The Southern Fishing Report”

By Ken Sturdivant

106 Hickory Ridge

770 889 2654

Cumming, Georgia 30040

www.havefunfishing.com



January 21, 2011



LAKE LANIER IS DOWN 2.9 FEET, THE CREEKS ARE SLIGHTLY STAINED AND THE MAIN LAKE IS CLEAR & 47 DEGREES.



Spotted bass fishing is fair and the sonar is the key element the rest of this month. Most of the spots are out to 30 to 50 feet deep lake wide. The timber is the key as the fish relate to this structure all day. But there is still a few shallow fish and they will be active any day the water warms and pushes the bait up close to the sandy banks and into the sandy pockets. Get the jerk baits and shallow crank baits into the pockets with no wind and be sure to watch the water temperature on your sonar. Find the warmest water you can. With the water cold in the backs of the creeks, all the bait has moved to the centers of the creeks and the bass are following them. Spoons, drop shot rigs and shakey heads with a finesse worm added are the best baits but be patient and work these baits slowly. This water down deep is very cold the fish are not chasing baits around at all.



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 fair this week. The backs of the creeks are colder than the middle due to the cold water run off from the melting snow. Consequently, the bait and the fish are holding in the middle of the creeks. There is an early morning and late afternoon bite. Live bait is working during these times with smaller minnows and threadfin shad outperforming the herring and trout. Keep your eyes open for the sea gulls and they will help pinpoint the feeding fish. Pulling free lines 80 - 100 feet back and down rods at 20 to 35 feet early and late are your best bet. When you are pulling baits, always keep someone on the front deck casting a 1/2 ounce bucktail jig with a small Zoom fluke trailer. Pulling an umbrella rig late morning and early afternoon is your best bet to trigger a reaction bite from inactive fish. Focus on points and humps with 4 arm umbrella rigs loaded with 1 ounce bucktails and white 4 inch shad bodies pulled 100 to 120 feet back. The fish are scattered lake wide but Flat Creek and Four Mile Creek have been good areas. Keep your eyes on the water temperature. As the temperature warms the backs of the creeks they should heat up first and draw bait and fish onto the shallow flats. If and when this warming trend happens, put your planner boards 2 to 3 feet off the bank with bait 10 to 15 feet behind the board and hold on.



January 21, 2011



WEST POINT LAKE IS DOWN 6.18 FEET, STAINED & 41 DEGREES BY CHRIS BELL



Bass fishing has been slow. We have both lower temperatures and extremely cold water. A lot of movement with the bait will not get you bites right now. The 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, we are using a ¼ ounce bell sinker with a 18” difference between hook and lead. For hooks we are using a number one Gamakatsu drop shot hook with a Z Man Rain Minnowz soft plastic in a mud minnow color. Let 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. The best roadbeds have been from Wehadkee Creek to the Glass Bridge Access. The secondary bite when the sun is high has been on jerk baits on points. Any suspending jerk bait in a shad pattern will produce. Do not expect many bites but these should quality fish.



Hybrid and striper fishing is slow. 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 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 21, 2011



LAKE ALLATOONA IS 15.7 FEET, 46 DEGREES AND CLEAR



Bass fishing has been brutal after the snow event, but is getting better every day. Right now its hard to beat the spoon bite. Fishing the spoon around bait fish in the 25 to 32 foot range seems to be the ticket. Mix the spoon and the drop shot up both are fished nearly the same this time of year "Slow and little movement" is the way to go. We are using a Capt Mack far 1/2 or 3/4 ounce foils shad patterned spoon, the foil gives off great flash with little movement and 10 pound test Sunline Fluorocarbon is a good line choice. We would use lesser pound test but a good sized hybrid or striper is not out of the question. Remember 5 to 7 bass a day is a good day right now. Be safe and never fish alone in the winter, it could cost you your life.



