• Lake Lanier Fishing Report - GA

    Southern Fishing Schools
    (770) 889-2654 http://www.southernfishing.com/ ken@southernfishing.com
  • SOUTHERN FISHING SCHOOLS INC. is the ONLY full time Fishing School in the south. We have been fishing these lakes and streams of the south since 1957. We have attended more than 40 worlds championship events, that include 26 Bassmasters Classics, 7 Red Man All Americans and 5 BassNGal World Finals. We can teach anglers of all skill levels how to find and catch more bass

  • Lake Lanier Fishing Report - GA

    LAKE LANIER IS DOWN 10.7 FEET, THE CREEKS ARE STAINED AND THE MAIN LAKE IS CLEAR & 50’s

    Bass fishing on Lake Lanier remains good, especially for early February. The lake has begun to stabilize in terms of level. We have set just below 10 feet below full pool for the past week. The surface temperatures are still hovering in the low 50’s, which is incredible for early February. We are finding the fish are really spread out as you might expect. We find them deep and shallow every day. Shallow has probably been the most consistent bite (less than 15 feet deep), but we have had some good catches out in the timber as well. The ditch bite continues to be good and we are catching them using the traditional ditch fishing methods – SuperSpin, SPRO Jerkbait, SPRO Crankbait, Jig, and Picasso Shake E Head. Start back shallow in these ditches early, and then move out deeper in the ditches as the day progresses. Focus on the key features you find shallow near the ditches as well such as clay and rock points. We are starting in these ditches first thing and remaining flexible as the day’s progress. Some days we adjust to much deeper water within those ditches, and on others, we are finding the fish are staying shallow in and around those ditches as well as up around docks. We are starting with a SuperSpin tipped with a boot tail type trailer right in the ditch. Also, a Spro McStick or McRip has been a good choice as far as jerk baits go. A Spro crankbait is never a bad choice either, both in the ditches and around rocky/clay points as well. A finesse worm on a Picasso Shaky Football Head or a Chattahoochee Jig has been a good alternative if the fish are not as aggressive. If the ditch bite does slow, we have been shifting to steeper rocky points and finding success with a jig and worm as well. We have also continued to spoon up a few fish out of the timber, or near the timber, in creek arms/ditches in 30 50 feet. Check for bait and fish out deeper in the ditches as the day progresses. If you see fish out deeper, a spoon, jig, or shaky head can be a great way to catch them, depending on how they are positioned. If the weather remains stable and warm, I look for the Largemouth to start showing up in a full blown pre spawn mode very shortly. More to come on this pattern emerges. Here are the dates I have open in February: 7, 9, 10, 13, 15, 16, 17, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28

    SEMINAR ALERT! Our next seminar is on Saturday, February 11th. We will be teaching the aspects of fishing the spring transition, including a special segment on targeting largemouth. We will also have a special segment on patterning fish for BFL participants! In addition, Ken Sturdivant, Lowrance Pro Staff, will be present to speak about the latest Lowrance Technology, including specifically sonar interpretation. See details on my web site and registration.

    This Report brought to you by: Jimbo Mathley, www.jimboonlanier.com 770 542 7764

    It is still a great time to learn the ditch bite as well as the timber bite. I am now guiding in a Brand New Xpress Bass Boat – 21’3″ powered by a 250 Yamaha SHO and equipped with the latest Lowrance HDS Gen III units featuring 3D Structure Scan technology. Come take a ride in this beauty! As I mentioned, if you are wanting to learn the deep timber bite and/or the ditch bite, now is the time!

    This Lake Lanier Striper report is from Captain Ken West 404 561 2564. Contact us on our web site. www.bigfishonguide.com

