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DEL.ICIO.USHot Spots: Getting down for Lanier stripers
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Lake Lanier guide Doug Youngblood says striper fishing on the big lake northeast of Atlanta is as good as it gets.
“And that’s not an exaggeration,” he said.
Because of the the hot fishing, Youngblood says he has stayed booked, with two client trips planned most days.
The striper fishing should remain hot through September, he says.
Updated fishing reports as of July 18:
LAKE LANIER
Water temp: 84
Stripers: Downlining is the way to go for the stripers, according to Youngblood. Straight down 40 to 70 feet. If you mark fish on your sonar, stop and drop.
Use a 2-ounce sinker, with a No. 2 circle hook bait with live herring. Spool your reel with 20-pound test, and tie on a 7-foot leader of 15-pound flourocarbon.
Look south of Brown’s Bridge. The fish will continue migrating south as the summer continues. If you troll, use lead core line with 1-ounce bucktails.
Bass: Spots are still hitting topwaters, but that won’t last long. Try topwaters early, then move out to brushpiles in 20-22 feet, Youngblood says.
LAKE ALLATOONA
Water Temp: 85
Stripers/Hybrids: Allatoona guide Robert Eidson (First Bite Guide Service) says lineside fishing remains “great,” much like it was last week.
Fishing Tuesday with client Fred Womack and his two grandsons, Eidson reports the group caught 33 fish, most of them big hybrids and a few stripers in the 10-pound range.
The best bite going right now is south of Bartow Carver. The mouth of all the southend creeks are holding big schools of hybrids. There is a very good bite at the dam right at sun up as well.
These fish can be caught on flat lines and topwater plugs for the first 30 minutes of sun-up. After that the downline bite really picks up. Look for these fish to be out over open water and at depths of 20 to 50 feet.
Shiners, shad and bream are all working well for these schooling fish. If live bait isn’t your thing, try the umbrella rigs. The umbrella rig bite is really getting good right now. Pull your rigs at 3.1 mph 130 feet behind the boat
White bass: Fishing is great in the evening in the Harbortown Marina area. Throw a roostertail.
CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVER
Trout: The Georgia DNR stocked 8,000 rainbows on the upper part of the tailwater this past week, and it’s been noticed.
Guide Rob Smith at the Fish Hawk in Atlanta says numbers of fish caught and released have been high. Two of the best flies have been blue lightning bugs and zebra midges, both fished under strike indicators.
Shoal bass: Below Morgan Falls Dam, shoal bass fishing is strong as long as the water is pretty clear, Smith says. Use a super fluke junior.
Stripers: Striper fishing also is strong below Morgan Falls. Use a Shadalicious, a paddle-tailed soft plastic bait made by Strike King, Smith said. The bait uses special weighted hooks. “Throw it out and reel it in,” he said. “It’s very, very simple. You will catch fish.”
If you have a tip or report, please share.
Comments
By David P.
July 18, 2008 6:52 PM | Link to this
How come stripers are surfacing at other lakes during this time of year but don’t appear to be doing anything on top at Lanier and Allatoona?
From an outsider …
By Ken Sturdivant
July 18, 2008 7:59 PM | Link to this
For more details on the large Georgia lake reports, go to www.havefunfishing.com. Reports are updated every Friday by local guide and outfitters.
Let us know what you want or need here on Scotts blog.
For top water stripers: Our water temperatures on Lanier and Allatoona (mid 80’s) are high and stripers HATE hot water. But, according to Captain Chuck Biggers, there IS a top water bite if you keep moving around on Lanier. On Allatoona, Robert Edison says there is a good very early morning top water bite on Allatoona. Call our guides and ASK!!!! They are all willing to help.
Ken Sturdivant
By Bubba J. Jakewoeicski
July 24, 2008 4:47 PM | Link to this
Sorry in advance for the randomness, but I swear this is true.
About 25 years ago I was talking to a Lanier fishing guide and I could see through the tinted window into the next room a really big, healthy looking bush. When I glanced at it, something in the back of my mind clicked, but I didn’t really focus on it.
After I left it hit me – giant pot plant. So, I can never think of striper fishing at Lanier without remembering that guide.
By Bud Wiser
July 25, 2008 6:29 AM | Link to this
What was the rationale for the ceasing of stocking hybrids in West Point Lake? Was it a money thing?
Also, do you think that will help their budding striper population in the long run? I know how stripers do not like warm water, and West Point being further south than Lanier, it certainly cannot help the situation.
By jim w harrison
August 28, 2008 9:27 AM | Link to this
Four fall fishing try casting spoons. The schooling activity starts by labor day and continues until thanksgiving. A suggestion is to use light spinning tackle. Four pound mono will cast even a one third ounce little cleo a long way in the lake. Let the spoon dead fall for a few seconds and then pump retrieve it back to the shore or boat. If blue back herring are the favorite, use blue/silver colors on the top of the spoon