“The Southern Fishing Report “

By Ken Sturdivant

106 Hickory Ridge

770 889 2654

Cumming, Georgia 30040

www.havefunfishing.com



August 4, 2011



LAKE LANIER IS DOWN 5.6 FEET, THE CREEKS ARE SLIGHTLY STAINED AND THE MAIN LAKE IS CLEAR & 87 DEGREES.



Spotted bass are tight on deep cover and deep points from 19 to 30 feet. Rocky points, humps and gravel points all over the lake are the early and late target areas. Spots are chasing blue backs small schools of herring and small top water baits are the ticket. But be sure to hit the swirl with the small shad top water baits. There can be a top water bite at high noon also. Keep a small top water bait ready all day and the Sufix 832 braid on a spinning reel will get the baits way out on the long casts needed to get to these schoolers. Drop shot rigs with Robo worms in morning dawn and Zoom icicle finesse worms or live spot tail minnows are the best baits for these fish. The Lowrance Structure Scan Down Scan technology will unlock a ton of secret deep water areas that will hold the bigger spots or schools of spots. Work any of the soft plastics slowly. Also the Texas rigged worms in the lime aide colors and be sure to work the lure all the way back to the boat on points. On windy and overcast days, use the darker colors of finesse worms. For the bigger fish work the deep man made and natural cover with small hair jigs and worms. Worms should be greens, Smoky Joe and sand on a Texas rig. Fishing has been fair and work the Zoom baby bass Super Fluke Jr’s Flukes on a 1/4 ounce jig head on light line. There is a good night bite and the fish are at 12 to 24 feet after dark. Jigs and spinner baits, all black, will work just slow roll them. Bitsey Bugs and a Zoom Fat Albert twin tail trailer will work and dark colors are best. Use 10 pound Fireline Crystal on the spinning eel and cast these baits right on the banks after dark and be ready for a fast strike. Add some Jack’s Juice in the Garlic and pick rocky areas where the recent crawfish hatch in happening. Be sure to move around and do not fish the baits out but half way. Try swimming the jigs first and then use a hopping technique but do not let the baits sit on the bottom. Keep them moving. Main lake points, rocks and shallow humps are best. If you can see Lake Lanier Islands, you are in the right areas.



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 very good. The fish are biting all day with the best bite starting mid morning. The challenge continues to be finding the fish. The exception seems to be 2 Mile Creek, 4 Mile Creek, and 6 Mile Creek. The fish are holding tight to the trees in the south end creeks. We have also seen more fish this week over the main river channel from Browns Bridge to Young Deer Creek. The Dam area, Bald Ridge Creek and Shoal Creek has slowed this week but we do not expect that to last. Start your search in the creek mouths on the side of the creek channel over trees. The fish are holding at 30 to 80 feet. The summer time pattern is in full force and all of the summer time techniques are working. Down line herring at 30 to 80 feet is working but the fish are easily spooked and it can be difficult staying on them. If you see fish vertical in the water column do not hesitate to fish for the deeper fish. As an example if the 30 foot fish will not bite drop your baits to 55 to 80 feet and fish for the deeper fish. You can also try power reeling for those fish that will just not bite. Drop your bait well below the fish and reel your bait up through the fish. This approach will often trigger a reaction bite and can serve to "fire up" the rest of the fish in the school. Shorten your leader to about three feet when power reeling. This will be a lot less trouble to deal with like the tangles and knots over the longer leaders. You can also use a 2 ounce Captain Mack's bucktail jig tipped with a herring. Downriggers and lead core are both working with Captain Mack's 1ounce bucktail jig with a chartreuse or white 4 inch shad body. Lead core at 7 to 9 colors and a chartreuse shad body has worked best this week. We have not used umbrella rigs this week but they should work if you can keep them out of the trees. Lead core and downriggers are probably your best bet. Finding fish in trees is a much simpler with the new Lowrance structure scan. Meet Captain Ken West at the Chamber Expo in Cumming on September 8, 2011 from 2pm until 7pm.



August 4, 2011



WEST POINT LAKE IS DOWN 4.1 FEET, STAINED & 91 DEGREES BY CHRIS BELL



Bass fishing has been slow. Fishing has been slow with the extremely high temperatures. I look for little change with all species until we begin seeing some temperature changes leading into Fall. Best fishing right now can be at night using large soft plastics and jigs. With night time water temperatures cooling a little, the fish will often move up to feed. If you do brave the day time temperatures, focus on deep water humps and road bed’s lake wide. If current is present use deep diving crankbaits in shad pattern such as a Strike King 6xd or Bomber Fat Free Shad. On those stagnant afternoons with limited current or wind it is best to use soft plastic shaky heads or All Terrain Football jigs both in green colors.



