The Southern Fishing Report”

By Ken Sturdivant

106 Hickory Ridge

770 889 2654

Cumming, Georgia 30040

www.havefunfishing.com



March 25, 2011



LAKE LANIER IS FULL, THE CREEKS ARE SLIGHTLY STAINED AND THE MAIN LAKE IS CLEAR & 59 DEGREES.



Bass fishing is fair to good and there are several patterns that can work. Pick up the Spot Sticker and a green finesse worm and you could use it all day. Any dock, any point and any pocket will be good areas all day. Mini Me spinner baits on the humps and points are working and use a fast retrieve and a bright set of blades and skirts. The top water bite will kick in any day as soon as soon as the weather settles to the mid 70’s all day. Then the big spots will hit the Super Spooks, Zara Spook Jr’s, Chug Bugs and weightless pearl Zoom Flukes. Get the Fish Head Spin in a 3/8 ounce size and add the pearl fluke and drag one on the bottom in any cove or pocket for sizes and numbers. Use some fresh line as the stripers also like this bait. If the wind is up, use the McStick jerk baits and spinnerbaits and run and gun all day. The fish are on the move and can be found in on variety of structures and depths. Use the Lowrance Structure Scan and Down Scan HDS machines to find the lakes brush piles. The fish will be there on main lake brush around 25 feet deep.



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



The striper fishing is improving but remains only fair. The fishing will continue to improve with the increased water temperature and should "catch fire" and day. Pulling herring on points and flats with herring on free lines 80 to 100 feet back is fair. As the sun gets up put a split shot or two on your free lines to run a little deeper. Run the herring on the outside board 50 to 70 feet back with a single split shot. Run the inside board with a large gizzard shad 10 to 20 feet behind the board. Casting a bucktail while pulling baits will get you a additional bite and you can also pick up a couple of spots. There is still a good striper bite at night but it is getting later past 10:00 or 11:00 pm. Flat Creek continues to be the go to creek at night but it is a little crowded. Fish in Four Mile Creek and Balus Creek to avoid some of the crowds. The north end of the lake has not been productive. The rivers are stained and were slow this week. Your best bet is the creeks from the Chestatee Bay to the dam. Spend some time looking for bait mid way to all the way back in the creeks. When you are ready learn how to find the bass with the Lowrance Structure Scan and Down Scan technology, call us to set up a day on Lake Lanier. We will “show” you the fish. Focus on points and flats in 15 to 30 feet of water. We have not had any action unless there was a good concentration of bait. Bald Ridge Creek, Shoal Creek, Mud Creek, Balus Creek and Flat Creek are good places to start but bait remains the key.



March 25, 2011



WEST POINT LAKE IS DOWN 3.9 FEET, STAINED & 70 DEGREES BY CHRIS BELL



Bass fishing has been excellent. Most fish are in a full pre spawn phase. Cruising fish are being spotted lake wide midway and in the backs of most pockets. Work your way into pockets throwing soft plastics and spinnerbaits to isolated pieces of wood in five feet or less of water. We have alternated back and forth between soft plastics and spinnerbaits depending on wind conditions. On calm days use your soft plastics such as a trick worms, soft stick baits, or lizards in darker colors. On windier days fan cast spinnerbaits in the backs of pockets.



Hybrid and striper fishing is good. Fish are following shad into pockets and creeks in ten feet of water or less. Find the shad and you will find fish. Troll small crankbaits and bucktails through feeding fish and bait. The best pockets have been north of the 109 bridge.



Crappie fishing has been great. Fish are spawning in shallow pockets and creeks. Use live minnows or jigs eighteen to twenty four inches below popping corks. Once you have located a bed first start by using jigs to catch the most active fish and then switch to live bait. Jig colors to use would be black/chartreuse or white/pink patterns until water clears.



March 25, 2011



LAKE ALLATOONA IS DOWN 2.1 FEET, 56 DEGREES AND CLEAR



Bass fishing is good and the mouths of creeks and pockets are ready to break lose. Try a small ¼ ounce mini jig and add a matching Zoom Salt Trailer in green pumpkin. The small shallow running crank baits like the Thunder Shad in root beer and chartreuse will work for any stained water. Work the Civil War in the clear areas. Fish them slow right through the brush. A #5 Shad Rap in shad pattern is working on light line. Crank those bluff walls close to pockets as well and do not over look those transitional banks or any shallow wood. When you are ready learn how to find the bass with the Lowrance Structure Scan and Down Scan technology, call us to set up a day on Lake Lanier. We will “show” you the fish.

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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 great and the hybrid bite is on fire. We are catching 20 to 50 hybrids on most of our half day trips. The fish are schooling up and are staging for the spawn run up the rivers. Almost every point and flat north of Clear Creek is holding good numbers of fish. The river run will be in full swing by the first week of April. We are also catching good numbers of line sides on the south end of the lake like Iron Hill, Clark Creek and around the Islands at Red Top have been great. But your best bet in the up coming weeks will be up north. Mid lake fishermen should fish the main lake points and flats. Flat lines and planner boards have been producing fish early. But the down line bite has been better for big fish and numbers. This is the time of year to pull big baits for big stripers. Use shad as big as 10 to 12 inches. Trolling is really starting to improve. The fish are moving up in the water column and on the flats. The Mack Farr umbrella rig is a great way to catch these fish. When you are ready learn how to find the bass with the Lowrance Structure Scan and Down Scan technology, call us to set up a day on Lake Lanier. We will “show” you the fish.



