“The Southern Fishing Report” by Ken Sturdivant

106 Hickory Ridge

Cumming Georgia 30040

770 889 2654

www.havefunfishing.com



November 5, 2010



LAKE LANIER IS DOWN 3.7 FEET, CLEAR AND 63 DEGREES.



Spotted bass fishing is good and as the water cools down, the fish start looking up and feeding. The fish are very scattered and anglers will need to use several baits. Up lake, go to crank baits and jigs. Early, get out the Zara Spooks in bone, a Spittin Image and a Chug Bug and hit the points and humps. Try top water early on main lake points, humps, and deep banks. Twitch a Lucky Strike Sammy 100 in American Shad or throw the bone Zara Spook. Shad are coming up around the lake in creeks, coves, and pockets. Spots are cruising shallow and relating less to the brush piles. The bite is lasting longer and fish are shallower. Work on back into those coves and creeks off the main lake. As the sun gets up, switch to the Zoom Super Fluke in white pearl or the Zoom Z-Nail worm in green pumpkin. With the Fluke, toss it out there and the fish will take care of the rest. Now is the time for the mid depth crank baits. Norman Middle or Baby N in Tropical Shad and Lavender have been producing during the mornings to mid day. The spinner bait bite normally is in gear now, but it’s sporadic. But cast the Mini-Me spinner bait on points and brush and when they start, the strikes will be awesome. Spotsticker jigs with a Zoom finesse worm on a spinning reel and 8 or 10 pound test has been an excellent deep water tactic. Drop shot rigs are accounting for some good fish along with jigs and crank baits. Zoom green finesse worms and small Robo worms will work on the drop shot. In the cove at Shady Grove Park on the east side, drift over the trees standing in 60 feet of water and watch the Lowrance and you will see some of the bigger stops in the trees. Use a 3/16 ounce sinker on the bottom of the rig or lighter. Live minnows will work on the drop shot too. Sand worms, natural blue and cinnamon green pig and jigs or creepy crawlers are the baits of choice. Be sure to drop a ½ ounce Flex It spoon on the same locations. Pick up a Texas rigged Zoom Finesse worm in green pumpkin and fish the brush. Middle of the day spots are biting all white 3/8 ounce Rooster Tails and all white crank baits.



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 is fair to good and for weeks we have been hoping for a break from the 75 to 80 degree days with some cold temperatures to take the lake water temperature below 70 degrees. Someone through a switch and we are now faced with 30 degree mornings, a cold front, rain and wind. The good news is the fish have "broken out" and are scattered lake wide. We have high hopes for this week with the weather stabilizing. The fish should be very active and pushing baits shallow on points and pockets. Check the mouths of the creeks to half way back for bait. When you find a concentration of bait; fish there. Herring and trout on free lines 50 to 100 feet back and flat lines on planner boards 20 to 50 feet back. Vary the weighting of your lines with split shots. Always keep a down rod out and adjust the debt accordingly. Go shallow, 20 to 30 foot bottom, early and late and move to deeper water as the sun rises. Keep a bucktail and red fin ready for surfacing fish. The top water bite has not materialized this fall but it could turn on any day. So keep your eyes on the water. We have fished the north and south end of the lake and they are about equal. It's time to get your arctic wear out and go fishing. The Bait Shop at Bald Ridge Marina has live bait at the marina gas dock, 770-887-2248. Take a look at this new web site: www.seethelake.net. They have filmed the entire lake for viewing on the web by subscription.



November 5, 2010



WEST POINT LAKE IS DOWN 4.2 FEET, 69 DEGREES AND STAINED BY CHRIS BELL



Bass fishing has been fair. Bites up the river have slowed a bit with the clearer water. As winds continued to increase throughout the week my better bites picked up on the southern end of the lake. Fish chunk rock and shoal markers with spinnerbaits, lipless crankbaits, and shaky heads. Using these patterns produced both spots and quality largemouth’s. For spinnerbaits throw a ½ ounce Strike King burner spinnerbait with double silver blades and white skirt. Make long casts and burn the blades back to the boat for reaction strikes. With lipless crankbaits use a Strike King red eyed shad in the sexy shad pattern. When the wind dies use a 1/8 ounce shaky head with a Z Man floating worm in green pumpkin. My best bites came from Wehadkee creek south to Southern Harbor marina.



