LAKE LANIER IS DOWN 10 FEET, THE CREEKS ARE STAINED AND THE MAIN LAKE IS CLEAR & 50’s


Bass fishing is good. The ditch bite is on. If you have been waiting to book your trip to learn the ditch bite, now is the time. We have found some ditches really starting to hold fish, and we are catching them using the traditional ditch fishing methods like the SuperSpin, jerkbait, crankbait, jig and shaky head. The water is cooling and the bait has moved back shallow in these ditches early and then migrating out deeper in the ditches as the day progresses. We are starting in these ditches first thing and riding out the bite through the day. Some days we adjust to much deeper water, others, we are finding the fish are staying shallow in and around those ditches as well as up around docks. We are starting with a SuperSpin tipped with a boot tail type trailer right in the ditch. Also, a Spro McStick or McRip has been a good choice as far as jerk baits go. A Spro crankbait is never a bad choice either. A finesse worm on a Picasso Shaky Football Head or a Chattahoochee Jig has been a good alternative if the fish are not as aggressive. We have started to spoon up some fish out of the timber or near the timber in creek arms and ditches in 30 to 40 feet. Use your Lowrance Down Scan technology to check for bait and fish out deeper in the ditches as the day progresses. If you see fish out deeper, a spoon, jig, or shaky head can be a great way to catch them, depending on how they are positioned. I am now guiding in a Brand New Xpress Bass Boat 21’3″ powered by a 250 Yamaha SHO and equipped with the latest Lowrance HDS Gen III units featuring 3D Structure Scan technology. Come take a ride in this beauty. The ditch bite is here! If you are looking to learn this valuable technique, make sure to schedule a day with me this month!

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 404 561 2564. Contact us on our web site. www.bigfishonguide.com

Striper fishing is good. The Lake temperature continues to drop and we are getting some much needed rain. That’s the good news because the fishing has improved. The bad news is the temperature drop, wind and rain has made it tough on the fisherman. The fish and the bait are moving into the creeks and the stripers are following the bait. Trolling with blueback herring is your best technique. Set your free lines back 70 to 100 feet with a Herring or Trout and pull at .5 to 1.0 mile per hour. Use split shots on your free lines and planner boards to cover various depths. You should also very your distance behind the boat and planner boards to ensure a good coverage of the water column. Start by setting your bank side board at 15 to 20 feet behind your board and the inside boards at 40 to 50 feet behind the boards. Always hang a couple of down rods over the side when you are pulling baits. In addition, put someone on the front deck throwing a buck tail jig and you may pick up an extra fish or two. Sea gulls have arrived. These birds can be valuable tools for striper fishermen and we will discuss some of the ways to use these tools in our next fishing report. There are fish in all of the creeks from the mouth to half way back in the creeks. The lake temperature has fallen to the mid 50’s and the water is heavily stained in the back of the creeks and lightly stained on the main lake.

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

Water temperature is hovering in the mid 50’s. Over the next several days, night temps will drop below freezing. With temperatures like this, we should see a significant drop in water temperatures. This sudden drop will slow the bite down, but crappie like cold water, and they will adjust in a day or two. Your best bet will be fishing brush piles in twenty five feet of water. Cooler water temps mean the crappie hold tighter to the brush piles, Make sure you fish the brush from different angles, and if that doesn’t trigger a bite, try positioning the boat directly above the brush pile and jig vertically. As you approach, make sure you set your trolling motor speed on the lowest setting to avoid spooking the fish. Crappie minnows should work as well as jigs. If you are a dock shooter, you will most likely catch the bigger fish in this manner at twenty to thirty foot depths. Shooting docks can be challenging this time of year with the falling leaves. Depending on the wind, leaves can get trapped between floating docks and boats, making it difficult for the jig to fall through. When it does, get through, it can be rewarding. The fish need to fatten up for the winter, so they should be biting well after adjusting to the colder water temperatures. Be safe on the water and wear your life jacket, it can save your life! See you on the water!

The Atlanta Boat Show is coming to the Georgia World Congress center January 12 thru 15, 2017. Meet Bass guide Phil Johnson, www.PJsFishing.com.

SONAR TIPS: SURFACE CLARITY: This is the “Clutter” anglers see on the top of the screens. This is algae and plankton as well as wave action floating on the surface. Leave off, press enter. Ask for a free sonar set up sheet by sending me an email to [email protected]. Please tell me what model machine you have.

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

Advantage Boat Center in Cumming Georgia offer sales, service and storage close to Lake Lanier. 678 771 8745. Ask for Myra.

We recommend Transducer Shield and Savers. Protect your investment.

We have the 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.

Ask for a free sonar set up sheet by sending me an email to [email protected] Please tell us what machines you are using.

Anglers we have these books for sale BASS FISHIN LAKE LANIER, BASS FISHING 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 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

Saturday, December 17, 2016 2pm at Bass Pro Shops in Lawrenceville, learn BASICS OF ELECTRONICS BY LOWRANCE PRO STAFF, KEN STURDIVANT

The Atlanta Boat Show is coming to the Georgia World Congress center January 12 thru 15, 2017. Meet Lowrance Pro Staffers, Tom Branch Jr, Captain Mark Smith, Al Bassett and Ken Sturdivant.

Our “On the Water” SONAR SCHOOL lasts all day. Call for rates and dates. Bring your machine or your boat. Use my HDS or HOOK machines. Bring some food, it is an all day school. Meet on the south end of Lake Lanier. Learn how to make Screen Shots. All about Transducers and Sonar frequencies. CHIRP! What do fish look like on SONAR and Structure Scan and Down Scan, What are those lines? Learn Structure Scan and Down Scan, See the NEW LOWRANCE 3D technology, How to use mapping technology. How to FIND THE FISH! How to use the Fish and Game Forecaster to use the Right Lure at the Right Time. All about GPS and Trail. How to load waypoints and go find a sunk boat. How to set up any machine. See man made structure, old road beds, old stump rows and a sunk house foundation, See on whole tree under water full of fish. Learn all this in ONE day! Our mailing address is Southern Fishing Schools Inc. 106 Hickory Ridge Cumming Georgia 30040. 770 889 2654