The Southern Fishing Report

By Ken Sturdivant

106 Hickory Ridge

770 889 2654

Cumming, Georgia 30040

www.havefunfishing.com



January 28, 2011



LAKE LANIER IS DOWN 2.9 FEET, THE CREEKS ARE SLIGHTLY STAINED AND THE MAIN LAKE IS CLEAR & 43.8 DEGREES.



Spotted bass fishing is slow lake wide and there are few anglers on the lake. This is winter time fishing and that means deep, small and slow. The fish are deep on and over natural structure mid lake. With all the bait dying, the fish do not have to move far to get a free meal. So mimic the bait that falls to the bottom with spoons, drop shot rigs and small worms on a lead head. This is when the Lowrance sonar and Down Scan technology is critical. You can watch the bait fall to the trees with this equipment and even better with the new DSI machines. This will allow anglers to see the fish in the trees. Depths to start with are 35 feet and work out 55 feet. The water temperatures are still very cold and the deep fish are over deep structure. The best locations will be on the main lake point’s rocky points up and down lake. Afternoons the fish are on or close to main lake points and in the natural or man made structure. Find the trees on the Lowrance and work the spoon right into the brush. The pilings on the bridge are never fished with a spoon. Try it and fish every one. The 1/4 ounce all brown jig and a small #101 Uncle Josh pork trailer will work almost all day. Spoons are working in the mouths of the lower lake creeks and depths are almost 40 feet in the center of the creek channels. Let the spoon go all the way to the bottom and work it up slowly. Most of the fish will be very inactive except on major or minor feeding periods so watch the Fish and Game Forecaster the rest of the month.



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



Striper fishing has been good all week even with the cold weather. Trolling umbrella rigs in the creeks and off points has been the key. Both the 3 and 4 arm versions are working using either a white or a chartreuse curl tail trailer. The umbrella rig will allow you to cover more water and produce more bites. Jigging spoons are also working well using a one ounce white and chrome Flex it. The south lake has been fair. The best bet is still going to be to hit the north side of the lake. Be sure to watch the sea gulls. Using live bait is working well, with herring being the better bet. Both down lines and free lines have been working this past week. Most of the fish are going to be between a wide range of depths anywhere from the surface to 35 feet deep with the majority between 20 and 30. Down line your bait just above the fish. Most of the surfacing activity has occurred in the mid to latter part of the afternoon. Just watch the birds and they will give it away.



January 28, 2011



WEST POINT LAKE IS DOWN 7.8 FEET, STAINED & 41 DEGREES BY CHRIS BELL



Bass fishing has been fair. Fish bit a little better this week with water color and warmer temperatures. We look for fishing to improve this week with expected warmer temperatures. Use small crankbaits on red clay and rock points near the main river channel. You will have to cover a lot of water but this will produce bigger fish. Stick with shad patterns such as a Rapala Shad Rap or Bomber 6A in threadfin shad. Our best secondary bite has been on humps and roadbeds in Wehadkee and Maple creeks. Our best bites have been on deep shaky heads, drop shot, and jigging spoons on humps and roadbeds. The fish are really lethargic right now so fish very slowly giving the bait only a little movement. On the drop shot rig, use a ¼ ounce bell sinker with a 18” difference between hook and lead. For hooks, use the number one Gamakatsu drop shot hook with a Z Man Rain Minnowz soft plastic in a mud minnow color. Letting the bait sit in offshore schools with no movement has worked best. If you enjoy throwing jigging spoons, they will produce fish in these same areas.



Hybrid and striper fishing is slow. We look for little change until we have warmer temperatures. The best bites have come from down lining live bait on humps and roadbeds on main lake. The best humps have been in Wehadkee and Maple Creeks.



Crappie fishing has been fair. There has been little change with the cooler temperatures. Crappie have pulled out even more with the lower winter water levels. Their depth ranges have not changed much ranging from twelve to fifteen feet. With the lower water levels you will need to fish the first break off of main channel going into pockets. These channel contours are anywhere from twelve to fifteen feet deep. Use pink and white or black and chartreuse jiffy jigs tipped with minnows in twelve to fifteen feet of water. Trolling patterns have seemed to work the best to locate fish. The best creeks have been White Water and Wilson creeks.