Hybrid and striper fishing is good. Not much has changed in the way of our favorite line sides. We will need some cooler temperatures to really get the river run going. Fish are following bait along main river and into creeks. The best creeks are Wehadkee, Whitewater, and Yellow Jacket. Each week of cooler temperatures fish have pushed further up the river. Look for fish to begin feeding late in the evenings on top water near schools of bait working their way down the river channel. To catch these fish use a popping cork and fly. Another great way to catch these fish is to remove the rear hook of a Storm Chug Bug and attach a leader line of about two feet to a popping fly. We have caught many doubles with this rig. The best areas are just south of the 219 bridge for top water action. During the day because bait is spread out so are the fish. Troll Rapala Shad Raps, Strike King serie’s five, and rattle traps in shad patterns. Some fish are schooling late in the evenings on shad. Use ½ ounce Mepp’s Rooster Tails in white with silver blade with a medium retrieve.



Crappie fishing has been great and the fish have are being caught in the mouths of creeks and pockets relating to small shad. Use jigs tipped with minnows in twelve to fifteen feet of water. With the cooler temperatures fish have pulled further back into creeks almost midway. Trolling patterns have seemed to work the best to locate fish. The best creeks have been Half Moon, Whitewater, and Bird creeks.



November 5, 2010



LAKE ALLATOONA IS DOWN 7.9 FEET CLEAR AND 65 DEGREES



Bass fishing is good. Largemouth are being found shallow on wood in the creeks and up the river. Targeting largemouth with a brown jig with couple of small red stands has been working great. That largemouth bite is slower than the spot bite but will produce some good fish. Spotted bass are feeding on the droves of shad that are moving back into the creeks and flats. The key to finding these fish is using some form of side imaging or down imaging unit to cut down on the time it take to find depth and location. Use the Fish Head spin and 3/16 ounce tipped with a Big Bite bait 4 inch jerk minnow in clear copper flake or pearl. Long cast then count it down and a slow retrieve. Don't be surprised if you hook into a line side.



This Lake Allatoona fishing guides report is bought to you by Robert Eidson of First Bite Guide Service. www.firstbiteguideservice.com 770 827 6282.



Line side fishing is awesome and this week has been some of the best fishing we have ever seen on Lake Allatoona. This week we set two new personal best on my boat. On October 31 we set a new record with 66 hybrids, stripers and spots for the most fish ever caught on my boat in October. Then we did it again on November 3 with 63 hybrids, stripers and spots. These numbers came on only 4 hour trips. Mid lake is the place to be and we spending 100% of our time from Bartow Carver to the S-turns at the mouth of Little River. The fish are still holding right on the river channel and can be caught many different ways. Live bait is working best put spooning is running a close second follow by umbrella rigs. The key to catching these fish is finding bait. Ride the river channel until you mark bait on your fish finder. Most of the fish we caught this week has been in the water column between 16 to 28 feet deep. We have notice a few seagulls on the lake this week. This is a good reminder that the top water action is just around the corner. So make sure you take your top water gear with you. With the water temperature being 67 degrees right now. The top water action could and should start any day now. We still have a few days open next week. Give me a call at 770 827-6282 if you would like to get into some of the great action. We are giving away another guided fishing trip. This is my way of saying thank you to all that visit (Have Fun Fishing). To enter go to http://www.lakeallatoonafishing.net/...7497#post47497 and follow the directions.



November 5, 2010



LAKE RUSSELL IS DOWN 4.1 FEET, 66 DEGREES AND CLEAR



Bass fishing is good and the turnover is slowing down. Anglers are catching bass from one end of the lake to the other. It is get shallow time. Up in the rivers and creeks the Shad Raps in the RS and Jointed models along with the famous balsa wood version are putting the number in the boat. Light rain moved across the area and has really turned the bass on as they are feeding heavily on the shad and herring. The rocky banks mid way back in the coves are holding both the largemouth and the spotted bass and some of these bass are coming in the three plus pound range all day. Forget the main lake points and head on back to the half way point in the larger coves and smaller creeks that feed into the lake. If you find an area where the red clay bank has a little different color of water that the channel, fish this area with any Shad Rap in a fire tiger color. This fire tiger pattern is a local favorite during the fall. Use a medium retrieve but on occasions speed up the bait to get the bass into a feeding mode. The early morning and late afternoon will be the best time to find a good feeding pattern. Chug Bugs are still working at first light and also during the real late evening. Look for rising bass and make long cast to these areas. Sometimes the bass will follow the bait at least half way back to the boat before striking.