March 25, 2011



LAKE HARTWELL IS DOWN 2.3 FEET & 59 DEGREES



Bass fishing is good. Casting Zoom u tail worms in green pumpkin or watermelon green on a Carolina rig and a 3 foot leader will work on the points almost all day. Cooler night time temperatures this week will drop the water temperature some and suspend the bass. The bite will be touch and go until the weather stabilizes next week into the mid 70’s. Work for the staging bass out on the ledges with Rattlin' Raps and DT10's in shad and hot mustard colors. We have the "Bass Fishing Lake Hartwell” for sale with 40 locations to fish available on our web site. Find lot’s of good bass fishing locations on this lake. Look for the bass to move back up and start to lock onto their beds next month. When you are ready learn how to find the bass with the Lowrance Structure Scan and Down Scan technology, call us to set up a day on Lake Lanier. We will “show” you the fish.



March 25, 2011



LAKE RUSSELL IS FULL, CLEAR & 60 DEGREES



Bass fishing is good and there are lots of bass moving to the shallows with the warm weather. Shad seem to be headed for the creeks, so it's about time for the bass to follow along in big numbers. When you are ready learn how to find the bass with the Lowrance Structure Scan and Down Scan technology, call us to set up a day on Lake Lanier. We will “show” you the fish. The best bite through late week was up the river on the crank baits and that will only get better as the water warms. Find fish around the shad. Once the bass get into the creeks in full force it'll be a good opportunity for crank baits, jerk baits and spinnerbaits. Rat L Traps and shad Raps should be good patterns. Hit the banks throwing at any piece of wood. Make accurate casts to maximize your chances for a hookup. Buzz baits after mid day will draw some strikes.



March 25, 2011



CLARK HILL IS DOWN 3.1 FEET, STAINED & 59 DEGREES



Bass fishing is fair and the plastic worms and Zoom Super Fluke in the backs of pockets will work. Small shad crank baits like the Bandit 200 in citrus shad or Shad Raps have been good all day baits. Get the baits right to the bank and crank them back slowly. The small ¼ ounce Rat L Trap or a small jig in any dark color with a Zoom Super Chunk will get some action. When you are ready learn how to find the bass with the Lowrance Structure Scan and Down Scan technology, call us to set up a day on Lake Lanier. We will “show” you the fish. Fish any brush you can find from 2 to 10 feet. Zoom trick worms on light line on any old dock or a #13 Rapala will work almost all day. Trick worms need to be watermelon seed, or green pumpkin. Also any main lake point with a Carolina rig and a 3 foot leader rigged up with the Zoom 4 or 6 inch pumpkin lizard will get bites the rest of the spring.



March 25, 2011



LAKE SEMINOLE IS FULL, STAINED AND 69 DEGREES BY MATT BATY



Bass fishing is good and the bass are nearing the end of the spawn. Some fish can still be found on beds. The main lake sandbars near the dam are good places to look, because these will be some of the last places that they will bed. When you find bedding bass, Big Bite Baits has a new bait out called the warmouth. It is designed to fish on beds, because when rigged Texas style with a 5/0 Gamakatsu Superline hook it resembles a bream feeding on the bass eggs. We have been using the bait as a prototype now for about a month and it is simply amazing how fast the fish will react to it. It should be in stores pretty soon. The other pattern that is emerging is a top water and crank bait bite near spawning shad. Shad will spawn where topped out vegetation is present such as lily pads and hydrilla. A good way to catch bass on spawning shad is to throw a top water bait such as a Spro Dawg 100 in Old Glory or a Spro Fat John in Nasty Shad. When you are ready learn how to find the bass with the Lowrance Structure Scan and Down Scan technology, call us to set up a day on Lake Lanier. We will “show” you the fish.



March 25, 2011



LAKE GEORGE IS FULL, 60 DEGREES & STAINED



Bass fishing is good and the warm days put some fish on the move this past week, but the deeper bite still seemed to be the best pattern for the heavier weights. The nice warming trend sent water temps back into the mid 50's on the main lake and some 60 degree water could be found in a few areas. Saturday the Corps took about a 1/2 foot off the lake which made allot of fish that were up shallow cruising back off to nearest available cover. We checked several shallow bays and seen some good fish moving around, but they weren't far from some deeper water. Try running the bank with a spinnerbait and a Red Eye Shad. Then back off to the deeper holding area's later for sizes by bouncing spoons and jigs along the channel breaks early in 18 to 22 feet, then moving shallower in 10 to 12 as the day wears on. The fish are poised to move and the shallow bite would have really kicked in if not for the sudden drop in water. There are fish all over the water column and deeper bite will be more reliable especially on the north end of the lake. The south end will see the first big push of spawners and spinnerbaits and Rat L Traps are going to be the hot lures. The deeper bite on spoons, jigs and even Carolina rigs to me will be were the bigger fish will be caught. When you are ready learn how to find the bass with the Lowrance Structure Scan and Down Scan technology, call us to set up a day on Lake Lanier. We will “show” you the fish.



