“The Southern Fishing Report”

By Ken Sturdivant

106 Hickory Ridge

770 889 2654

Cumming, Georgia 30040

www.havefunfishing.com



February 11, 2011



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



Spotted bass are deep on and over natural structure mid lake. There is not a good pattern and there are not a lot of anglers out with the water so cold. If you go, wear your PFD and go with a friend. It is dangerous on the lake alone. Get on any point or under water island and work the small silver spoons, drop shot rigs with sand or shad colored small worms and the dark 3/8 ounce all black jigs to from 25 to 45 feet. Then go to the standing timer and do the same thing. The spots are suspended in the tops of the trees and they will pick off any bait what falls to the tree tops. The sea gulls are not much help as they are just sitting on the water. Find the trees on the Lowrance and work the spoon right into the brush. The pilings on the big bridges are never fished with a spoon. Try it and fish every pilings and use the same baits. Spoons can work 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. If it warms this week, then we can get back to some deeper docks in the creek mouths. The water is the backs of the creeks are way to cold right now so stay out in the mouths of the creeks. A spot sticker and a green Zoom finesse worms and jigs slowly worked deep will produce a quality fish. The Zoom finesse worm in green or sand with the tail dipped in some JJ’s Magic will kick in soon. All the lakes game fish are inactive except on major or minor feeding periods so watch the Fish and Game Forecaster the rest of the month. This week we caught some big spots pulling baits for stripers over 70 feet of water while striper fishing.



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 poor. Not much has changed this week. 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 ounce buck tails 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 11, 2011



WEST POINT LAKE IS DOWN 6.3 FEET, STAINED & 49 DEGREES BY CHRIS BELL



Bass fishing has been tough. Recent rains are setting the lake up for another great spring. This week we caught fish on Bandit 200 series crankbaits in red or crawdad patterns. You have to cover a lot of water but the size of fish has been much better. On sunnier days and warmer temperatures us a Z-Man Chatterbait in a white and chartreuse color. Fish the Chatterbait as slow as you can possibly reel it without decreasing the action of the bait. Fish are still a little disoriented with the increase in water and color, but look for bites to increase each day throughout the week. Focus on mid lake creeks and pockets on the first half and the mouths for your best results.



Hybrid and striper fishing is slow and there will be 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 good. Fish have pulled back into the mouth of pockets with the dirty water. Troll minnow tipped Jiffy Jigs in pink and white or black and chartreuse combinations. Focus on depths fifteen feet of water and trolling your baits in ten to twelve feet of water.



February 11, 2011



LAKE ALLATOONA IS 11.7 FEET, 45 DEGREES AND CLEAR



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



Bass fishing is still in the deep freeze and there are no fish being caught. Until we get the warming sun on the water and a lot of it, the bass will all but shut down their bodies. There are a few angers trying the deep water spoons, jigs and drop shot rigs but they are all coming up almost empty handed.



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 11, 2011



LAKE HARTWELL IS DOWN 5.5 FEET, 45 DEGREES



Bass are slow. Spoons in the 1/2 ounce sizes are the best winter time lures in and over old trees and natural structure. Watch for any suspended fish and hit them in the head with a spoon. It will be hard to get strikes all week. Spoons in the 1/2 ounce sizes are the best winter time lures in and over old trees and natural structure. Watch for any suspended fish and hit them in the head with a spoon. The deeper structure and it’s slow. Look to the creek mouths and use spoons and jigs and fish the deep heavy brush and the standing timber. Use dark lizards or a French fry worm on a light Texas rig and small hooks. Light line will be a good choice and slow presentations will keep baits right in the strike zones.



February 11, 2011



LAKE RUSSELL IS DOWN 2.2 FEET, CLEAR, 46 DEGREES



Bass are slow and deep in the major creeks and schools of bait fish are still very deep. Use small or medium spoons and jigs on the points closest to the deep water. Current can help, but the fish are on the sides of the creeks bends just off current flows. Use the spoons to 1/2 ounce and work the humps and old road beds all over the lake. Later each day, slow roll a Stanley 3/8 ounce spinner bait on the river blow downs and creek bends. Use a #6 single Colorado blade in hammered copper or silver, and an all white skirt. Keep moving until the active fish are found.



February 11, 2011



CLARK HILL IS DOWN 5.3 FEET, STAINED & 45 DEGREES



Bass are slow and it going to take the jigs, spoons and worms to entice any strike. The lower lake creeks are slow and the lake came up a foot this week. Try smaller dark Stanley jigs in black and silver with a small Uncle Josh trailer is fair, but use them slowly. Depths may be as deep as 30 feet. Fish any bank cover all the way to the boat, working the lure’s slowly in cover. Spots can bite a little better as they can handle the colder waters. Small worms on light Spot Stickers can work around any large dock.



