Have Fun Fishing and its host professional guide and fishing instructor, Ken Sturdivant, will participate in National Hunting and Fishing Day, Saturday, Sept. 24, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. at Lower Pool Park (located off of Buford Dam Road) below Buford Dam on the Chattahoochee River. Ken will host a seminar sponsored by CummingHome.com called “Bass Fishing Made Easy”. See www.havefunfishing.com and CummingHome.com for all the details.

LAKE LANIER IS DOWN ONE FOOT, THE MAIN LAKE IS CLEAR, AND THE CREEKS AND RIVERS ARE SLIGHTLY STAINED AND 80 DEGREES.

Black bass fishing is barley fair and the fish are relating to banks that are close to sand pockets and point up lake. There is a fair spinner bait, and Rat L Trap bite up the lake in the off colored waters. Go shallow and pick a long creek like Johnson Creek or in the back of Latham Creek on the right- hand side and go halfway into the creeks, and fish it three times. Use the spinner baits in all white and the blue back chrome side Rat L Trap. Add a Storm Thunder Stick, and pick any bait with a lot of different colors. Never go up lake with two other baits, a pumpkinseed or black jig and pig-and-a-jig with a Yamamoto twin tail grub in cinnamon pepper. The bass are feeding on crawfish if they see one, and skipping docks past up lake is fair. There are stumps on the old river ledges right under the surface, and the bass in these areas are feeding. Shad Raps DT10 in crawfish and an all white one ounce Rooster tail or an all white Mini Me spinner bait right on and over these stumps. The fish are also taking all black jig and pig combinations in a ½ ounce head. Try swimming the baits on and around the stumps and even on rocky points close by.

Spotted bass fishing is also very sporadic, as there is no firm pattern. Anything you can fish with might get a spot. The standard rig and the best bite is on a small green worm on a light 1/8 ounce lead head on any dock. So far there has not been much action at night for spots. Hopefully we can expect top water to break loose soon as the water cools down. This week any banks or structure in the shadows -- early and late -- seem to be best for spinner baits...Bandit crank baits and Sammys. All white Mini Me’s are working, and the spots can be very shallow, so throw them on the baits and the wood as shallow as possible. Cooler nights and shorter days make this happen and there is a good sign the lake is turning over. There is an off green color down lake and there are lots of air bubbles floating to the surface. These bubbles will show up on the Lowrance, especially midway into the creeks, but get the sensitivity up to 87%. If you use the Lowrance, you will find on any point on the lake at least three man-made brush piles. Make long casts with small all white buck tails and #7 Shad Raps. Run some Sammys and Zara Spooks on the points anytime of the day. Be sure to work the baits really fast, and make super long casts to cover the water as quickly as possible. Cast the all white ½ ounce all white Rooster Tails about 10 feet deep and hold on. There are some three pound plus spots taking white baits. Try an all white crank bait like the 200 Bandit too.

Stripers are not on a good pattern, but the up lake rivers are best since the fish like a little cooler water and a little current. Fish the Chestatee River, as most of the fish are roaming around looking for food. Most everyone is staying in both rivers. There are a few fish in the mouth of Gainesville Creek close to the river. The fish may not be too deep, so look at 20 to 45 feet deep and some of the fish are lying ON the bottom. Most of the anglers are trolling 2 ounce buck tails on 27 pound lead core, seven colors back on 17 pound test and a 50 foot leader. A few are using flat lines 60 feet back, but the best bite -- if you find them -- is on a down rod, 25 to 45 feet deep and close to the bottom. Troll around these areas at 3 miles per hour. Both Hammonds and The Dam Store have great selections of live baits. Pull the shiners across points and a few spot will show up.

Crappie have been moving to the creeks and are relating to the creek channels. The fish are at 18 feet or so and are simply roaming up and down the channels and under a few deeper docks. Live bait on the bottom on the back of Six Mile is a good choice. The up lake bridges are the best location and live bait at 16 feet has been the best bait.

LAKE ALLATOONA IS DOWN 1.85 FEET OVER FULL, 82 DEGREES AND CLEAR

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, e-mail: mbucca@comcast.net.

