LAKE LANIER IS DOWN 3.8 FEET, CLEAR & LOW 80’S

Bass fishing is fair. At the mouths of creeks and on the main lake, fish can still be taken on a drop shot worm or minnow imitation. These fish are typically smaller and have started to move up in the water column as well as shallower in relation to the cover. The better fish seem to be shallower and positioned in cuts and on rocky secondary points near the mouth of creeks. A jerk bait or a lip less crank bait are the ticket to catch these fish. When you see schools of fish suspending in 10 to 15 feet of water on the Lowrance and then use these baits. Work the jerk baits with a series of short pauses. Use a lip less crankbaits and use a fast retrieve with intermittent pauses of 2 to 3 seconds which allows the bait to fall. Many strikes will come on the fall or at the beginning of the pause. When the fish are not as active and relating closer to the bottom, use the jig with a twin tail trailer or a Carolina rigged worm. Top water has been slow but watch the creek mouths and the secondary points. Buzz baits and prop baits can draw strikes consistently in these areas when the fish are active and up shallow.

This Striper fishing report is from Captain Ken West and Captain Mike Maddalena of Big Fish On! Service, 404 561 2564. www.bigfishon.com

Striper fishing is very good. Down rod fishing with Blueback Herring continues to be the primary technique. Rig your down rods with a 2 ounce weight and a 6 to 8 foot fluorocarbon 12 pound test leader attached with a swivel and a bead on the main line. Deploy 3 down rods and rig a 4^th rod with a 2 foot leader for power reeling or jig with the Ben Parker Spoon. Trolling with lead core line and umbrella rigs is also working. Set your lead core line 8 colors back with a 1 ounce buck tail jig and a 50 foot leader. Pull the umbrella rig at 3 MPH with a 3ounce jig frame and 9 one ounce buck tail jigs 150 feet back. Like the last several weeks, the fish are in deeper water in the creek mouths and off the river channel. Six Mile Creek, Four Mile Creek, Flowery Branch, Orr Creek, Big Creek and main lake deep water pockets are all good places to start your search. The newest technique this year is the Ben Parker 8 inch Spoon. It weights over 3 ounces and costs $23. Actually, we were using it last year but it has really caught on this year and the bait and tackle stores are having a hard time keeping it in stock. There are several different ways to fish this heavy spoon. You can apply the traditional jigging method by letting it fall and raising it using different water depths. You can use a cast and retrieve approach or you can drop it to the bottom and rip it up through the fish. Make sure you are keeping your eye on your electronics to ensure you are not dropping it into the trees which can get very expensive.

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

Crappie fishing is fair. The water temperature is in the low eighties and with cooler nights is inching lower. This means better fishing. If size does not matter, fishing is good right now. Expect this pattern to improve over the next several weeks. Find the fish with the Lowrance Structure Scan technology. The fish that are being caught are eight to nine inches long, and occasionally a larger one will nibble on your bait. The bite is very gentle, almost to the point that it is unnoticeable. So obviously, the fish are not being aggressive. For that reason, some of us have downsized to a two pound high visibility yellow “Vicious Fishing Panfish” line. I HIGHLY recommend it! The quality and the strength of the line is very impressive. Having said that, if you are a regular fisherman, make it a habit to replace your line once a month. This is an inexpensive fishing line, and worth the effort. The fish are holding tight on stand alone brush piles at twenty to twenty five foot depths. Your fishing line at some point will have contact with the brush pile, which is another reason that maintaining fresh line may save you from losing a few fish. A hair jig is my “go to” bait for fishing brush piles this time of year. The feathers seem to give it more presence, which catches the fish’s interest. One twenty fourth ounce is our go to jig. On a windy day, use the double rig method tying two jigs to your line about a foot apart or use a one sixteenth ounce if you prefer a single rig. When the bite is really subtle, an old seasoned fisherman’s trick is to use a closed faced Zebco 33 reel and while retrieving the jig, rest the line on the trigger finger of the hand holding the rod while applying slight pressure to the line with the thumb of the same hand. Make sure you are not interrupting the flow of the retrieve. This will help you feel the bite more effectively.

Ken Sturdivant, Lowrance Professional Fishing Staff will be conducting FREE! Sonar Seminar at Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World in Lawrenceville Georgia on Saturday September 26, 2015 at 2pm. Seminar is subject to change without notice.

Our On the Water Schools are Rods, Reels and Lures for Bass, SONAR and we have a Striper school. Learn how to use the Lowrance Structure Scan and Down Scan technology. Call 770 889 2654 or see the details on our web site for more info and dates.fo

For a free set up sheet for your sonar, send me an e mail to [email protected]

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 [email protected].

We offer these waypoints for sale. You get the coordinates and you load them into your GPS unit
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!

Our mailing address is Southern Fishing Schools Inc. 106 Hickory Ridge, Cumming Georgia 30040. 770 889 2654