camera, and they are all about a pound. Small tubes on a 1/32 ounce lead head and doodle the baits on 4 pound Stren clear line to get the bites.

Lake Allatoona is down 18.4 feet, clear and 47 degrees.

This fishing report has been brought to you exclusively by Mike Bucca, Triton Mike's Spot Country Guide Service www.tritonmike.com Lake Allatoona, Georgia email: mbucca@comcast.net HO HO HO!!! LIMITED TIME ONLY -- GIFT CERTIFICATES!!! See this link www.tritonmike.com/gift.html

Spotted bass fishing is fair and the water is still a little stained in the upper and lower lake but fairly clear around the dam. We are still in the 47-48 degree water and expected it to fall even further over the weekend. Once the water reaches the 44 degree range, the shad will start to die off and you will see the Seagulls start schooling on the dying shad.

Right now the early morning, the crank bait bite with a Lucky Craft's NEW Flat Mini DR Crank is still doing well off rocky points and cuts. Just be sure you are hitting the bottom with your crank and cover some real estate. The Flat Mini DR dives between 6 or 7 feet unlike it states on the package of the bait. This pattern will get a lot stronger, especially during this upcoming colder weather, but once we get in the low 40's, I will switch over to a deeper diving crank bait like the Flat CB DR which dives in the 9 to 10 feet. Use 8 to 10 pound Triplefish Fluorocarbon line when using cranks due to their superior sensitivity. The bites are not bone jarring right now, so if in doubt, swing on it!

In the afternoons, the wind has died some which has allowed me to do some dropshotting. Dropshotting bite ain't bad right now. You do have to work to find the right fish, but once you do, you can catch a limit of good fish in no time. I am concentrating on both deep structure as well as my Humminbird 987si sonar to locate bait and feeding fish. Once you find bait, bait with your sonar. I like to use a drop shot or spoon to catch them.

There are some decent numbers and decent size (by Allatoona standards, 2lbs +) fish coming off the drop shot. All winter long, I am strictly using the 4.5 inch Flat Tail due to water clarity on the business end of the drop shot and a 1/4 to 1/2oz for my spoon. The fish are coming anywhere from 30-50ft right now so be thinking a little on the deep side when fishing the drop shot and spoon.

NEW DROPSHOTTING ARTICLE PERTAINING TO ALLATOONA:

This article appeared in the most recent Yamamoto's Inside Line Magazine: www.tritonmike.com/flattail.html In the present edition of Yamamoto's Inside Line edition, I have an in depth article titled SPOTSHOTTIN' WITH FLAT TAILS, which is a detailed article pertaining to how I go about dropshotting for fish specifically on Allatoona.

FREE SEMINARS: If your bass club in the metro Atlanta area is interested in having me speak at your club meetings, shoot me an email at mbucca@comcast.net.

This Striper and Hybrid Fishing Report has been brought to you exclusively by Robert Eidson of First Bite Guide Service, 678-363-6260. www.firstbiteguideservice.com Lake Allatoona, Georgia email: eidson6260@comcast.net.

Line side fishing is hit or miss right now. The bait is still out over the river channel and so are the fish. Down lines are working best right now. And the fish are deep. The best bite is between 24-40 feet deep. Gizzard shad and threadfins are working best. Mid-lake seems to be holding most of the bait and fish right now. But in the next couple of weeks we should start seeing more bait on the south end of the lake, and with the bait comes the fish. This has been one of the slowest falls we can remember for stripers in years. We hope we are just a few days away from some good striper fishing on Allatoona.

Trolling is by far the best bite on the lake right now. The Mack Farr u-rig in all white is best. Troll right in the middle of the river channel at a speed of 2.9 miles and hour and watch what happens. Just remember, you're only allowed two stripers over 22 inches per person in the boat, stripes, hybrids and white bass. It seems like most people think that just applies to stripers But they are wrong -- it applies to all line sides. The State will be doing boat checks all winter. Stay within your limit.

Now is the time to plan that Christmas present for anglers!

We are offering our two “On the Water Schools” RODS, REELS AND LURES FOR BASS or “MAPS AND DEPTH FINDERS” for $225.00 each. Gift Certificates issued are good for one year from the date of purchase. www.havefunfishing.com has an order form to fill out and mail with the payment.

We have three books, 52 Weeks On Lake Allatoona, 52 Weeks On Lake Lanier, and 52 Weeks On West Point Lake on sale. Each book is $23.95. Our mailing address is: Southern Fishing Schools Inc. 106 Hickory Ridge, Cumming, Georgia, 30040.

The new books, Bass Fishing Lake Russell and Bass Fishing Lake Hartwell are on sale as well. Tim White and Ken Sturdivant have opened both lakes up to avid bass anglers with more than 100 key bass fishing holes.

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 2005, 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.

The 2006 Atlanta Boat Show

The 2006 Atlanta Boat Show is January 11 through 15, 2006 at The Georgia World Congress Center. Meet the following anglers in the “Let’s Go Fishing Center” presented by Honda:

Ken Sturdivant, Al Bassett, Tim White, Captain Mark Noble, Jon Peters, Glenn Chappelear, Mike Bucca, Tom Branch, Jr., Bill Carson, Phil Johnson, Ann and Tom Swinks, Robert Edison, Doug Youngblood, Charlie Ingram and many others.