Friday September 17th, 2010

Got out Thurs-Fri this week to see how the lake is changing. So far nothing big. The water temp early in the morning is around 79-80 but it quickly gets back up to 82-83. I expect these temps to hold based on the current hurricane pattern. It seems all the hurricanes are either getting pushed to Mexico or the Atlantic seaboard and when this happens we tend to get high pressure and warm, stagnate air masses over us. So far that’s been the deal for the last month and it looks like it will continue till October.

On top of this consistent weather pattern the lake has been filled with water this summer and the Corp has been releasing on a steady daily basis. Although they don’t release every day, they tend to release 4-5 days a week. Additionally, these release windows are several hours. The last two years these windows were very small and not nearly as frequent. This is a big difference. When the current release schedule happens, the fish seem to get into a regular habit of biting early in the morning and biting late in the day when the water is running. Additionally, the water tends to stay very clear (new water is constantly replacing the bad water) and the fish seem to have free roam throughout the water column. This year has been very “easy” to revive fish since there is oxygen throughout. No doubt all these factors are making this season one of the toughest I’ve had on Lanier in recent years. Still, I can’t complain….

I’ve also noted over the past few years that when the major variables like weather (or lack of weather fronts pushing through), water clarity, water release schedules and lake water that’s full of oxygen, the fish seem to get in a pattern that holds and that’s been the case for 2010. Overall the fish have been slow to “evolve” or change like they had been doing and things tend to stay the same in 2010. Right now that means the Stripers seem to be feeding early in the morning in really shallow water. If you’re using bait, get close to the shore in 40-60 feet of water and you will find them in most any cove. For me these fish have been on the smaller side and I prefer to target the open water fish that have been bigger. Scattered out in the main channel, I’ve found trolling to be the most productive as of late. Today I scored 10 fish from 9:30 to 2:00 on the troll and though I was able to jig a couple, I didn’t spend a lot of time trying. But anytime you can go out and catch 12 big Striped Bass, you have to be happy and for that I’m grateful. But I also love to catch them on the lighter spinning rods which is tough with little weather change to get them going. Like I always say, it’s best to take what the lake gives you and for now, that would be the troll.

In summary the fishing is pretty steady and should hold up till the next full moon which is fast approaching. There might be some late week issues with the full moon but once it pasts, if no hurricanes make their way to us I expect the fishing to be good.