LAKE LANIER IS FULL, THE CREEKS ARE STAINED AND THE MAIN LAKE IS CLEAR THE RIVERS AND UP LAKE COVES ARE MUDDY TO HEAVILY STAINED. 50’S DOWN LAKE AND 60’S UP LAKE. WATCH FOR FLOATING DEBRIS LAKE WIDE.


The lake level remains fairly stable resting at .1 feet under full pool and around 50 degree surface temperature. We have seen a slight increase in lake level and a slight decrease in temperature over the past week. As a repeat from last week's report, I have heard recently from DNR officers that the Corp of Engineers plans to keep the lake up and fairly steady through the spawn, which is excellent news. I hope this is truly the case, as it will lend to a solid bass and baitfish spawn all good things for our lake. The backs of the major creeks are still stained, and the main lake below Brown's Bridge is still clear. The waters above Brown's Bridge are more stained in the main river areas than the lower lake, and the further you go north, the heavier the stain. While the cold has knocked them back somewhat, they are still biting. Many options to catch fish still exist and you can pretty much chose your approach, although one will work better than another on any given day. A Picasso Shake down head and worm combo is hard to beat right now for bites, and on some days, big ones. SPRO crankbaits like a Rock Crawler or a Castaway Baits 15 shad crank and jerk baits like a McStick along with double willow spinnerbaits have all been working well. And that Keitech on a jig head is still working well when slow reeled on the bottom of the aforementioned points. The location and technique for the best bite does seem to vary each day, and sometimes dramatically. So stay flexible in your approach there are some early spring techniques working out in deeper water, but we have remained focused on the pre spawn activity in shallower water (1 to 20 feet). Try one type of area or technique, and if that is not working, move on. We are working shallow, flat points, both rock and clay, both in pockets as well as on the main lake. The steeper stuff has held some fish too, and can be a good choice given the recent cold fronts. Also the longer running points are starting to hold fish as well check the reef poles and shoal markers on those warmer days. On the cooler days, make sure to look out at the very ends of these places in deeper water. Creeks and main lake are both producing, and as usual, focus more on the main lake or mouths of creeks for the bigger fish, and back in the creeks for numbers, but you are apt to catch a big fish anywhere right now. That's what makes this time of year so much fun! As usual for this time of year, the docks are also holding fish. Check those docks back in creeks or pockets that are in 20 feet of water and less. With the cold fronts, check some of those in deeper water as well, as these can be productive for those fish just moving up or ones that have pulled back due to the colder conditions of late. Look at the last 2 or 3 docks in any creek arm or pocket for those largemouth. Look for the fish to be under the docks when the sun is up, and more just around the docks in low light or clouds. A Picasso Shake Down head and worm combo or a Spro jerk bait and an Ito Vision 110 are good options around the docks.

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




Spring is here, the bite is on, and I am filling up fast. Please get with me soon if you would like a trip this spring. Following is a list of my upcoming open dates for spring: May: 1, 2, 7, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 22, 23, 30, and 31. Give me a call and come enjoy some outstanding Spring Fishing on Lake Lanier!


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


Striper fishing is fair. The wind and the rain has kept us off the water most of this week. The good news the forecast is for warmer temperatures which will fire up the Stripers. The Stripers will be looking to pack on the weight in preparation for the spawn. The bite this past week has favored the smaller medium Shiners but look for the larger Herring to replace the Shiners as the preferred baits. Fish free lines and planner boards shallow with the bank side planner board set at 20 feet behind the board, free lines at 70 to 100 feet behind the boat and the deep water boards at 50 to 80 feet behind the boards. Use split shots on some of the lines to ensure depth coverage. We are using a 5 foot 15lb. test fluorocarbon leader on all of our lines. Keep your trolling motor speed between .6 and 1.0 miles per hour. Expect the bite to slow when the sun gets up on those blue bird sky days, move to deeper water, slow your presentation and deploy a couple of down rods in addition to you free lines. Also, keep someone on the front deck casting a Captain Mack's 1/2 ounce buck tail jig with a fluke. Not all the fish will move to the back of the creeks and rivers. The open water bite has lasted through out the spring for the past couple of years. We caught a couple of Stripers with the Umbrella rigs last week pulling at 3.0MPH over deep open water at 100 feet back. The South end of the lake continues to out fish the North end but look for that to change as the water warms. The water is clear on the main lake and stained in the back of the creeks. The lake level is at full pool. To book your guide trip call us at 404 561 2564 of contact us on our web site at 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


The water temperature is in the mid 50’s. Fishing is good to excellent until the wind blows us off the lake! Most days are calmer in the morning, so we get out early but pack our gear and head to the boat ramp when the wind picks up. Some fish have already moved back to shallow water (five foot depths). Our advice though, is to not get locked into any specific pattern, experiment with different depths. The weather is dictating changes in the water temps, thus affecting the movement of the fish. They are still feeding well, once you get on them. If you feel it is helpful to use your side scan, that’s always an option. But our preference is generally to sneak up on a dock that usually performs well, and start shooting jigs into the darkest areas. It will only take a few minutes to determine if fish are present. If we don’t get a bite in the first few minutes, we move on. Hair jigs and soft body jigs are performing equally well. Anything with chartreuse is a good color to use. Crappie minnows are always a good alternative. Long line trolling using curly tails are also producing well, single or double rigged. Always experiment with colors you never know what they may be hitting most that day. March is a windy month, but if you can work around it, you can have a great day fishing!
Stay safe on the water and wear your life jacket!


Ken Sturdivant will be hosting FREE! Fishing seminars at 4 Forsyth County Library Branch’s. These seminars will cover Bass fishing, Striper fishing, Crappie fishing and SONAR. These are the dates and times. Registration will be open soon. Events at Cumming Library Branch Cumming 585 Dahlonega Street, Cumming, GA 30040 Session 1 Tuesday, June 12 at 7pm Bass Session 2 Tuesday, July 10 at 7pm STRIPERS! Location is Sharon Forks Branch Sharon Forks 2820 Old Atlanta Road, Cumming, GA 30041 Session 3 Sunday, June 24 at 2pm Crappie Session 4 Sunday, July 22 at 2pm SONAR! Location is Hampton Park Branch Hampton Park 5345 Settingdown Road, Cumming, GA 30041 Session 5 Saturday, June 16 at 2pm Crappie Session 6 Saturday, July 7 at 2pm SONAR! Location is Post Road Branch Post Road 5010 Post Road, Cumming, GA 30040
Session 7 Saturday, June 2 at 2pm BASS Session 8 Saturday, July 14 at 2pm STRIPERS!


LOWRANCE TIPS: New software for the Lowrance Elite Ti, Gen 3 and CARBONS is now on the web site. This software will add the new FISH REVEAL feature on the DOWN SCAN. There will new STRUCTURE SCAN palettes available too. There is also a new software for Lowrance 3D STRUCTURE SCAN AND DOWN SCAN technology. All this software is free.

Now is the best time of the year to run into deeper creeks and coves and use the Lowrance Structure Scan technology to scan an area. This technology “sees” the bait, the fish and the structure as far out as 250 feet away. Set the DOWN SCAN on the red palettes and the SIDE SCAN on the blue palettes. DOWN SCAN in AUTO DEPTH. STRUCTURE SCAN at 5 times the water depth. Learn this and more on out ON THE WATER ELECTRONICS in one day. 770 889 2654.


We have all the details for our On the Water SONAR School on our web SCHOOLS page. 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 158 feet from my boat. www.lowrance.com


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 recommend Spider Diapers for your protecting your boat in your dock.
www.shadetreefabrics.com 800 972 8057


We 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