Hybrid and striper fishing is fair. Fish are schooling lake wide over the tops of humps and road beds following shad on the surface. The action will be fast so use fast moving shad imitating baits. Use ¼ ounce Rat L Traps and Pop R’s. Work baits quickly to resemble fleeing shad. Once top water action slows use live bait over the same humps and road beds that produced with top water earlier in the morning. The best locations are on the southern end of the lake.



Crappie fishing has been fair. Fish have not moved much over the last few weeks and do not look for other major movements until temperatures begin entering a fall pattern. Fish have fully committed to deeper water. Look for deep brush piles near main lake during day time hours. Best fishing has come from bridge pilings at night. Down line live bait twelve to fifteen feet deep.



August 4, 2011



LAKE ALLATOONA IS DOWN 4.6 FEET, 88 DEGREES AND CLEAR



Bass is good and most of the bass are in 18 to 28 feet of water and on some kind of cover. They completely into the typical summer pattern and that means deep brush piles. Try top water early on main lake points, humps, and deep banks. Twitch a Lucky Strike Sammy 100 in American Shad along these areas for best results. The spinner bait bite is great an hour or so after dark using a single Colorado blade. Remember to slow roll these baits just fast enough to turn the blade (like fishing a pig and jig). Texas rigged Zoom Finesse worms in green pumpkin green are hot. Find some deep brush and shake it around down there. After dark try the darker colors; June bug, red or Muscadine. You will also find fish throwing deep crank baits like the Thundershad in Sour Apple and Norman DD22 in a shad pattern. Concentrate on deep banks, rocks, and brush. And of course you will catch them on Carolina rigged lizards. Throw right up to reef marker poles and work it back deep until you find fish. Try a Zoom 6” lizard in green pumpkin. It’s hard to beat that color. In a couple weeks the drop shot bite should finally begin to pick up.



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 bite this week is the same as last weeks just a little on the slow side change nothing. The summer bite is in full swing, and we are catching a ton of fish down lining and pulling umbrella rigs on the south end of the lake. The dissolved oxygen levels have plummeted up north, and the fish have all moved south to between Bartow Carver and the dam. Fish in Clear Creek, Stamp Creek, McCaskey Creek and Coopers Branch all the way up to the Bethany Bridge area. Then go into the Allatoona Creek Arm. The thermocline is starting to set up at about 28 feet, and we are catching all of our fish either down lining or trolling umbrella rigs from 18 to 28 feet. Down lining a threadfin shad is absolutely the best bite on the lake with trolling running a close second But remember we are in the dog days of summer and shad will die quickly on the line So be sure and take a lot of bait or keep a bucket of shiners as a back up. Linesides are biting shiners about 25 percent as well as they’re hitting the threadfins but you’ll need to match the size of your hook to the size of your bait or the fish won’t hit. Use a size 6 Gamakatsu octopus on a medium shiner will be a good rig. When using smaller hooks, be sure to use quality hooks so the fish don’t straighten them out.



August 4, 2011



LAKE HARTWELL IS DOWN 5.3 FEET, CLEAR & 88 DEGREES



Still a tough bite up North but a few anglers are catching largemouth around the larger docks with tubes. Skip the tube under the docks and let it fall all the way to the bottom. Most bites will occur on the fall so be ready. Off deep points, the 1/2 to 3/4 ounce Carolina rig is working when using a watermelon red Zoom u tale worm. Scent the bait up good with garlic for that extra bite. Look for areas where the channel comes close to the bank and try a drop shot rig. Fishin' deep this time of the year is not uncommon for bass. Small schools of bass chasing bait and a small Zara Spook or Pop R are good baits to have on the ready rod. Small ¼ ounce buzz baits are good choices anytime of the day to imitate the smaller baits the fish are after.



August 4, 2011



LAKE RUSSELL IS DOWN 3.1 FEET, CLEAR & 87 DEGREES



Bass fishing is fair and the lake is relatively clear. Crank baits like the Wiggle Warts and Deep Warts in either the hot tiger or green shad color or the #5 Jointed Shad Rap in either the green crawdad or fire tiger have been good all day baits. Cast these baits on the main lake and secondary points and add a few Storm Suspend Strips to the baits for some extra depth. Work them with a slow retrieve all the way back to the boat. The key here is to stay as far off the points or bank as possible. Most strikes will occur right at the edge of the line while others will occur closer to the boat. Top water baits like the Chug Bug will also work at times so take along plenty of these. Work the chug bug in the same manner as the cranks and be sure to pause it at the edge of the mud line. Jigs around rocks and wood is another and if you go up lake, try to find a little off colored water. In the darker waters, use the all black or all brown Strike King jigs with a matching trailer. Browns and greens are good choices if the sun is high down lake and use them on a 3/8 ounce football head.