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



Line side fishing is fair and the north end is dead. The best bet is south of Kellogg Creek. The cold water has pushed the bait and fish south of Kellogg's Creek, and are as far south as Clark Creek. Flat lines and planner boards are working in the morning and again late afternoon In the back of the creeks. After the sun comes up at mid day, down lines off of any main lake point or in the mouth of the major creek at 25 to 35 feet deep is your best bet for a big fish. Trolling is still working better than live bait for numbers and it seems to be best after the sun comes up. Troll your Mack Farr umbrella rigs right off the river channel edge.



January 21, 2011



LAKE HARTWELL IS DOWN 6.4 FEET, 46 DEGREES



Bass fishing is slow and the water temperature took a big hit last week. Carolina rigged Zoom mini lizards in green pumpkin or in gourd green is a good choice for getting the bass this week. Concentrate on areas where the channel ledges break off into deep water in a hurry. Find the shaper drops as the fish will hang out on them and move slong these areas to feed. Downsize you line to eight or ten pound test and use a 1/4 ounce weight and ten pound test Sufix Elite line on a spinning outfit. This allows you to fish with an open bail and have your index finger on the line to hold it in place. You will also be able to feel a difference in the small bites or added weight by holding on the line instead the rod. Vertical jigging spoons in all silver is another good bait. Most of the anglers are out on the main lake away from the cold runoff and many are on the south end of the lake.



January 21, 2011



LAKE RUSSELL IS DOWN 4.1 FEET, CLEAR, 51 DEGREES



We have been catching a lot of fish both shallow and deep. Early in the morning you can catch fish in the pockets and ditches on a drop shot with Zoom Shaky Head worm. The spots seem to be keying on the 20 to 30 foot depth, and you can catch a limit quickly. You can troll the pockets looking for fish on the graph, and once you find them they will usually bite, but you have to drop it straight on them. After it warms up a little during the day, we have been fishing some humps and ditches with shallow brush using a Carolina rig. Use the Zoom Dead Ringer in watermelon red or green pumpkin. You can catch both largemouth and spots by dipping the tail chartreuse in JJ’s Magic and crawling it through any brush you can find.



January 21, 2011



CLARK HILL IS DOWN 6.9 FEET, STAINED & 47 DEGREES



Bass fishing is slow and the water is still cold from the snow and ice melting into the lake. Just think for the next few week, slow and deep. It’s hard to beat a jig and a spoon in the winter but the Lowrance sonar is the key. Concentrate on points and creek mouths and ease over these areas with the Lowrance Structure Scan technology and this will eliminate a lot of water fast. No fish, no fishing. Work a larger jig and a ¾ ounce Stanley jig with a #11 Uncle Josh trailer in dark colors will be bet. There might be some suspended fish holding tight to the channel drops. When they get tight into schools, these are easy fish to fire up.



January 21, 2011



LAKE SEMINOLE IS FULL, STAINED AND 52 DEGREES BY MATT BATY



Bass fishing is good. The bass are in their first stages of pre spawn. Look for spots that are near to spawning areas, such as ditches that run through flats, as the bass will use these as highways to their spawning grounds. A Navionics chip for your depth finder comes in handy when locating these spots. Once you find an area to fish, the best search bait to use is a lipless crank bait such as a Spro Aruku Shad 75 in Mud Bug Red. You don't have to change the hooks on this bait because it comes out of the package with number 2 Gamakatsu. We had more success by allowing this bait to sink all the way to the bottom before retrieving. It will get hung up in the grass, but with a good rod and some 20 lb. Sunline FC Sniper, you can fish it and rip it free from the hydrilla. Some of the hydrilla will still be alive, and some dead. We haven't really noticed any difference because the fish have seemed to be relating to both. If the fish aren't biting in the ditches, then start moving up on the flats and fishing the shallower water. A good bait for the flats is the New Spro Fat John in Nasty Shad. This bait allows you to fish a little slower and more methodical. The flats will be pretty thick with grass, so you can slow down and even stop the bait when you feel grass so that it will float up and out of the hydrilla. This is a deadly technique for cold water bass. With the warmer days ahead, look for the fish to start moving into the backwater to spawn. When this occurs, the flipping bite will start to get really good. Look for dead vegetation such as hyacinths and flip a Big Bite Baits 4" Yo Momma in Hematoma on a 1 ounce Tungsten and a New 5/0 Gamakatsu Flipping Hook. Use at least 60 pound test Sunline Braid.