Fishing is still good, and not a whole lot has changed bait-wise. The schooling fish seem to have migrated south. Definitely try to arrive early at the lake and take advantage of the schooling action, but they are hitting on and off all day long. There are hybrids and spots mixed in and feeding on shad. Use a Sammy 115 in American Shad, primarily because it's a heavier bait and it can cast long distances to the schooling fish once they surface. Also Mini Me's spinnerbaits are working well by burning it just under the surface. Be sure to use a good trailer hook, because those schoolers can be finicky and often short strike. Once the sun gets up and the schooling comes to a halt, you have a few options. The first option is to fish deep brush piles in the 25 foot range with a drop shot tipped with a Flat Tail worm in any natural color, or a Robo Worm in Aarons Magic and Green Weenie colors. Find the brush pile and put your boat right over the brush and irritate the fish by keeping your bait in the vicinity of the brush and just shaking it. This pattern will also work with the weedless Spot Stalker Jig head (www.bassstalker.com). Try the rivers too. The BDS 3 and 4 bite is coming on strong and will continue to get better once the corps start dropping the water after Memorial day. Those fish are seeking the cooler water in the back of those creeks. I like to work my way in with the BDS 3 and 4 crank by working the outside edges of the visible structure. On my way out of the creek, I fish with a Grass Stalker Jig by flipping it into the heavy cover. My favorite option is running the run-and-shoot offense and fishing the windblown shorelines with a Spinnerbait. Be sure that you are casting INTO the wind or at least cross wind to insure you are bringing the bait back in front of the fish and not coming up behind the fish. I like the Allatoona special color which has one white willow leaf and one chartreuse willow leaf blade. These colors are key, especially in very clear water, because they have a great calling distance (more visible). Be absolutely certain you have a trailer hook or TWO on the back of your spinnerbait. Make long casts with some good Triplefish fluorocarbon line in 15 or 20 pound test to insure a good hook set at the end of those long casts.

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, I have an in-depth article titled, "Spotshottin' With Flat Tails," which is an in detail article pertaining to how I go about dropshotting for fish, specifically on Allatoona. You can subscribe to the Inside Line by visiting www.insideline.net/ and hit the subscribe link in the upper right-hand corner.

The Line Side Report is bought to you by Robert Eidson of First Bite Guide Service, www.firstbiteguideservice.com, (770) 827-6282.

Line sides fishing is still hit-or-miss. Some days you can load the boat. And on others you'll do well to catch a handful. The fish are scattered from the north end of the lake to the south end and they seem to be holding to the river and creek channels. Down line are working best, but try free lines early in the morning. In the afternoons, the fish will school on top right before dark. I know this is a repeat report of last week, but the fishing hasn't changed. As the water starts to cool, we'll see more top water action, so keep a chug bug ready at all times. I notice we have a lot more fly fishermen on the lake this year fishing for hybrid and stripers. If some of you will e-mail me what you're catching them on, I'll post it with my reports. Trolling seems to working as good as anything else right now. The key is to troll your u-rigs over a 30-35 foot bottom right now. Mid- lake seems to be the best place right now. Color really doesn't matter right now. It seem to be 50 -50.

Book now for any fishing trips in the months of October and November. If you mention Ken Sturdivant while booking a half-day trip, you'll receive and extra hour on the water. That’s five hours for the price of four. This offer is good through September 30, so be sure to book today!

By the end of October, I hope to have a bait boat on the lake. I will keep you posted on this. Gizzard shad will be $10 a dozen when you mention Ken Sturdivant. Otherwise, this bait will sell for $12 a dozen. And Thread fins will be $6 a dozen all the time.

There is still a good night bite going on with a mixed bag of hybrid and crappie and even some big catfish under the Hydro Glow light. We now offer a hydro glow night trip. Call for all the details at (770) 827-6282 or visit www.hydroglow.com. The new boat is here and is rigged to the gills... from a T-top down to a CD player and all state-of-the-art equipment. It has plenty of room, too!

We sell three books, including 52 Weeks On Lake Allatoona, 52 Weeks On Lake Lanier and 52 Weeks On West Point Lake, and each book is $23.95. Our mailing address is:

Southern Fishing Schools Inc.

106 Hickory Ridge

Cumming Georgia 30040.

Our newest book, Bass Fishing On Lake Hartwell, is now on sale. Tim White and Ken Sturdivant have opened this lake up to avid bass anglers with more than 100 key bass fishing holes.

We also teach On the Water Schools: "Rods, Reels and Lures for Bass," and "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 today to set up a school on “Rods, Reels and Lures for Bass.” See our web site, www.havefunfishing.com, for more details. Or call us right away at (770) 889-2654.

Contact Information:

Ken Sturdivant

106 Hickory Ridge

Cumming, Georgia 30040

www.havefunfishing.com

(770) 889-2654