LAKE LANIER IS DOWN 2.7 FEET, THE CREEKS ARE STAINED AND THE MAIN LAKE IS CLEAR & 80’S

Bass fishing on Lake Lanier has been good this past week. The US Army Corp of Engineers continues to pull water through the week and therefore the lake levels are continuing to drop. The fish are becoming more and more active as we progress into June. The early morning bite for spots and stripers has been good with a variety of baits to include a swimbait and a topwater such as a Sebile or a Chug Bug and a Gun Fish. We have been working humps and points with access to deep water. Fish are typically around areas with brush, but not always. The early morning bite has been mainly a schooling bite. Catching these fish, which are often big ones, requires a precise cast to the area of activity. Set up your rigs to make long casts to be ready for these situations. After the morning schooling bite, we have had good success running and gunning brush piles around the lake with topwater baits such as a chug bug and a Vixen, as well as with a SuperSpin. Work the topwater baits over the brush and expect a response from any active fish within the first few casts. If you get no response on top, switch to a SuperSpin and swim the bait around and over the brush. When the moving bait bite slows down, switch to a worm on a 3/16 ounce Davis Shaky Head and work it slow. A Chattahoochee jig has continued to perform well also. Experiment with these different baits to figure out which the fish prefer that day. Focus on main lake rocky points and on secondary points as well, and remember sometimes the fish are relating specifically to the brush, so make sure to work the brush thoroughly as well. I only have a two days left open in June, so be sure not to miss out on the fun! I am completely booked in June, but I do have the following dates open in July: 5, 7, and 10(AM), 11, 12, 13, and 20(AM), 30(AM). Give me a call and let's go fishing! Thanks to all and May God Bless.

This report brought to you by Jimbo on Lanier 770 542 7764 www.jimboonlanier.com

This Lake Lanier Striper report is from Captain Ken West and Captain Mike Maddalena of www.bigfishonguide.com

Striper fishing is good but you have to keep moving. The water temperature continues to climb and of the Northern fish are headed to the South end of the Lake. Look for the deep water fishing to materialize of the next several weeks. However, for now we are stuck on a shallow 25 to 40 foot range. It is not uncommon to find a school of fish, catch one and have the rest scatter. When this happens pick up and move as the fish are probably nowhere to be found in the immediate area. Move to another area structurally like the one you just left. Bait, top water and Umbrella rigs are all working. Your best bet for bait is Blueback Herring on down rods and a weighted free line early. Top water is slowing but I have had some reports of some Stripers busting bait fish before sun rise. Once the sun gets up around midmorning we have been switching to Umbrella rigs to get a reaction bite. We have caught fish using Umbrella rigs on points, reef markers, under water humps and pulling down main lake banks. The key has been to focus on a 25 to 40 foot bottom. We use a 4 arm 3oz frame with 9 one ounce bucktail jigs with 4 inch shad bodies. We deploy one rig with white shad bodies and one with chartreuse. Some days the Stripers only want Chartreuse, some days only white and some days it doesn’t make any difference. We pull at 50 to 75 feet back and a speed of 2.8 to 3.2 MPH. Look for the bait bite to extend all day and the top water bite to end as the temperature rises and the fish move into deeper water. Main lake and creek mouths from Browns Bridge to the Dam is your best bet. The water temperature is in the low 80’s and the lake is 2.2 feet below full pool.

This Lake Lanier Crappie report is from Dan Saknini, member of the Lanier Crappie Angler’s Club. See our club’s website, www. laniercrappieanglers.com

Water temperature is in the low 80’s early in the morning, but quickly rises to above the mid 80’s by noon, and crappie fishing remains good. You may ask, “How significant is water temperature?” When we report a water temperature, it references the surface temperature. Fish make the necessary adjustments and move to deeper water where the temperature change is significant. Some fish move into natural timber, and some move to deeper brush piles, both those around docks or stand alone brush piles. So, if you are fishing a private pond or reservoir that holds crappie, you will obviously fish the deepest part of the water. On Lake Lanier, you simply move to deeper brush piles. The crappie are currently holding on brush piles in 25 to 30 foot depths. The challenge that you will have at these depths is to feel the bite. The deeper they are, the less noticeable the bite will be. This is the reason high visibility line is important. I have switched to 2 pound test high visibility line. Both soft body and hair jigs are working equally well, and chartreuse color is producing best. One sixteenth ounce jig head is recommended to get your jig to the depth needed. Helpful tip: if you don’t get hung occasionally, you are not getting deep enough. Your Lowrance Down Scan is a must. Early morning until about 10:00 am is the best bite. However if you want to beat the heat, night fishing is good under bridges, with live bait recommended. Typically, the higher temperatures we are experiencing will slow down the bite significantly. However, to my surprise, yesterday’s fishing trip proved that assumption wrong! We are posting new pictures on our website of our trip yesterday, which was above average for any time of the year, much more so in 95 degree weather! At our club meeting this month (June 30th), we will be discussing night fishing patterns. Come check us out! We meet at Hammond’s Fishing Center in Cumming at 6:00 pm. Hope to see you then! Be safe on the water as the lake continues to be crowded; wear your life jacket, it can save your life!

We recommend Overboard Designs for 2956 Waterworks Road Buford, Georgia 30518 Phone: 678.714.7122.

We have the LOWRANCE Gen 3 Touch and 3D NEW Lowrance Technology on our boat. Bring any HDS machine only to Lake Lanier and learn it ALL in one day. Call Ken for details.

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

Saturday, June 25, 2016 2pm at Bass Pro Shops in Lawrenceville, learn SONAR! LOWRANCE PRO STAFF, KEN STURDIVANT

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