January 28, 2011



LAKE ALLATOONA IS 13.8 FEET, 38 DEGREES AND CLEAR



This Lake Allatoona BASS REPORT IS FROM Matt Driver of www.proanglerradio.com



Bass fishing is slow. Due to the major shad kill on Lake Allatoona, we would not recommend fishing till conditions improve. The water temperatures have dropped in many areas to the mid 30's and the threadfin shad are stunned and dying and are easy prey, so the predatory game fish have a virtual endless supply of food. We spent all day on the lake with no bites Saturday. The warmer days that are on the way this week fishing should get better by the following week. Sorry for the doom and gloom report but I'm just being honest.



This Lake Allatoona striper and hybrid fishing guides report has been brought to you exclusively by Robert Eidson of First Bite Guide Service, 770 827 6282. www.firstbiteguideservice.com Lake Allatoona, Georgia email: eidson6260@comcast.net



Linesides fishing is dead on Lake Allatoona. The shad kill is in full swing and you can not buy a bite on live bait, umbrella rigs or spoons. We will not sell another trip on Allatoona until the bite picks back up. We will be moving all of our trips to Carters until we see and improvement on Lake Allatoona. We plan to fish Allatoona at least twice a week on my days off just to keep in tune with what is going with the fishing on the lake. If you are heading out this weekend to do a little striper fishing with the kids, you may want to try Carters Lake or Lake Lanier.



January 28, 2011



LAKE HARTWELL IS DOWN 6.7 FEET, 45 DEGREES



Bass fishing is slow. The cold runoff played a major negative role on the bass. On the windy days, expect the fish to turn on once again on the main lake points. The DT10's and DT6's will be working on the points. The better points to fish are the one with the most structure on them and stay mid lake. This structure needs to be located in the three to five foot range. Once the sun shines on the rocks, mid day and later get out the small Shad Raps and Small Fat Free Shad crank baits and slow roll them on the points. Small shad and bait fish are moving up on the warmer days and the bass are following right behind. Spoons and drop shot rigs are fair.



January 28, 2011



LAKE RUSSELL IS DOWN 3.4 FEET, CLEAR, 46 DEGREES



Bass fishing is slow but expect it to improve over the weekend and into next week when and if the weather warm the shallows. Spots will be the key targets as they can handle the sold weather and deep water that the largemouth. The Bandit 300 or the Rapala DT6 will be a good baits on any wind blown points but make long casts and reel the baits back slowly. Also, try slow cranking the DT16 along the channel ledges and areas near the south end of the lake where you find small patches of stumps in 15 to 25 feet of water. If you see fish on you graph, make long casts and crank the DT16 over the top of these stumps real slow. Spotted bass are hanging in and around these stumps along with the largemouth and will attack a slow moving DT. Shad and silver are the best colors to use but also try the green tiger color.



January 28, 2011



CLARK HILL IS DOWN 6.9 FEET, STAINED & 45 DEGREES



Bass fishing is still slow and this is a shallow lake that can turn around in less than a week. Bass are on the main lake points where they will stay until mid morning. Then the bass will move out to look for some small forage. So keep your baits small like finesse worms and small crank baits. For the ledges and deeper water, use the number 7 and the number 5 is the one to use for throwing shallow. Carolina rigs can work and use a small finesse worms in sand and icicle in the deeper water up the lake near the Little River area. Rig this up on light line and a spinning rod. Work baits slowly and keep an eye on the Lowrance for any shad or fish under the boat. Now work the drop shot and the spoons. The Lowrance Structure Scan technology will help eliminate a lot of water fast.



January 28, 2011



LAKE SEMINOLE IS FULL, STAINED AND 55 DEGREES



Bass fishing is still fair and the surface water temps are running in the low to mid 55 degree range. The fishing at Lake Seminole is sporadic which is absolutely typical for this time of year. After a few warm days, the bass bite should really take of. Try either flipping mats with a large 1.5 ounce dark jig, rip a Rat L Trap through outside grass lines or pull Carolina rigs or the drop shot rig on the creek channel in Spring Creek. A small Senko in dark colors can work and use a tiny spilt shot 8 inches up the line to get the bait to fall a little faster. A spinning outfit works best with this technique and some Sufix Siege 10 pound line is a good choice with a Bass Pro Shops Extreme 6 and ½ foot medium rod.