August 4, 2011



CLARK HILL IS DOWN 5.2 FEET, STAINED & 88 DEGREES



Bass fishing is fair and as summer continues, the scattered bass are after several different baits. Try both the Rapala DT10's and DT16'sfor the larger bass on the channel ledges up toward the northern end of the lake. Anglers that fished the DT's had to use several different colors for one or two good bites and the black and silver and the hot mustard color are best. Other anglers still caught a lot of bass while fishing the edges of the grass mats while using a Zoom trick worm in green pumpkin. Further south towards Ft. Gordon, anglers are fishing the grass beds with weightless worms. Take a pink Zoom trick worm and rig it with a 3/0 or 4/0 Mustad worm hook and a ½ ounce sinker. Cast it right along the edge of the heavier matted grass and let it sink. Fish this bait with no weight or a small split shot and throw it right along the edge of the larger mats in the deeper water. Just let it sink until it get out of sight then work the bait like a jerk bait. Up Little River, fishermen are catching a few small bass on Texas rigged worms but look for that to improve as the week goes on. The crank bait is starting to get better and better as the bass are holding to the rip rap early in the morning. Throw the #5 and #7 Shad Raps in either the balsa wood or the RS models. Natural shad and fire tiger colors seem to be working the best.



August 4, 2011



LAKE SEMINOLE IS DOWN ONE FOOT, CLEAR AND 92 DEGREES BY CLAYTON BATTS



Bass fishing is summer time tough. The recent heat wave has really slowed down the fishing on the lake. Your best bet is to get out early in the mornings or late in the evenings and throw top water frogs such as a Spro Bronzeye 65 or a Big Bite Baits Top Toad. These two frogs give anglers two different ways to frog fish. The Spro is designed to be fished through the thickest types of vegetations, whereas the Big Bite top Toad is made to swim through open holes in the grass. Either technique works well depending on the type of cover you are fishing. This time of the year, the fish hunt the thickest cover possible to stay out of the heat as much as possible. When the sun is out, you can flip thick grass with 65 pound Sunline Braid and a 1 ounce Tungsten weight, a 4/0 Gamakatsu Heavy cover flipping hook, and a Big Bite Baits 4" Fighting Frog in Hematoma.



August 4, 2011



LAKE GEORGE IS FULL, 89 DEGREES & CLEAR



Bass fishing is fair and there is a shallow water bite going on and a deep water bite as well. Go up the river around Florence and fish shallow for a few bites. For the shallow bite up north you have several choices. Have the confidence to throw a Spro Bonzeye frog in natural red all day around grass lines and bream beds. Your second choice is to flip grass mats with a 1.25 Tru Tungsten flipping weight and a Big Bite Baits Fighting frog in black blue. Fish mats that lead back into the pockets and on the main lake around the pockets. For the deep water bite, use the Little John DD in Nasty Shad on the ledges up north around Cowikee Creek when the Corps is pulling water. When the Corps isn't pulling water, look for any brush piles and fish a green pumpkin Kriet tail worm as slow as you can through the trees.



August 4, 2011



LAKE WEISS IS DOWN .39 FEET, LIGHT STAIN & 87 DEGREES BY 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 poor and they have really turned off over the last week or so. Some Bass are being caught very early and very late. A few good fish are being caught in the upper Chattooga river and the upper Coosa river, where there is more current and higher oxygen levels. Carolina rigged plastics are working right now, green pumpkin and pumpkin seed seem to be the dominant colors. Medium to deep running crank baits and 1/2 ounce spinner baits slow rolled are also catching some bass. Top water baits are working fair, early and late, around deeper sea walls. Look for this pattern to hold for the next month or so, unless we get a lot of rain and really put some oxygen back in the water. Weiss Lake always gets a big algae bloom in late summer, which delete’s oxygen from the water and make's the fish very lethargic, so the dog days of late summer can be some of the toughest of the year.


Striper fishing is fair and they are in fair numbers in Little River and the upper Chattooga River. Little Spring creek is also producing some fish. The canal and the powerhouse lake are also producing some Stripers. Live Shad is the key to catching these fish, flat lines and down lines fished 8 to 10 feet deep and trolled slowly are producing some great striper fishing.