January 21, 2011



LAKE GEORGE IS FULL, 51 DEGREES & CLEAR



Bass fishing is fair and a warm up may trigger some shallow fish soon. Rig a jig up and use the ½ ounce football jig in the perfect craw color rigged with a green pumpkin and add a #11 dark Uncle Josh trailer. You will need a jigging spoon, a drop shot rigged with a natural blue Zoom Swamp Crawler also. Work the creek channel bends and submerged road beds. If we see some mild overcast days in January, don’t be surprised to see some schooling activity. The shallow cranking bite can also fire back up if we have several days of mild temperatures. If you find an area with bait, you can expect to find some active fish with a white spinner bait with dual Colorado blades and fish the upper end of the lake for the schooling and shallow cranking.



January 21, 2011



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


Bass fishing is fair and very few largemouth are being caught. Little River is still producing some good Spot fishing in the upper part on the old river ledges and the steep rock banks, a drop shot rig with a 4 inch worm or a small craw is working great.



Striper fishing is poor and a few fish are being caught in the upper Coosa River trolling 1/4 ounce jigs with a 3 and 4 inch white Sassy Shad trailer, at 1.5 to 2 mph.



Crappie fishing is great and the crappie are still in the upper Coosa river on the ledges in 12-20 feet of water, they are being caught spider rigging with minnows and Jiffy Jigs and on jigs under a float fished very slowly 8-12 feet deep behind the log jams.



January 21, 2011



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



Bass fishing is slow and we are in a full winter pattern. Now is time to look for the fish to be sitting on the edge of the river channels. If you see bait drop a spoon down past the bait and work it back to the bait. Look for the fish to be staging on the channel side of the humps and ledges on the south end of the lake. You can still find some fish up the lake on rock walls, or the rip rap. Work a jig slowly. A big bladed spinner bait will also produce some larger fish off of the same sea walls. Slow, slow, slow. The water is stained to muddy up the lake so use a dark color, and work it very slow.



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



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 umbrella rig into the fray. When all else fails use small shiners. These fish are feeding on small threadfin shad that are dying.



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 21, 2011



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



Bass fishing is fair even with the cold weather and water. Most fish are coming from shallow water, 2 to 10 feet deep. Crank baits, jigs, and Carolina rigs are the baits of choice on most days. The central part of the lake is fair. Main river points, secondary points, rip rap, docks, brush piles and blow downs have all produced recently. Look for primary and secondary points with rocky bottoms. Fish the tips and along the sides of each point. First try small shallow crank baits like ¼-ounce Rat L Traps, #4 and #5 Shad Rap and a #5 Fat Free Shad. Good colors for all the crank baits are fire tiger, chrome, crawfish, and shad patterns. The Carolina rig and jig will work shallow to about 10 feet deep on each point. For the rig, try a Zoom Finesse worm on a 1/0 Gamakatsu EWG hook with a 2 to 3 foot leader and a half ounce weight. Some good colors are June bug, green pumpkin, and red bug. Also try a 5/16-ounce Stanley casting jig in black blue or black brown with a #11 Uncle Josh pork frog. On rip rap, try the crank baits and jig. The best cold water baits are jigging spoons, Carolina rigs and spoons.



January 21, 2011



JACKSON LAKE IS DOWN 5.8 FEET, CLEAR & 49 DEGREES



Bass fishing is fair. The water is still cold and the bass are trying to recover. There was a fair shallow bite and it may return within the next 10 days if the weather warms. Worm small finesse worms in greens on a light Texas rig mid day until dark. Worm the ditches and runs out coves and any deep dock close by. In the ditches use a jig in a ½ ounce in all black or add a green pumpkin Zoom Creepy Crawler. Also spoons and drop shot rigs can work but the Lowrance is the key to stay close to bait and close to the structure. A shallow cranking bite can work next week if we warm up. Use the Bandits and the Lucky Craft Flat Mini CB in shad colors for the shallow cranking.



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.