February 11, 2011



LAKE SEMINOLE IS FULL, STAINED AND 53 DEGREES BY MATT BATY



Bass fishing is fair. The water is still really cold, and the bass are on the verge of moving up, but haven't really done so just quite yet. They are really a little unpredictable because of the unstable weather. The more consistent bite is found in deeper water in Fish Pond Drain or Spring Creek. Grass humps and grass edges that are near spawning areas are the best spots. When you locate these areas, fish them with a crank bait and a Carolina rig. The crank bait that works best and has tremendous action is a Spro Little John DD. For color, I would use Nasty Shad. On the Carolina Rig use a 3/4 ounce bullet sinker, a long leader, and a 6/0 Gamakatsu Superline hook with a 6" Big Bite Baits trick stick in green pumpkin. When warmer days come, expect the fish to move up on top of the flats and then they can be caught with a Spro Aruku Shad 75.



February 11, 2011



LAKE GEORGE IS FULL, 51 DEGREES & CLEAR



Bas fishing is picking up and there are shallow fish even with the cold water temperatures. Fish flats that are located close to the deeper water. Start out throwing a Spro Aruku Shad or a Picasso Spinnerbait on these flats to find out which flats are holding fish. Once you catch one on a reaction bait go back and fish any blow downs or grass with a black/blue Spro Finesse jig or a Big Bite Baits Yomama. Make sure to make real accurate flips to cover because the fish will be laying real tight to the cover. Fish are also on the docks in three to eight feet of water on the South End. Throw a Spro Little John in Citrus or a black/blue K-finesse jig around the dock post in Pataulla Creek.



February 11, 2011



LAKE WEISS IS DOWN 3.52 FEET, STAINED & 44 DEGREES BY MARK COLLINS GUIDE SERVICE



Now available for sale 50 of my proven GPS waypoints for off shore structure for Bass and Crappie fishing on Weiss Lake, Alabama. E mail ken@havefunfishing.com


Bass fishing is fair and only a few largemouth are being caught. The fish are starting to show up on secondary points. 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 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 miles per hour.



Crappie fishing is great and the Crappie are starting to stage in the bays and cove's on a pre spawn pattern. When the weather breaks and the water temperature climbs into the upper 40’s the crappie will turn on for the spring. 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.



February 11, 2011



LAKE OCONEE IS FULL, 49 DEGREES, STAINED TO MUDDY BY MARK SMITH



Bass fishing is slow. The bass have started to move. Look for stained water around rocks. Work small crank bait like a #5 shad rap down the rocks. In the same area use a large blade chartruese spinner bait. It is hard to pattern Georgia Power’s pump times but if you are on the water and the water is moving it will increase you chances. Move down lake to the side of the bridges and work them with a crank bait or Rat L Trap. As the water temp increases look for the fish to get more active.



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 good. The crappie bite is starting up. Get your spider rigs ready. The fish have shown up in Lick creek and up the Appalachia River. It will not be long before they are in Sugar Creek also. Now is the time to put big slabs in the cooler. Dark jiffy jigs tip with a minnow, black blue is my first pick. The fish are in 10-12 feet of water. That will change from day to day depending on the temperatures.



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 11, 2011



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



Bass fishing is fair. Work the deep water creek and river bends with the spoons or dark larger sizes of the Stanley jig with the pork trailer or the old black eel. Work the jig or a worm on the points and up lake, work this same lure on thick bank cover. Always watch for any suspended fish and hit them in the head with a spoon. Use the jigs and dark u tail worms on docks up and down lake. This is usually a good winter lake but the water is still cold and stained. The Stanley 3/8 ounce all black jig and pig is better up the rivers on points that drop into the river. The bass are still sluggish and slow presentations are required. Hit any bank structure, such as trees, and let the bait fall back to the bottom. Add a pork trailer and again, work the lures slowly. Here is a rental on Lake Sinclair. http://lakehousevacations.com/page-6585.html



February 11, 2011



JACKSON LAKE IS DOWN 4.1 FEET, CLEAR & 47 DEGREES



Bass fishing is slow. Mid lake to the dam is the clearest water and that is where the bite is picking up. Look for any suspended fish that are on or close to the sea walls. Just stay down lake and use the dark larger Mann’s grape Jelly worms and dark 3/8 ounce jigs in all black on the lay downs, sea wall and docks. Flip docks with a Texas rigged Culprit black worm and peg the sinkers with the Peg-It from Bass Pro Shops. The larger worms in red and blacks are fair and add the Berkley bass scent. Make casts to the same location often and stay in the brush and any cover. When you see suspended fish in the creek bends, hit them in the head with a small Hopkins spoon. Try the Berkley Power worms in the greens and motor oil colors on a Texas rig, can draw strikes from the warmer waters in the lower lake coves.



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.