LAKE LANIER IS UP .54 FEET, THE MAIN LAKE AND CREEKS ARE CLEAR & 74 DEGREES

This Lake Lanier Bass report is from Jimbo Mathley. www.jimboonlanier.com 770 642 7764

Bass fishing is good and the spots are on top. Chug Bugs and small Zara Spooks will work almost all day. Drop shot rigs are accounting for a lot of big spots on and over brush piles at 25 feet. There are a lot of spots dead on the bottom and many are not around any structure you will just see them moving on the bottom. These fish were tough to get to bite this week with turnover and a full moon. But this will change fast this weekend. We can get a few spots up on a bone Zara Spook or a Siebel Swimmer in the shad pattern. Use 12 pound Sufix Elite line. Bite sized herring swim baits by Rick Steckleberg are working all day and the stripers may take them away from any angler. Small DT6 Rapala crank baits in hot mustard are working. Cast these baits right on the bank, crank them 4 times and stop them. Also work main lake or creek points. The 5 inch Red Fin in any color and the Zoom Super Fluke in pearl can take these fish all day. Keep moving cover a lot of water. The fish can be very shallow so make long casts. Try to get the wind behind you so the casts can cover a lot of water. In the middle of the day, work the deep docks on the west bank just inside Young Deer Creek and watch out for top water anytime. Fish the docks with a green Strike King Bitsey Bug and also use a Zoom u tail worm and a Zoom Bush Hog in pumpkinseed. The Texas rig is bet with the 3/16 Tru-Tungsten ounce sinker.

This Striper report is from Captain Ken West and Captain Mike Maddalena of Big Fish On Service 404 561 2564. www.bigfishon.com

Striper fishing is fair. Not a lot has changed this week. It is October and with October comes high pressure systems and wind which makes fishing spotty. You can have a good day only to go out the next and not be able to find a fish. Your best bet is top water and free line Herring. The fish have moved up in the water column and are scattered from Browns Bridge to the Dam. Focus on creek mouths and main lake points. Put out a couple of free lines and cast Spooks and Chug bugs to points and humps. There are some schooling fish that are surfacing but they will not stay up long. Keep a buck tail tied on and rip it back through any surfacing fish along with your top water baits. For some "kicks and giggles" you can also pitch a Herring on a light spinning rod to any surfacing fish. The key is keeping your eyes on the water to locate these schooling fish. Only one person should be watching your Lowrance electronics and everyone else should be watching the water. There are still a few suspended fish at 20 to 40 feet over a 50 to 120 foot bottom which can be caught with down line Herring but, your best bet is points and humps. The deep water trolling bite with lead core line and heavy umbrella rigs is probably over as I have not seen any "trolling fish" this week. However you can pull umbrella rigs over points and humps at 12 to 15 feet and pick up a few fish. It looks like we are starting lake turnover and the fish will remain scattered slowly moving deeper into the creeks and north of Browns Bridge. For now your best bet is from Flat Creek to the Dam. Call Ken Sturdivant about the ON THE WATER SCHOOLS for Sonar or the Rods, Reels and Lures for Bass or a full day STRIPERS School. Call 770 889 2654 for details. ken@southernfishing.com