LAKE LANIER IS DOWN 5.4 FEET, THE CREEKS ARE STAINED AND THE MAIN LAKE IS CLEAR & 60’s


The lake conditions have remained much the same since my last report. The surface temp has dropped by 1 degree and the lake has dropped .1 feet. The areas around Browns Bridge and above are continuing to show signs of turnover. The lower lake from about 6 mile north looks like it is starting to turn as well. The areas down around Bald Ridge Creek and Shoal Creek still look mostly clear in the main body and in the main river channels, however the creek arms are starting to show some stain. The fish are still spread out both in the mouths of the creeks and further back in as well. The schooling bite is minimal but still present in the backs of creek pockets around daylight and again in the afternoon. Try a jerk bait or a Sebile on the schooling fish. If the fish do school and are chasing smaller bait fish, or you are having a hard time getting the fish to commit to swimbait or jerk bait offerings, try a spy bait. Count it down and work it slowly. A Picasso ShakeDown Head with a finesse worm and a Chattahoochee jig are still good for some bites on clay and rock points as well as in the brush the spoon bite has again been very good over the last week. We are finding spoon fish out in 30 45 ft. at the mouths of ditches, as well as further back in some cases. The spoon bite has definitely been our dominant pattern this past 2 weeks and seems to be consistent every day in terms of its presence. The bite is always there, but some days it is better than others that's just fishing. If you want to learn the deep bite with a spoon, now is the time! Here is a list of my upcoming open dates in December: 4, 6, 8, 11, 13, 14, 15, 18, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 and 31.


This Lake Lanier Striper report is from Big Fish On guide Service. To book your guide trip call Captain Ken at 404 561 2564 or contact us on our web site. www.bigfishonguide.com

This report brought to you by: Jimbo Mathley Jimbo on Lanier www.jimboonlanier.com





Striper fishing is fair. Every day is a new day. One day you can find and catch fish and the next day the fish seemed to have disappeared and when you do find a few fish they will not bite. One day they only want small baits and the next day Herring is the ticket. We have been taking a variety of baits including medium shiners, blueback herring, medium gizzard shad and a few Trout. We are relying on our Lowrance HDS and the Sea Gulls to find the fish and this is when the Lowrance Structure Scan can pay huge dividends. If you are having trouble finding the fish pull a combination of free lines, planner boards and down rods in areas with a high concentration of bait fish. In addition, keep someone on the front deck casting a buck tail jig as you pull baits. Use split shots on the free lines and vary the distance behind the boat and planner boards to cover a wide area both horizontally and vertically in the water column. Vary the speed on your trolling motor from .7 to 1.0 MPH. The Sea Gulls can be used to locate feeding Stripers. The key is to keep your eyes on the water looking for Gulls feeding on bait fish pushed to the surface by feeding Stripers. Once you find schooling fish the Buck tail jig with a small fluke trailer and the Sebile Magic Swimmer have been the “go to bait”. Always deploy a free line Herring when you are casting for schooling fish. Look for the lake water temperature to continue to drop as the weather forecast is calling for a cold front with much colder temperatures this week. The water temperature is currently in the low 60’s. The water is lightly stained in the creeks and clear on the main lake. The lake is 5.49 feet below full pool. To book your guide trip call us at 404 561 2564 or contact us on our web site. www.bigfishonguide.com


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 upper 50’s and is dropping slowly. Some creeks have a slight stain and since we’ve not had rain lately, these areas can be a degree or two warmer. If you notice bait in these areas, there are most likely crappie clinging to the brush piles. Some schools of crappie are moving to more shallow brush piles, in the 10 foot depth range. Don’t confuse stand alone brush piles with blow downs, as that is more of a spring pattern. Some of the bigger fish are moving to docks in the middle to backs of creeks, and they are eager to bite. We’ve been using a variety of jigs, both soft body and hair jigs, in 1/24 and 1/16 ounce. Our conclusion is that the color does not matter right now. The bite should continue to be strong. There is plenty of bait out there, and the fish are still feeding on small threadfins, so pay attention to the bait in the creeks you are fishing. Live bait instead of jigs should also work well. If you like long line trolling, this is the time of the year that should produce. The backs of the creeks are ideal areas for that method, using your trolling motor at higher or variable speeds. Look for flat bottoms in those areas. Double up on the curly tail jigs with two per rod, each with 1/16 ounce jig heads. Use the short rods in the back of the boat and longer rods toward the front, with two foot differences in length. Your jigs should be running at about eight to ten feet below the surface. If you like to fish with live bait, a slip cork is a must if the fish are at eight to fifteen foot depths. Otherwise, a Carolina rig and egg sinkers with swivels on each side using the down line method with crappie minnows should also work.

Stay safe on the water and wear your life jacket!


We have all the details for our On the Water SONAR School on our web SCHOOLS page.


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.


We recommend Transducer Shield and Savers. Protect your investment.


We have the LOWRANCE CARBON and 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 270 703 613


The 2018 Atlanta Boat Show hits the Georgia World Congress Center January 15 through 18, 2018. Meet Ken Sturdivant, Al Bassett, Jimbo Mathley, Captain Mark Smith, Phil Johnson and more.