    Striper fishing has been good but the weather continues to play a major role. Cloudy days are better than sunny days with a blue bird sky. The bait and the Stripers tend to go deep on cold sunny days. On warmer cloudy days the Stripers will feed on shallow bait later into the day. Start your day fishing shallow with unweighted free lines 50 to 70 feet behind the boat. Deploy planner boards with bank side planners at 20 feet behind the board and 50 to 70 feet on the deep water planner boards. As the morning progresses weight a few of your lines with split shots to ensure you are covering the water column. If the bait moves to deeper water deploy several down rods in addition to your weighted free lines and fish as close to the bottom as possible. We are continuing to use both medium minnows and Blueback Herring. As always match your hook size to the size of the bait. We are using a #2 Gamakatsu Octopus hook for the medium minnows and a #1 or #1/0 for the Herring. Keep someone on the front deck casting a ˝ ounce bucktail jig. We are also seeing some top water action on warmer cloudy days. Keep a spinning rod ready to pitch a bait to these surfacing fish. Keep your eyes on the water and resistant the temptation to “plow” into a school of feeding fish with the big motor. There are fish in the creeks lake wide however Flat Creek continues to be a popular. The lake is 10.1 feet below full pool with stain in the back of the creeks and clear on the main lake. The water temperature is in the low 50’s. Call Big Fish On Guide Service at 404 561 2564 to schedule a guided fishing trip on Lake Lanier.

    This Lake Lanier Crappie report is from Dan Saknini, member of the Lanier Crappie Angler’s Club. See our club’s website, www.laniercrappieanglers.net

    Water temps have fallen into the low fifties. Some of the creeks at the north end of the lake still have moderate stain. At present, the crappie have abandoned both the deep and shallower brush piles and have headed to docks, preferring docks with cover below. The cover could be some type of brush like a Christmas tree that has been placed below the dock by the owner or even a piece of deck furniture blown off the dock. Crappie relate to structure, and need cover. That’s their living room. Your Lowrance side scan imagery can be very helpful in locating cover under the docks, as well as fish in the cover. Hopefully that can eliminate docks that are less likely to produce results. Covered docks, docks with pontoon boats, and docks with boat lifts are great targets. Always study the dock, looking for the darkest spots within. Fish those spots from different angles. The best way to get the bait to the fish in these conditions is to utilize the dock shooting technique. Your preferred jigs are 1/24 or 1/16 ounce jig heads with a 2 inch Bobby Garland soft body baby shad. The colors that worked well for us today were Electric Chicken, Blue Ghost, and one of my favorites, Twilight. These jigs skip on top of the water well, which will assist in getting the bait to your target. If you prefer live bait, a 10 foot or even a 12 foot pole will help you place the minnow as close as possible to the area you are trying to target. This can be awkward, but is a good method to produce results with live bait. Channel docks in 15 to 30 foot depths are good targets. We had the lake to ourselves today, and it was a crisp but pleasant morning.

    Stay safe on the water – wear your life jacket!

    Another reminder: if you are on the water in cold weather, it is even more important to wear your life jacket, as a fall can be serious with the threat of hypothermia. Be safe on the water, bundle up and enjoy fishing during the lower traffic winter months.

    Ask for a free sonar set up sheet by sending me an email to ken@southernfishing.com. Please tell me what model machine you have.

    We recommend Overboard Designs for 2956 Waterworks Road Buford, Georgia 30518 Phone 678.714.7122.

    Advantage Boat Center in Cumming Georgia offer sales, service and storage close to Lake Lanier. 678 771 8745. Ask for Myra.

    We recommend Transducer Shield and Savers. Protect your investment.

    We have the LOWRANCE Gen 3 Touch and the game changing technology in the NEW 3D Lowrance Technology on our boat. Bring any HDS machine only to Lake Lanier and learn it ALL in one day. Call Ken for details. See our Southern Fishing Schools page for the latest screen shots of the LOWRANCE 3D technology. See bass over a ladder in 10 feet of water, 168 feet from my boat. www.lowrance.com.

    Anglers have these books for sale BASS FISHING ON WEST POINT LAKE, BASS FISHING LAKE RUSSELL, BASS FISHING WEST POINT LAKE and BASS FISHING LAKE HARTWELL. These books have lots of bass fishing and covers every week of the year. Each book $39.00. If you would like a sample of any book send us an e mail to ken@southernfishing.com.

    We offer these waypoints for sale. You get the coordinates and you load them into your GPS unit for
    Lake Allatoona for $99.00 Lake Lanier for $99.00 Lake Oconee for $99.00 Lake Weiss for $99.00 Lake Hartwell for $99.00 WAYPOINTS ARE NOT REFUNDABLE

    Saturday, March 25, 2017 2pm at Bass Pro Shops in Lawrenceville, learn BASICS OF ELECTRONICS BY LOWRANCE PRO STAFF, KEN STURDIVANT
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