January 28, 2011



LAKE GEORGE IS FULL, 51 DEGREES & CLEAR



Bass fishing is fair and when the water is up on the lake, no matter what time of year it is head to the bank and fish the grass. Find flooded grass and pick your weapon and try the spinnerbaits, small crankbaits like the Mann’s Baby Minus One, Rat-L-Traps and trick worms. Also try just swimming a jig with a big Zoom Ultra Vibe worm around the same areas. The Duck Blind area has been one of the best producers so get the baits and some heavy line and head to the grass areas. Stick with dark worms and jigs. Worms should be on a Texas rig and use Zoom’s u tail in red shad and all black on the bank structure. On the river use the 1/2 ounce Flex It spoon on 14 pound test Sufix Elite line. Use the Lowrance DSI to find the edges of the river bends and this where a lot of fish stack up in cold water.



January 28, 2011



LAKE WEISS IS DOWN 4.36 FEET, STAINED & 43 DEGREES BY MARK COLLINS GUIDE SERVICE


Bass fishing is slow and the fish are deep on the ledges on a winter pattern. Use a 3/8 or 1/4 ounce brown Stanley jig with a Zoom Chunk trailer in pumpkin seed color and work the bait slowly over the old river ledges down lake. Target the ledges in Little River and the main Coosa River. Fish slowly as the water is cold. The slower you fish the more bites you will get. Little River is fair for spots and they will bite a 4 inch Zoom Ring worm in pumpkinseed and fish the river channel ledges above JR's Marina. Try slow rolling a 1/4 or 3/8 ounce Strike king spinner bait with a double willow leaf blade, work it SLOWLY with a stop and go retrieve to imitate a dying shad, bouncing it down the rock ledge. A small 1/4 ounce jig in brown with a Zoom pumpkin seed chunk trailer worked slowly down the rock ledge is always a good winter time bait.


Crappie fishing is fair and the cold water slowed the bite but a warm up is on the way. There are some schools of crappie suspended 8 to 14 feet deep in Yellow Creek and Bay Springs. Spider trolling 1/16 ounce JR's jigs in red, black, chartreuse and red, blue, chartreuse will produce some good action. Watch for the suspended fish on your graph to see what depth they are holding, if you are seeing a lot of fish below 10 feet try a small split shot on your line to make your jigs go deeper. Cowan Creek is also producing some fish trolling on either side of the bridge. Little Spring Creek is also producing some good catches, Spider Trolling 1/32 ounce JR's jigs in 3 to 7 feet of water. The upper Coosa river is producing some fish in the old tree tops along the main river channel above Riverside Camp Ground using minnows under a slip float 4 to 10 feet deep.



January 28, 2011



LAKE OCONEE IS FULL, 45 DEGREES, STAINED TO MUDDY BY MARK SMITH



Bass fishing is slow. The best thing going is the spoon. Fill you fuel tank and start looking for schools of shad on the lower end of the lake. I would start in the river bend area and work my way south. Look for ledges, points, and humps. When you find schools of bait on your Lowrance drop one of the new Capt. Mack’s spoons down past the schools to the bottom and start jigging. These spoons have a lot of flash and this is what the fish are keying on. As the water gets wormer, these fish will start to move into more of a spring pattern. But for now look for the fish deep and keep moving until you find the bait.



Lake Oconee Line Side report brought to you by Mark Smith at Reel Time Guide Service. 404-803-0741. wwwreeltimeguideservice.com



Remember to come to the Great Southern Fishing Show at the north Georgia Trade center February 19 and 20. For the free fishing seminars and exhibits, I will be there on Saturday and Sunday. Come by and say hi.



Line side fishing is fair. The jigging spoon is still the best bet. Find the bait fish and look on your Lowrance for the stripers to be under the bait balls. Drop your spoon down past the bait and hang on. These schools of striper are on the south end of the lake. If you see birds working bait, pull a Capt. Mac u-rig into the fray. The water temperature has all but stopped the live bait bite. Hang on spring is coming.



