• 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 9.9 FEET, THE CREEKS ARE STAINED AND THE MAIN LAKE IS CLEAR & 50’s

    Well it appears old man winter decided he wanted another crack at us this week. It has been blustery and cold this week and this will certainly change the fishing. Most of my trips this week have been postponed due to the extreme weather we have been experiencing. I would look more towards some very early pre spawn patterns out in deeper water to effectively fish this front. Look in the areas where you have been finding fish and follow the ditch or close drop out to deeper water. Look in and around likely holding areas like deeper brush piles, deeper docks as well standing timber in the 30 35 foot range. Also, with the cool down, you need to slow down. Work all of your baits slower and more deliberately, as well as more thoroughly. I believe the fish that have committed shallow for the spawn will stay in those general areas, they just may be much less active. The front will definitely negatively affect those fish that were close to spawning or fish that were just starting to move up. It is truly hard to say exactly what the prevailing pattern will be post front, but we will find out! I am including last week's information as well so you can reference the baits and areas we had been focusing on making your adjustments from here. We are starting back in ditches early and have found a good early morning schooling bite in some of these areas. Fish are very active for about the first 45 minutes of daylight. This bite is somewhat random, but contained within the ditch. The fish can be busting in 4 feet or over 40 feet when they are chasing the bait aggressively. After the schooling bite slows, focus on the key features you find shallow near the ditches as well such as clay and rock points. We are starting in ditches and staying in them through the day as well as working shallow pockets just off the main lake or main creek channels. Most days we are focusing in 15 feet of water or less. A Spro McStick or McRip has been a good choice as far as jerk baits go, in addition to a Megabass Vision 110. A Pearl White or Blue/White combo have been the best colors. A watermelon candy finesse worm on a Picasso Shakedown Head or a Chattahoochee Jig has been a good alternative if the fish are not as aggressive. Check the shallower brush through the day as well, as we have been finding some fish staging around this brush. As the sun gets up, check the shallow docks in ditches and pockets for activity. Work a jerkbait and a soft plastic swimbait beside these shallow docks, as well as a jig and worm. These fish are already starting to stage in preparation for the spawn. You will find spots and largemouth in these places. This pattern definitely works better when the sun is out as opposed to cloudy conditions. The clouds make the fish scatter and often bottom locked as well. While they still remain close to the dock, they are often not directly under the docks. The fishing is definitely more random under cloud cover. 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! This is a great time to learn the early spring bite on Lanier. They are up and moving! Here are the dates I have open in March: 20, 23, 27, 28, 29, and 30(PM) Give me a call and let’s get out and have some fun! Thanks to all and May God Bless.

    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 is good despite the winter weather. We spent more time watching the wind blow this week than fishing. The water temperature dropped to the lowest level of the year; under 50 degrees. The good news is the forecast is for warmer temperatures into the 70’s. Look for the bite to change from small baits (medium minnows) to larger Blueback Herring and from an open water bite to points and humps as the water temperature continues to increase. Also look for the down rod and Umbrella bite to increase. The Sea Gulls should stick around for the next couple of weeks before leaving for their summer home on the New Jersey shore. We have found them to be a critical tool in locating Stripers. The sea Gulls on Lake Lanier are: 1.) Checking out an area by flying in a search pattern. 2.) Feeding on bait fish pushed to the surface by Stripers or Spotted Bass or Loons. 3.) Resting on the water or small island; usually a reef marker. If they are circling an area they are searching for bait fish. Pay attention to these searching Gulls as they will search areas where they have had success recently. These areas often hold inactive Stripers and can be “marked” using your Lowrance HDS. A group of diving Gulls feeding on bait fish is what gets a Striper fisherman’s adrenaline flowing! Before putting out baits approach the area slowly and look for Loons. If you see Loons odds are they are feeding on baits pushed up by the Loons. However, you may want to give these situations a quick check because there may be both Loons and Stripers feeding on a school of bait fish. If you have diving Gulls without Loons you have found feeding fish! If you see a group of Gulls sitting on an island it is almost always a social event; pay them no mind. If you see a group sitting on the water it could be a social event or they could be waiting for the Stripers to start feeding. Give these areas a quick check with your Lowrance HDS. There are Stripers lake wide with the area from mid lake and South outperforming the North end. The lake is 10 feet below full pool and the water is clear on the main lake and slightly stained in the back of the creeks. The water temperature is in the high 40’s to 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

    March is definitely fickle! I was about to put away my warm clothes, but there you go! As usual, I checked in this week with my die hard fishing buddies to get some feedback, and everyone laughed! We do fish year round in cold weather, but this week the combination of the brutal winds and the cold weather kept everyone off the water. Light tackle does not agree with heavy wind. To satisfy my curiosity about the water temp, I did lower my boat off my dock and turn my electronics on to check it out. Not surprisingly, water temp was 53 degrees in the middle of the day, after a cold but sunny morning. All that being said, over the next few days as it warms up and the winds die down a little, fishing should pick back up where we left off before this front moved in. This time of year, target the shallower docks in 5 to 15 feet of water. The fish should be suspended about halfway between the surface and the lake bottom. If they begin biting, they will shallow up quickly. My guess is the spawn will begin as soon as the weather warms and will continue into the next moon phase. Target blowdowns in the back pockets and watch for schools of bait fish. Where there is bait, there are fish. My plan is to be out on the water before the end of the week. It is definitely going to pick back up!

    Stay safe on the water, wear your life jacket!

    On April 29, 2017 in Blue Ridge Georgia, the Blue Ridge Trout Fest will be there for their second year. Vendors, seminars and much more are planned. http://blueridgetroutfest.com/

    Ken Sturdivant, Lowrance Pro Staff will teach two Free SONAR classes at the Cabela’s in Greenville, South Carolina, Sunday April 30, 2017 at 10 am and again at noon.

    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

    Ultrex and Cable Guard protects external Transducer cable for remote control trolling motors. The cable guard will allow the transducer cable to turn kink free and the shaft can be raised or lowered without pinching the cable. No more messing with cable ties or black tape. For Factory Direct Pricing contact Precision Sonar at 270 703 6133
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