March 25, 2011



LAKE WEISS IS .67 FEET OVER FULL, LIGHT STAIN & 61 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


Jiffy Jigs Largest Crappie contest Come fish with me and have a chance to win a 50.00 dollar prize sponsored by JIFFY JIGS. The largest Crappie caught in my boat each month in February and March will win the prize. www.jiffyjigs.com


Bass fishing is good and the fish are shallow in the spawning bays, they are being caught on secondary points, humps and ditches and shallow stump flats. A lot of bass are starting to cruise the spawning banks also. Rat L Traps and shallow running crank baits and spinner baits are catching these pre spawn bass. Jigs and worms are also catching some good fish.



Crappie fishing is good. The fish are staged in the spawning bays in 3-8 feet of water, and they are being caught long line trolling with Jiffy Jigs in 1/24th ounce in colors JJ13, JJ17, JJ24. Little River, Little Spring Creek and the bays around Bay Springs are producing best. Shooting docks is also starting to produce a lot of crappie. Look for a lot of crappie to move shallow and start spawning over the next week or so. When you are ready learn how to find the bass with the Lowrance Structure Scan and Down Scan technology, call us to set up a day on Lake Lanier. We will “show” you the fish.



March 25, 2011



LAKE OCONEE IS FULL, 66 DEGREES, LIGHT STAIN UP AND CLEARING DOWN



Bass fishing is good and stained up the lake and clear in Richland creek and on the lower end. The bass fishing continues to be strong. The fish are in close to the banks and looking for shad. Start with a cover bait like a shad rap or spinner bait. Work the sea walls and rip rap. The shad spawn is fast approaching so these fish will stay close to the rocks and sea walls. If you are fishing north of the river bend area the fish seam to be more active in the warmer water. Lick Creek still seams to have more bait in it than does Richland Creek but both are producing fish. Lick Creek has a stain to it. When you are ready learn how to find the bass with the Lowrance Structure Scan and Down Scan technology, call us to set up a day on Lake Lanier. We will “show” you the fish.



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. Go to the dam. It is spring time on Oconee. Last Saturday there were 20 boats camped out at the buoy line. If you do not like crowds the look up Richland Creek. Just below the Ritz there have been large schools of bait and the stripers are with them. Over the past week the bigger fish have come on down lines. The flat lines are also producing a good number of fish as well.



Crappie fishing is good to very good. Think 6 feet or less. The fish are moving into skinny water. If you find one, you can load the boat. Dark jigs tipped with a minnow are working best. A lot of fish are being caught trolling. Shooting docks is also working. The crappie are lake wide from the river down below the river bend area. Richland Creek is also giving up some slabs.



March 25, 2011



LAKE SINCLAIR IS DOWN 1.3 FEET, 61 DEGREES, MOSTLY STAINED.



Bas fishing is good and the grass to start coming show up. Fish the grass and get right up in the shallow There are also plenty of ledges holding fish but the sizes leave a lot to be desired. Dragging ledges along the main river channel with Carolina rigs as far up as Rood Creek all the way to the causeway. The fish are bunched up in the 6 to 10 foot range. When you catch a fish throw a buoy and back up and start casting. The Red Eye Shad is hot and burn it with the high speed reels. Watermelon trick worms work well as the shad are starting to filter into the creeks. When you are ready learn how to find the bass with the Lowrance Structure Scan and Down Scan technology, call us to set up a day on Lake Lanier. We will “show” you the fish. The schooling action will pick up daily. The shallow bite is just as good for numbers and with the water stable all week fishing will get better every day.



March 25, 2011



JACKSON LAKE IS DOWN .8 FEET, STAINED & 61 DEGREES



Bass fishing is good and the fish are heading shallow. Lots of fish are feeding in shallow water in the coves and creeks. Dock fishing in the coves and creeks is very good right now. Watch for shad visually on the surface and on a depth finder. Try small crank baits like a #5 Shad Rap RS in fire tiger and shad. Try to bump the posts on each retrieve. Rat L Traps and spinnerbaits are working early and late but when they are not in a chase mood, go to the Zoom u tail worms and dark jigs. Use the 5/16 ounce Stanley Rattlin' jig with a tiny brush hog trailer. A good pitching worm rig is a 6 inch dead ringer in June bug or green pumpkin. Try both baits with a vertical fall near each post and by swimming the bait with a horizontal retrieve at mid depth. Also work the baits on bottom, especially around any wood or brush. With a bright sun, try skipping a trick worm under every shallow dock you se. Also use a weightless small green pumpkin Senko worm. Cast the bait past a target, allow it sink for 2 to 3 seconds and then make two short, quick twitches. Again allow it to sink 2 to 3 seconds and repeat the twitches. When you are ready learn how to find the bass with the Lowrance Structure Scan and Down Scan technology, call us to set up a day on Lake Lanier. We will “show” you the fish.



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 LANIER”, “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.



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.