“The Southern Fishing Report”

By Ken Sturdivant

106 Hickory Ridge

770 889 2654

Cumming, Georgia 30040

www.havefunfishing.com



February 4, 2011



LAKE LANIER IS DOWN 2.3 FEET, THE CREEKS ARE SLIGHTLY STAINED AND THE MAIN LAKE IS CLEAR & 45 DEGREES.



Spotted bass fishing is still slow. Look for these fish in the main lake timber. You can catch a few big fish right now if you are very patient and fish extremely slowly over the timber. Use a brown Stanley 3/8 ounce jig or a ˝ ounce jigging spoon and hop these baits in the tops of the trees you find with the Lowrance. The preferred depth for the spotted bass right now seems to be 40 to 45 feet. You can catch a few shallow on warm days, but they are few and far between. Drop a Fish Head Spin or finesse worm. Rig the worm on a Spotsticker jig head. Look for some big fish to suspend in the sunny pockets during the middle of the day as soon as the water starts to warm up. Look in the sunny pockets and watch the water temperature gauge to find the warmer water. Once the water hits 53 degrees the docks on the mid lake will fire up. Add the 1/2 ounce Hopkins or Strata spoon and the jigging technique to the plans.



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 continues to be tough. The threadfin winter kill is in full force. The stripers are inactive due to the cold temperatures. They are not eating much and when they do there is plenty of dying threadfins to be had with very little effort. The fish have been holding tight to brush over a 30 to 40 foot bottom. Your best bet is to troll points and humps with 4 arm umbrella rigs loaded with 1 oz. bucktails and white 4 inch shad bodies pulled 100 to 120 feet back while searching for fish. Because the fish are so inactive if you find them you may have to put your rigs right on them to get them to bite. Once you find fish you can also put down lines out and work them slow in and out of the brush. Because the stripers are feeding on small threadfins, small minnows and threadfin shad will outperform the herring and trout. We have been rescheduling most of our trips in hopes of warmer temperatures. As the temperature warms the backs of the creeks and shallow flats will heat up first and draw bait which will improve the striper fishing. Until them your best bet is Flat, Balus and Mud creeks with umbrella rigs.



February 4, 2011



WEST POINT LAKE IS DOWN 6.1 FEET, STAINED & 49 DEGREES BY CHRIS BELL



Bass fishing has been tough. A little stain in the water will turn on the crank bait bite this week. The only bites we are getting is to cover as many red clay and rock points as possible during the day with mid depth crankbaits in a shad pattern. Use a Bomber 4A and Bandit crankbaits. You are going to have to cover a lot of water. Five to ten bites in a day is a good day with current conditions. Use jerk baits in the same areas but covering a lot of water is key. Normally once you have located one fish you can catch a couple more on the same point. It will take little change in the weather for fish to really turn on.



Hybrid and striper fishing is slow. 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. Right now fishermen are having to compete against shad that are beginning to die from the cooler temperatures. Look for diving birds to locate fish midway in pockets. Troll Jiffy jigs tipped with minnows in twelve to fifteen feet of water to catch fish.



February 4, 2011



LAKE ALLATOONA IS 11.5 FEET, 42 DEGREES AND CLEAR



This Lake Allatoona Bass report is from Matt Driver of www.proanglerradio.com



Bass fishing is slow and it needs to warm up and stop raining. Work the points and channels and ditches leading into the creeks. As temps slowly rise, the jerk baits and deep suspending jerk baits start to get good. Use a Spro McRip 85 in old glory and blue bandit. While the water is cold, use a slow retrieve sometimes leaving the bait idle for 20 to 30 seconds, and as the water warms Go to the McStick 85 and get a little more aggressive with my retrieve. Use a drop shot fished vertically in 15 to 30 feet of water on light line with a 3/16 ounce weight. Use the Lowrance to find them, and lower the bait and slowly jiggle until you feel the rod load up, Matt said. The float n fly seems to get better in February. Leaders ranging from 10 to 15 feet are the way to go. Use a Red Rooster feather fly in shad patterns or white and use a hybrid fly made of both feather and soft plastic called the Dominator. Not moving the fly gets more bites than an active retrieve.



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 bite is still dead and Carters isn't much better. And from what we here from Mack Farr, Lanier is in the same boat as Allatoona and Carters. 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 and Lanier 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.



February 4, 2011



LAKE HARTWELL IS DOWN 6.1 FEET, 45 DEGREES



Bass fishing is fair and the main lake ditches that go out to the deep timber is the place to look for bass. The Lowrance Down Scan technology will unlock these areas. Look 10 out to 40 feet deep. Jerk baits and jigs along with drop shot rigs are the best baits to make a slow presentation. A ˝ ounce jig rigged with a Zoom green pumpkin trailer and the Flex it spoons in the timber will work. If the water warms later in the day, head to the backs of the creeks and drop a Senko or a trick worm on the larger docks that will hold more warmth.



February 4, 2011



LAKE RUSSELL IS DOWN 3.8 FEET, CLEAR, 46 DEGREES



Bass fishing is slow. With the water temperature still in the 46 to 48 degree range, the largemouth will be holding tight and deep this week. The spotted bass however, are moving in and out of the deeper water and a limit of these spots isn't out of the question. Fish the wind blown rocky points with the DT10's and DT6's tied on along with those RS and Jointed Shad Raps. Keep the baits as small as possible. The spotted bass will move up in the shallow rocky area all during the day to feed so it might be necessary to fish the same areas more than once. Also be sure to check out any Rip Rap rock as you come upon it. The largemouth are going to be a little deeper, so continue to work a Carolina Rig, Rattle tube or grub over submerged wood. Red Shad is a great color to use during the winter months. Don't be afraid through to try a pearl color as well.