Crappie fishing is fair. The crappie bite should start up in the next few weeks. Get your spider rigs ready. Fish are in the mouths of most creeks and big coves. Tip you jig with a minnow to increase your bite.



January 28, 2011



LAKE SINCLAIR IS DOWN 1.3 FEET, 52 DEGREES, MOSTLY STAINED.



Bass are slow to fair in shallow and deep water. Some anglers are still catching fish from shallow water using mainly crank baits and jigs. Most are coming from main river banks that drop quickly into deep water. Use small crank baits like the Rapala DT10, Shad Rap RS #5, Thunder Shad, and Deep Little N. Use a Stanley 5/16 ounce in black blue with a Zoom Chunk in black blue or green pumpkin. The warm water discharge in Beaver Dam Creek has been producing a few fish during power generation using crank baits. Riprap along the roads in Little River is still producing bass using crank baits and jigs. On some days, an angler may catch only one or two fish per bait. Spoons have probably been the best overall like the Flex It 5/8 ounce size, Bomber Slab spoons and Hopkins Shorty 45. Use a short hop of 12 to 18 inches off bottom has been better than a higher jigged spoon. Carolina rigs will work later in the day using a very slow retrieve. Try the light jig head and worm. Use a 1/8 to ¼ ounce darter head with a Zoom Finesse worm. Like the drop shot rig, the jig head and worm is more easily fished using spinning tackle with 8 or 10 pound line. Fish this bait slowly on the bottom with little rod movement.



January 28, 2011



JACKSON LAKE IS DOWN 5.7 FEET, CLEAR & 47 DEGREES



Bass fishing is slow and the water is still cold. Spotted bass are all close to deep water. After the sun warms the sea walls, the shad will move up and the bass will follow. Target sunny sea walls and rocky points and us the number five chartreuse and white Shad Rap. Also head south to the dam and watch for any threadfin shad on the Lowrance near the dam. Throw the Shad Raps and the DT6's on or near the channel ledges mid day. The weather is expected to warm up for the upcoming week, so the bass fishing should get better. Sunshine beating down on the red clay banks and the rocks is a good place to fish during a warming trend. The bass will move up to the warmer water to feed and the rocks and red clay will warm the water around these areas first.



Meet Bass Pro and television personality Jimmy Houston at the North Metro Baptist Church on March 31, 2011. There will be a meal included in a $10.00 ticket at the door. Call 770-995-9055 or see www.northmetro.net for details.



The Great Southern Fishing Show will be February 19 20, 2011 at the North Atlanta Trade Center. From bass fishing to fly fishing and more, this is the best show of the winter.

See www.northatlantatradecenter.com



Ken Sturdivant, Lowrance Professional Fishing Staff will be conducting FREE! Sonar Seminars at Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World in Lawrenceville Georgia. The BASICS OF SONAR seminars are held on the last Saturday of each month. All seminars are subject to change without notice.



If you would like to have a free set up sheet for your sonar, send me an e mail to kensturdivant@earthlink.net and ask for the Sonar Setup Quick List .



We have these BASS FISHING books for sale: BASS FISHING LAKE ALLATOONA BASS FISHING WEST POINT LAKE, BASS FISHING LAKE RUSSELL , BASS FISHING WEST POINT LAKE and BASS FISHING LAKE HARTWELL. These books are written exclusively for bass and each book 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 kensturdivant@earthlink.net. Our mailing address is: Southern Fishing Schools Inc. 106 Hickory Ridge, Cumming Georgia 30040.



We have 3 books that cover ALL SPECIES in these lakes, 52 WEEKS ON LAKE ALLATOONA, 52 WEEKS ON LAKE LANIER and 52 WEEKS ON WEST POINT LAKE on sale. Each book is $23.95. Our mailing address is: Southern Fishing Schools Inc. 106 Hickory Ridge, Cumming Georgia 30040. Copyright 2011, Southern Fishing Schools Inc. Call us to set up a school, Maps and Depth Finders or Rods, Reels and Lures for Bass . www.havefunfishing.com 770 889 2654.