LAKE LANIER IS DOWN 8.5 FEET, THE CREEKS ARE STAINED AND THE MAIN LAKE IS CLEAR & 70’s

The lake has really stabilized in the last week. There is still some stain in the lower lake creeks, but the main lake is mostly clear. More of the spots have started to spawn as well, but we are still mainly dealing with pre spawn spotted bass. This could change dramatically in the next few days with all the warm weather we have been enjoying recently. With all that said, the fishing has been very good the last week! We have been doing well on numbers and quality every day. This is a great time to go fishing! There are a number of patterns working right now, and you can pretty much catch fish any way you wish. We are still focused on main and secondary clay/rock points, shallow shoals around the banks and islands, as well as sandy pockets in 12 feet of water or less for the majority of this past week. A finesse worm or a Senko on a Picasso Shakedown Head has continued to produce consistently. However, a Megabass jerk bait has also picked up some very nice fish in these same areas. Look also for the shallower brush on points and in pockets through the day as well, as we have been finding some fish staging around this brush which is often now just under the surface a couple of feet with the low water conditions. A new swimbait called the Sweet Herring from the Sweet Bait Company has worked very well on some days in these areas also. The Sweet Herring swimbait has also been good on the windblown rocky points and banks. A Castaway Baits Crankbait (Jim Farmer) has also been working mainly on shallow rocky points. As the sun gets up, check the shallow docks in ditches and pockets for activity. Docks are always as good bet this time of year. If you want a bite, fish a dock. They will not always be good ones, but you will get a bite! A fluke has been a strong producer this week on these docks as well as on points, and of course, the shaky head. We are starting to get a top water bite in the AM. A Vixen and a wake bait are starting to produce for us almost every morning. A Sebile swimbait has also been good in the early morning hours. This is always a fun bite and should continue to get stronger as we move forward through the spring this is just starting. This is an AWESOME time to fish!!

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

Here are the dates I have open now through May: April: 24, 26, 27 May: 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19, and 20(AM), 23(AM), 31 Give me a call and let’s get out and have some fun.

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.bigfishon.com

Striper fishing is good. Blueback herring was the most productive bait again this week. We use Gamakatsu octopus hooks size 1/0 or #1 depending on the size of the Herring. Planner boards fished 70 to 100 feet behind the boards are working better than free lines behind the boat or down rods. We are not sure why boards are working better than lines behind the boat but my guess is the fish are boat shy and move out away from the boat as we pass over them. In addition to Blueback Herring you may also want to pick up a couple of gizzard shad and float them on a balloon 130 feet behind the boat or pull them shallow on a planner board. Target creek points and flats with herring or gizzard shad. There are still some fish in the river channel from Flat Creek to Little River. Always keep someone on the front deck casting a ½ ounce buck tail jig with a small Zoom fluke trailer. The Red Fin is also a good choice for casting while you are pulling baits. The umbrella rig will get you a reaction bite in late morning and afternoon when pulled at 3.0 mph. We use 1 ounce buck tail jigs on a 3 ounce 4 arm frame. Pearl or chartreuse worms or chad bodies are the preferred trailers. Get out your Red Fin, Chug Bugs and Spooks and have them ready for deployment. Spend some time early casting these top water baits as the bite should “kick in” over the next several weeks. Mid Lake from Port Royal to Little River was more productive than the South end of the Lake last week. We have also had some reports of fish showing up in the Chestatee and Chattahoochee. The lake is 8.5 feet below full pool and the water is lightly stained on the main lake and heavily stained in the back of the creeks. The water temperature is in the mid 60’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 temperature is in the low 70 degrees and rising. I suspect that the majority of the crappie have spawned. However, there are a few big fish being caught in docks that are at 10 feet depths or less, which indicates a few have not completed their spawn. One good thing about fishing the post spawn is that most of the fish have headed back to their original habitats. You can catch them on stand alone submerged brush piles in 15 foot depths or less, but your best bet is to target docks with structure also at 15 feet depths or less. The morning bite has been the strongest. These fish tend to be the bigger fish. If size does not matter to you, docks with structure, brush piles and blow downs in 5 to10 foot depths can produce numbers, but mostly smaller fish. The fish in more shallow water (especially those in blow downs) tend to darken in color and are mostly male. Keep in mind that the majority of the crappie in Lake Lanier are the black crappie species which change color throughout the year, depending on their depth and water temperature. Fishing is good to excellent, and the fish are willing to bite live minnows, hair jigs, and soft body jigs. If you are fishing the deeper brush piles, use 1/16 ounce jig heads, especially on a windy day. When we fish deeper blow downs, we also double rig with 1/24 ounce jig heads. The trolling bite is good in the early morning and late afternoon/early evening, whether long line trolling with 2 curly tail jigs or tight line trolling with crappie minnows and a 3/8 ounce double swivel sinker in a Carolina rig. Take advantage of the good fishing and great weather and enjoy the lake before it gets too hot and too crowded.

Stay safe on the water, wear your life jacket!

On April 29, 2017 in Blue Ridge Georgia, the Blue Ridge Trout Festival & Outdoor Adventures 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 3pm.

Saturday, May 27, 2017 2pm at Bass Pro Shops in Lawrenceville, learn BASICS OF ELECTRONICS BY LOWRANCE PRO STAFF, KEN STURDIVANT

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.

The 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

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