November 5, 2010



LAKE HARTWELL IS DOWN 6.3FEET, 66 DEGREES AND CLEAR



Bass fishing is fair to good and there are some top water fish coming mid morning. Water temperatures are falling some and the bait fish are heading t the top to find some warmer water. The bass and line sides are also feeding on them but think small to medium baits. Start with the top water baits early in the morning then changing to spinner baits and crank baits mid day. A heavy feeding table is occurring between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. this week. Fish all the small cuts, bowls and coves in the area. There are a lot of spotted bass are being caught in shallow water on the small Flukes and small silver jerk baits. As the water cools, use the jerk baits and the Flukes in white and clown McStick’s are good choices. Use these color combinations and you will increase your odds. Use the dark 3/8 ounce jigs and be sure to use the Shad Raps and DT10 all in shad patterns. On the main lake, use a drop shot rigged with a Zoom Swamp Crawler. Also a Fish Head Spin is a good choice rigged with a Zoom Fluke Jr. Keep a Lucky Craft Pointer 78 and a Sammy on a ready rod. You can concentrate on the offshore areas with all of these baits. Use the drop shot along with your electronics to find the schools of bass holding on the points and humps close to brush and deep timber. If you see fish suspended in the water column, you can cast the Pointer and the Pulse Jig to try and draw them up. Keep your Sammy ready in case you see schooling activity.



November 5, 2010



CLARKS HILL IS DOWN 6.6 FEET, 69 DEGREES AND CLEAR



Bass fishing is fair and now is top water and lipless crank bait time. But it is tome to think about the off shore stuff like humps and long run out points. Watch the shad movement to dictate where the most active fish will be. In the stained or colored water up in the Little Creek area, use a Number Five Rattlin' Rapala in either the Red Fire Crawdad, Firetiger or Chartreuse Shad colors. Take all the colors with you as the bass will hit one color better than the other as the day progresses. Look for fish schooling on shad especially early and late in the backs of the coves. Now is Super Fluke time when you see fish breaking. A lot of your schools will be hanging around the hydrilla, and there’s a lot of it on the lower end of the lake. Down on the main lake, you can go a little light in color while fishing across the tops of the submerged grass mats. DT10's and DT16's are still working along the ledges and humps and Brown Bone is my color of choice. Dark Brown Crawdad is a good substitute if this one isn't available.




November 5, 2010



LAKE SEMINOLE IS DOWN .6 FEET, 71 DEGREES, CLEAR



Bass fishing is tough and the fish are on the flats and in the backwaters. Fish grass flats with a Spro Little John in Nasty Shad. Try and find defined grass lines on the flat and parallel them with a crank bait. You may have to cover a lot of water before you find a group of fish. If this isn’t working, you can go flip hyacinths in the backwaters of the Hooch. The fish have seemed to move into the backwaters following the bait. With the cold fronts, the fish get underneath the hyacinths and can be caught flipping a 4" Big Bite Baits Yo Momma in Hematoma color. Make sure to use a 1 oz. Tungsten weight and a 5/0 Gamakatsu Straight Shank hook as these are the sharpest hooks you can use.




November 5, 2010



LAKE EUFAULA IS FULL, 77 DEGREES CLEAR DOWN



Bass fishing is fair and the shad are bunching in the creek mouths and pockets up the lake. Try the June bug trick worm on a light 1/8 ounce Texas or a 10 inch Big Bite Bait Kreit Tail worm. Look for the fish on flats at 6 to 10 feet and on blow downs up the river between Florence and River Bend. As the shad start moving into the creeks and coves, the bass will follow. Now is the time for the Super Flukes and small shad crank baits. Use the Lowrance to follow the bait fish as they will move daily. A Texas rigged finesse worms in green pumpkin and crank baits are working. A Bandit 200 and a #7 Shad Rap are good choices but keep a buzz bait ready especially after mid dayas the water warms. The shad like the warmer waters and the bass will follow them. This is a good time to use the ¼ ounce all white buzz bait.



November 5, 2010



LAKE WEISS IS DOWN 4.39 FEET, STAINED AND 67 DEGREES BY MARK COLLINS GUIDE SERVICE



Bass fishing is good and some good stringers of fish are being caught chasing Shad in shallow stump flats, on sand bars, secondary points and humps and in the back of some coves, as the sun gets high look for areas with the big schools of shad on the surface and watch for the Bass chasing and feeding. The new Gizz 3 crank bait and 1/4 ounce Rat L Traps and the Bandit 100 series and the Mann's 1 minus are working great on these aggressive feeding fish, smaller 3 to 4 inch swim baits are catching fish also. Most of the spots are still out in the main lake on main lake humps, points and river channel ledges in 4 to 10 feet of water, a Carolina rigged Senko worm is working great on the spotted bass, medium running crank baits are also catching fish. Little River is also producing some great Spot fishing in the upper part on the old river ledges and the steep rock banks. The upper Coosa river is also producing some good bass, look for them chasing shad in the shallow flats and creek mouths.



