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


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


The lake level once again remains stable this week resting at .4 feet under full pool and the surface temps are around 60 degrees. 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. 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, as is a Ned rig. We have also found a good fluke bite this week, which is always a blast. A whacky rigged Senko has also been a player this week. Secondary points, 45 degree banks, docks, as well as grass filled pockets are all holding fish right now, and the aforementioned array of lures will catch them, along with others things I'm sure. 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. As I mentioned above, the docks are holding fish, which is traditional for Lanier in April. Check those docks back in creeks or pockets that are in 15 feet of water and less. 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, a ned rig, or a fluke are all good choices around the docks. Please get with me soon if you would like a trip this spring. Following is a list of my upcoming open dates for May: 16, 17, 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 fish are scattered lake wide and continue to move. We are catching singles and are marking very few schools. One day we are pulling baits on the banks and the next day we are pulling over open water. The only thing that is consistent is the bite is shallow using free lines and planner boards. We have not had any takers on down rods. The baits of choice continue to be blueback herring and medium shiners. 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 15 pound test fluorocarbon leader on all of our lines. Keep your trolling motor speed between 6 and 1.0 miles per hour. Also, keep someone on the front deck casting a 1/2 ounce buck tail jig with a fluke. 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 fishing report is from Dan Saknini, member of the Lanier Crappie Angler’s Club. See our club’s website, www.laniercrappieanglers.net


Lake Lanier is just below full pool, and the moon is waning. Three boats from our club went out on Tuesday. All fished in different parts of the lake and all reported great catches. The fish that we caught were on docks at 15 20 foot depths. The day was partly cloudy and wind was relatively calm. The water in the backs of creeks is moderately to heavily stain. Both the Chestatee and the Chattahoochee are performing equally well. Bobby Garland and Jiffy Jigs worked well. We saw plenty of bait, and marked lots of roaming fish. That means that long line trolling should be very effective, using 1/16 oz. jigs with curly tails. We feel that on most of the docks we fished that a crappie minnow would work just as well as jig. There was hardly any traffic on the water, but that will almost certainly change as the weather warms up. Helpful tip: do not use any line heavier than 4 lb. test, and nothing heavier than 1/24 or 1/32 oz. jig heads tied directly to the line (no swivels). It appears that the fish we caught had completed their spawn, as their bellies were not as fat as they were a month ago. We are checking our stand alone brush piles but have not found fish on them yet, so we are still concentrating on shooting docks. If you need to brush up on dock shooting techniques, check out last week’s report on our Club’s website. Fishing should continue to be strong for the next couple of months, so, call a friend, get out on the water, and enjoy fishing!


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