Crappie fishing is poor and the crappie are mainly under the docks and out deep 8 to 14 feet, on the channel ledges, Night fishing with live minnows with lights on the edges of the old Little River channel is producing some fair crappie. Shooting Jiffy Jigs in 1/24 ounce, under docks is still producing some decent crappie fishing. A few crappie are being caught on minnows from under lights at night off docks.


August 4, 2011



LAKE OCONEE IS FULL, 91 DEGREES AND A LIGHT STAIN UP RIVER



Bass fishing is fair. The rivers have a light stain and the main Lake is clear. There is an early morning bite on white Old Nelly ¼ ounce buzz bait. Look for main lake sea walls. Do not over look the docks and dock poles. This pattern will only last for the first hr. of daylight. After the buzz bait bite move to docks and start working the back shaded areas with a worm. Texas rigged Zoom green pumpkin is the first choose. A shakey head will work as a change of pace. Another pattern that is producing fish is deep diving crank baits in a shad pattern fish off of humps and ledges on the south end of the lake. These fish are holding in 10 to 20 feet of water.



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. There is some schooling activity starting to show up on the south end of the lake, late in the afternoon. These fish are not staying up long so you need to have your rod ready with a pop r or a popping cork. There are some schools of fish in the middle of the lake that if you can get your bait past the gar you can catch them. We are using the Lowrance and found a small thermal cline in this area and it was loaded up with all types of fish. The umbrella rig will also catch these fish if you can keep it out of the trees. Sugar Creek has the Capt. Mac umbrella rigs in stock along with Okuma line counter reels and Okuma striper rods. If you like to learn how to fish your rigs, give me a call and we will take you out and show you how we do it at 404-803-0741



Crappie fishing is fair. Some fish are showing up in brush piles from 10 to15 feet. The night bite in the timber is still the best producer. Look for the fish to show up on your Lowrance and drop you live shiners down the depth they are holding at.



August 4, 2011



LAKE SINCLAIR IS DOWN 1.3 FEET, 91 DEGREES, MOSTLY STAINED.



Bass fishing is slow and the heat is tough on the anglers and the bass. Start the day early with a small all black buzz bait and cast it as far back into the pocket as you can and repeat this several times. Follow any missed strikes up with a 3/8 ounce Lucky Craft Redemption spinner bait with double willow blades preferred, and a Texas rigged green pumpkin trick worm. By mid morning concentrate all fishing on the main lake points that drop off into deep water down lake within sight f the dam. Use the Carolina rigged Zoom four inch dead ringer worm on light line and work it slow around these points. By mid afternoon if you can stand the heat, drag this same Carolina rig out to 25 foot points drop offs and go the a Culprit green worm. There may not be many strikes but there can be a big fish in the area. Also slow roll the same Redemption spinner bait on the bottom and use the 832 Sufix braid.



JACKSON LAKE IS DOWN 2.1 FEET, STAINED & 88 DEGREES



Bass fishing is barely fair and the lower lake is clearing. The best pattern on catching bass, both spotted and largemouth, will be to stay up in the rivers. Alcoy or the Yellow River is producing some bass if you concentrate your efforts on the docks. Docks and heavy structure, and that's easy to find on Jackson, will be the place for the bite this week. Use a Zoom u tail worm in June bug or green pumpkin with either a 3/16 or ¼ ounce weight rigged Texas style. Flip, pitch or cast the red shad color up under the dock starting with the areas nearest the bank. Work the entire dock on both sides and the front then move to the next one. The brush piles between the docks as well as the lay down trees should all be worked with a worm and a spinner bait. The Culprit red shad worm will work better in the off colored water. If the water clears down lake, go to the lighter colors. The Texas rig will prevent hang ups in the brush piles and add a Venom worm rattle in the baits for the extra noise.



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. calls us to set up a school, Maps and Depth Finders or Rods, Reels and Lures for Bass. www.havefunfishing.com 770 889 2654



On Thursday, September 8, 2011, the Southern Fishing Schools Inc. and Big Fish On! Guide Service will be at the Small Business Expo to be held at the new Forsyth Conference Center. This venue will allow for more room, bigger booth space, and space to host a speaker series that will bring value to all businesses and the community as a whole. This year’s expo will be open from 2pm until 7pm. Make plans to attend and we’ll see you there.



Lowrance announces the new StructureScan and HDS10 and HDS8 Plus StructureScan bundle. These new HDS offering pairs award winning HDS fish finder/GPS combination units with the Lowrance exclusive Structure Sonar Imaging which provides users with the most complete structure and fish finding technology available. Both the StructureScan transducer and 83/200 kHz transducer are included in this bundle. Contact your retailer for current availability.