Striper fishing is Fair and they are starting to move back to the main lake on the old river ledges and main lake flats, more will show up over the next few weeks as the water cools, slow trolling live shad 6 to 10 feet deep will produce the best, until the water cools to the low 50s and below when they will turn on to trolled jigs.



Crappie fishing is great and the fish are getting very aggressive, they are mainly on a early morning bite, right at daylight is the time to be on the water. Crappie are being caught on structure on the drop off's on the old Coosa River and Little River channel ledges in 12 to 14 feet of water. Spider rigging with live minnows and Jiffy Jigs is the way to catch these fall crappie, Look for structure on the edges of the old channel with schools of fish suspended around or above the structure, fish your baits very slowly at or near the depth you are marking the schools of fish. The log jams in the upper Coosa river are producing some good crappie right now on live minnows, Spider rigging and under a float. A few crappie are still being caught shooting docks with a 1/24th ounce Jiffy Jig in color JJ13 and JJ17 is also producing some good crappie. Docks with at least 6 to 10 feet of water or more seem to be the most productive right now, with this low water level you have to move around a lot and hunt for the deeper docks, look for bigger well shaded docks, although the smaller docks can sometimes be very productive. The crappie will not stay under the docks much longer.



Ask for a sample of the 50 GPS waypoints for off shore structure for Bass and Crappie fishing on Weiss Lake, Alabama. For more info contact Ken Sturdivant at ken@havefunfishing.com


November 5, 2010



LAKE OCONEE IS FULL, 73 DEGREES BY MARK SMITH, REEL TIME GUIDE SERVICE 404 803 0741. wwwreeltimeguideservice.com



Bass fishing is good the main lake is clear stained to muddy up the rivers. Buzz baits on any sea wall or rip rap will work and use either the white or chartreuse skirts. As soon as that bite stops, go to a spinner bait in the same areas. When Georgia Power is moving water you can still bring big fish to the boat by fishing a large crank bait down the side of long points. Now is the time to fish docks. Docks with a lot of structure under them in the back of creeks or big coves will hold fish this time of the year. Work these docks with a Texas rigged worm. The darker color worms seam to work best. The brighter the sun, the better the bite.



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 good. Look for fish in large schools staging in the mouths of the creeks from the middle of the lake to the dam and on the lover end of Richland creek. When you find them, with your Lowrance drop a live shad down and hang on. These schools are moving fast so keep looking and moving until you see the schools.



Crappie fishing is very good. The fish are in the mouths of most creeks and big coves. Live bait is the ticket. Look for the fish in 10 feet of water. Some of these fish are very large.



November 5, 2010



LAKE SINCLAIR IS DOWN 2 FEET, 71 DEGREES AND STAINED



Bass fishing is fair and there are more small bass feeding than lager one. Fish the grass and the docks as usual but head up the rivers for the better action. Early and late work the seawalls and any wood in the water. Use shallow running bandit crank baits and any spinnerbait you have with the willow leaf and Colorado blade and a chartreuse skirt. There are some schooling fish so the Fluke and the Zara Spook should be on a ready rod. There are fish still holding on deeper points down lake as well a edges of flats. Cranking large shad colored crank baits around main lake rocky point’s is productive early and late in the day. Fish the steeper river banks up lake and also fish the deep blow downs using a crank bait or a brown on black pig and jig. Look for the fish to start moving out on the points as the lake level drops.




November 5, 2010



JACKSON LAKE IS DOWN 2.4 FEET, SLIGHT STAIN AND 67 DEGREES



Bass fishing is good and the fish are feeding on bait schools following the bait in the pockets. Fish the pockets rather than the main lake. Long deep pockets and a green jig and craw combo is ideal for targeting larger fish. Target the flats and their edges in particular. Spinner baits and the Chatterbait are good choices, particularly in the early and evening hours. Early fish a white buzz bait on sea walls around shallow cover. Probe docks, brush, and other structure as you work the pockets. A Texas rigged finesse worms in green pumpkin and crank baits are working. A Bandit 200 and a #7 Shad Rap are good choices. Work your crank through wood, rocks, and around the docks. Always take the opportunity to work the wood cover and docks more thoroughly with your plastic and jig. Use a Shaky head for all around plastic fishing. But the old Texas rigged baits are preferable for working brushy cover. Peg the sinkers and use a finesse worm in greens on the shallower rocks, docks and wood structure. Trick worms in watermelon seed will work on the shaky rig. Throw the plastic baits and jigs into the wood cover and let it soak a while before working it up and out through the tree limbs. Look for seasonal congregations of bait in the middle of deep pockets. Target the feeding bass with a crank bait and vertical presentations such as a spoon or plastic on a drop shot rig.



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. The next seminar date is November 27, 2010 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 2010, 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.