LAKE LANIER april 2008

106 Hickory Ridge

Cumming Georgia 30040

770 889 2654

www.havefunfishing.com

www.stripersurvey.com

April 18, 2008

LAKE LANIER IS DOWN 13.6 FEET, AND LAKE IS STAINED (lots of pollen) AND THE CREEKS AND THE RIVERS ARE STAINED (more pollen) & 63 DEGREES.

Bass fishing is good and the fish are on shallow wood, sand and in the backs of pockets up lake. Start with slow moving lures like Flukes and trick worms then as the water warms, get out the crank baits. The early bite starts on anything in the water in the shallows. Wood, rocks, and docks have fish all around them and casting shallow is the best bet. All day you can use almost any color of Zoom’s trick worm. Skip or cast the bait past the cover and pull the lure and let it drop right into the cover. Depths can vary from 5 to 12 feet and the Stanley spinner baits in the 3/8 ounce size with silver and gold blades in either the willow leaf or Colorado combinations has been working. Slow roll these baits on and over points and any wood all day. Use the dark smoke red and green worms in the Zoom u tail style on a light Texas rig. The Texas rigged worm and a 3/16 ounce weight cast on and around the bank cover and around docks in the creeks will get strikes. With the water temperatures warming, presentations can be faster. Up lake in the rivers and up lake creeks, an Stanley 3/8 ounce jig and pig in dark colors with a Uncle Josh matching trailers will work. The back of Little River on the west fork is shallow and loaded with docks and shallow sand pockets and the fish are there. Zoom’s pumpkinseed lizard on a Texas rig has been good for these bass in the same locations. The suspending Lucky Craft Pointer 85 minnow is hot. Cast these baits shallow on and around any cover in the creeks and docks and wood are key areas. Try some extra scent on these lures and make several casts into the same location.

Spotted bass fishing has been very good but it will only get better as we come up on the full moon. Have these baits ready next week. Red Fins, Super Spooks, Mini Me spinnerbaits and #9 Rapala’s and just run points all day. After you get the top water bite and the feeding slows down there are lots of male buck bass moving up with the female, bigger bass not too far off. The fish are biting Leverage and Mini Me spinnerbaits, Larew craws in green pumpkin and almost any Zoom Super Fluke as long as it’s white. Rig the pearl Super Flukes with a 4/0 Mustad wide gap hook. Also a Zoom Trick Worm Mustad 2/0 offset worm will work all day. Spots love jigs. So get out the Strike Kings Bitsy Bugs in the black and blue, brown or the green and brown color rigged with a brown, black, or green pumpkin chunk such as Zoom’s Super Chunk Jr. is a great all day lure combination. Focus on areas out of the wind. With the stability in the weather, the first wave of fish mixed with both largemouth and spotted bass are getting ready for spawning in full force. The fish are heading to spawning areas in the back of coves and nearby docks, specifically the ones that have poles and more underwater crossbeams and structure. Target areas should be out of the wind that gets the most sunlight, with little wave and boat traffic, and with the bottom contour of sand or pea gravel. Try to focus on areas out of the wind with stagnant water and out of direct wave action from boats and the weather.

This striper report is from Captain Chuck Biggers, Southern Striper Guide Service. 404-405-8280

Striper fishing is good. Pull blue back herring across the channels on planer boards or flat lines 60 to 100 feet back. Blueback are still the bait of choice. The back of any of the lower lake creeks are still a great places to find fish. Planer boards and flat lines will work there as well. We have caught many great big fish using these techniques. Weightless Super Flukes thrown at rolling fish works great with many fish coming on a steady retrieve or a twitching motion, even late in the day. Although we have not seen and top water action, it WILL happen next week. Keep a Red Fin and any other large top water bait ready as the fish will soon bust up on the surface at any time. Color does not matter. Keep a large bait ready but also so keep a Zara Spook Jr. ready in bone. This is a salt water version of this popular lure. Main lake points right in the mouths of the major creeks are the best areas with a good bite up both river all day. Watch the birds again this week and fish any area thoroughly if you see these shad eaters. The night bite has been slow so far but it has to happen next week.

Crappie seem to be everywhere and the bite has been good for numbers but not for sizes. Docks anywhere in the creeks can be a gold mine and the depths are 5 to 9 feet. It’s hard to beat night fishing too with live bait. Wahoo Creek and Little River docks and wood are the best areas. There are some fish on the bridges after dark down lake.

SPECIAL NOTICE: See the 2008 Georgia Department of Natural Resources lake Predictions on our site: www.havefunfishing.com

Our new DVD, “FINDING FISH WITH MODERN TECHNOLOGY” is now on sale! You can see a FREE! sample on www.havefunfishing.com

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 books for sale: “BASS FISHING ON WEST POINT LAKE”, “BASS FISHING LAKE RUSSELL”, “BASS FISHING WEST POINT LAKE” and “BASS FISHING LAKE HARTWELL”. These books are written by Tim White and Ken Sturdivant and each one has over 65 locations exclusively for bass and 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 the 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.

Take a look at www.aquavu.com. You really need a camera. Copyright 2008, Southern Fishing Schools Inc. calls us to set up a school “Maps and Depth Finders” or “Rods, Reels and Lures for Bass”. See our web site, www.havefunfishing.com for more details or call us right away, 770 889 2654.