LAKE LANIER IS UP 1.53 FEET, THE MAIN LAKE IS MOSTLY CLEAR AND THE CREEKS ARE SLIGHTLY STAINED AND & 82 DEGREES

This Lake Lanier Bass report is from Jimbo Mathley. www.jimboonlanier.com 770 642 7764

Bass fishing is fair. The fishing will change again for sure with the lake on the fast rise again, along with another reduction in water temperature and influx of fresh water and oxygen. Shockingly, the lake is on the rise again. Yes, that is sarcasm! The rain has again come this week in frog strangling force. Look for an even stronger presence of both bait and fish up shallow. Check flooded grass and blow downs in pockets and cuts on and around the main lake. Also, look for the backs of some of the major creeks to get good also. We see a presence of bait and fish in areas that represents an early fall pattern in some cases. Be flexible and stay on the move until you find a good bite. We expect the fishing to improve greatly as a result of the change. Before the rains, the fish were still willing to come up, but we were seeing more of a need to tweak the baits or presentation in terms of size, action, or color in order to get the fish to commit. In the mornings, we have been opting for a Spro crank bait over shallower points and humps on the main lake, sometimes with brush and sometimes not. This bite is particularly good when the wind is up in the mornings. Once the sun gets up good, the top water bite has been decent over the brush in the 20 to 30 feet range on both points and humps. A Chug Bug is still working pretty well. When you cannot get the fish to come up, go down to them with a Fish Head Spin, a Dude, a jig or a Davis shaky head worm. We have also been fishing the Wackem Sissies in Cotton Candy on a drop shot rig. In general, we are noticing the fish are keying on much smaller bait fish. You can often see the ones who have been in battle floating on the surface. If you see this and are having trouble catching fish, take the opportunity to downsize your offerings. I am booking for August and I have some dates next week, the week of August 12, 2013. Call Ken Sturdivant about the ON THE WATER SCHOOLS for Sonar or the Rods, Reels and Lures for Bass or a full day STRIPERS School. Call 770 889 2654 for details.

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

Striper fishing is fair. The fish continue to play "hide and seek". If you can find them you can have a great day but you can spend a lot of time graphing the lake from Browns Bridge to the Dam. If you find fish in an area one day do not hesitate to check the same area several times during the day. The fish have not settled into the typical summer time pattern. There are very few fish in the river channel and trolling with lead core line or umbrella rigs is not very productive. Live Herring on down rods is your best bet. There are fish being caught over a 40 to 120 foot bottom from mid way back in the south end creeks out to the river channel. These are the times when your Lowrance Structure Scan really pays for itself. If you see one or two fish go ahead and drop some Herring down to them. Set your down rods at 30 to 40 feet. However, do not hesitate to vary your down rod depth based on the water depth as a few fish are taking baits at 65 to 80 feet. The afternoon bite is a little better than the morning but the rain, storms and crowds have kept me fishing in the morning.