February 4, 2011



CLARK HILL IS DOWN 6.7 FEET, STAINED & 45 DEGREES



Bass fishing is slow. Get out the small crank baits and the #5 shad colored Shad Rap and a few Storm Suspend strips and work the shallows after mid day. The Fat Free small crank baits in the sexy shad pattern and the fire tiger colored baits are working in the mouths of creeks to the back. With any windy day, get back to the main lake and secondary points down lake. This water is a little warmer and the fish will be a little more active as the days warm up. Wood on the bank brings in the bream and the bass will follow.



February 4, 2011



LAKE SEMINOLE IS FULL, STAINED AND 53 DEGREES



Bass fishing is good. The warming up and cooling off have the fish confused, but they are really moving up to spawn. Fish the grass flats with Spro Aruku Shad 75's in Mudbug Red or Old Glory. The depth range has been about 4 to 7 feet. The closer you are to sand, the better. There have been some reports of fish being caught off of sand already. Sandbars that are closer to deeper water are the best ones, as these will be the ones that the first wave of spawners will use. The best rig for fishing the bars is a Carolina rigged 6" Big Bite Baits finesse worm in green pumpkin or junebug. Use 16 pound Sunline FC Sniper for your main line and 14 pound Machinegun Cast for your leader. You really need a long leader for Seminole due to the grass. Usually about 4 to 5 feet will do the trick. Be sure to use a really sharp hook, because the long leader will make it hard to get a good hook set. A 3/0 offset Gamakatsu will do the trick as these are the best hooks on the planet.



February 4, 2011



LAKE GEORGE IS FULL, 51 DEGREES & CLEAR



Bass fishing is slow and its still winter to these fish. Bass are hitting very slowly due to the inclement weather. Very slow presentations are the only way to generate a strike. Slow rolling spinnerbaits on submerged tree tops is probably your best bet right now. Jigs, spoons and soft plastics might also work as long as you are fishing them slowly. Also try the 3/8 ounce Fish Head Spin and add a Zoom pearl Super Fluke to the rig. Slow roll this baits on and over any creek beds at 5 to 13 feet deep and try to find the largest stumps and log laying on the bottom. The Lowrance Structure Scan Down Scan technology will help anglers find the concentrations of fish and the structure they live in.



February 4, 2011



LAKE WEISS IS DOWN 3.58 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.



Crappie fishing is great and the fish are starting to stage in the bays and coves on a pre spawn pattern. Long line trolling in 8 to 14 feet of water with Jiffy Jigs in 1/24 ounce in colors JJ08, JJ13, JJ17, JJ20, JJ24, JJ25 is producing some great Weiss Lake slabs.



Striper fishing is poor and a few Stripers 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 -2 mph.


February 4, 2011



LAKE OCONEE IS FULL, 456DEGREES, STAINED TO MUDDY BY MARK SMITH



Bass fishing is slow. The fish are still deep. Look for the fish off of ledges and the channel side of humps and points on the main lake. Some fish are being caught on spoons fished under bait. But this bite has slowed over the last week. Fish a Carolina rigged small worm off the sides of these drop offs, to pick up a fish or two. Watch for the water temperature to start to raise that will signal the start of the fish moving to the mouths of the creeks and coves. When this happens we will know that spring is on the way.



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 poor. Look for the active birds. They will show you where the bait is located. When you find the birds start looking on your Lowrance for the striper under the bait. Think small. I have had more luck on crappie minnows than any larger bait.



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.



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



February 4, 2011



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



Bass fishing is good. Try a big Bagley’s B2 or Norman’s Fatboy on hard bottom banks, especially in muddy water. Bright colors like fire tiger or chartreuse and black will be best. Main lake creek points and creek bends are fair and Culprit red shad worms in the large size on a Texas rig can work. The afternoons will be better as the warmer coves can offer more shad movement. Work the Stanley 1/2 ounce jig and a #1 Uncle Josh pork trailer all in black, on the docks and points. Try the spinner bait and the chatterbait when the fish pull up shallow. Look for them to get around shallow cover like docks, grass, stumps and blow downs. Fish the Chatterbait slowly and almost yo yo it around the cover. Most bites will occur on the drop. Also, big shallow running crankbaits will work.



February 4, 2011



JACKSON LAKE IS DOWN 4.6 FEET, CLEAR & 47 DEGREES



Bass fishing is fair and this can be a week of on and off action depending on the sunlight warming the waters. On sunny days the bite will improve so stay with the slow moving baits and a jig and pig or a spot sticker and a finesse worm can work. Stick with natural colors like greens, blacks and browns. Dip the bait in JJ’s Magic to increase the number of bites. Later in the month when water temps begin to get and stay near 50, the bite will get much better. Then try faster moving baits like a Bandit or Bomber crank bait on hard bottom banks. Also target wood structure with a slow rolled 1/2 ounce Redemption spinnerbait with a chartreuse skirt. The ends of docks and blow downs will hold some big females.



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 at 2pm. 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.