Rk won an auction trip I donated to a school function and decided to bring out two of his kids, Georgia and Oliver. I was a little worried given that we were hitting the lake on a Saturday and the "more than normal boat traffic" that would probably spook off a lot of fish. Fortunately we were able to find some Stripers down by the dam around mid morning and the kids got to reel in a few fish. Oliver got the big Striper of the day during this morning feed and little Georgia got to reel in her first Striped Bass ever. Fortunately it wasn't too big so she was able to handle it just fine. After lunch the fish disappeared as the high pressure and winds set in. I always like to troll back to the dock and today it proved to be a good decision. This effort provided a few more fish in the main channel just above Aqualand. These fish were small but provided a nice way to end a great day on the lake. Rk has two great kids and they were a treat to have out on my boat. Georgia and Oliver are welcome back anytime!
After being kept off the lake on our last attempt, my neighbor Hank wasn't going to be shortchanged on our second attempt to catch some Striped Bass. It was windy and the fish were scattered around the lake but when we were over them, they were ferocious! We boated a good many fish and Hank had all he could manage. I don't think he had any idea catching a Striped Bass would be so physical! I hope he didn't mess up his golf swing; his monster of the day took a lot of energy and just about killed the two of us trying to get it back into the lake. But in the end, his giant 24 lb'er swam back on it's own and hopefully will double in the size in the next 5 years. Check out the photo's here.
Finally had Mike out on the boat when the Stripers were ON! We killed them boating over 30 fish with most all of them in the 10-15 lb range. The bite was one of the best of the year and they were active pretty much all day. We were able to jig fish non-stop and the only time we had to move was after the wind had blown us away from the deep water where all the fish were stacked. The Hurricane had a good impact for the time being and just seemed to fire up the fish quite a bit. What a day!
Got Sterling and his Son David out on Lake Lanier for some Striper action. The fish weren't cooperating with the high pressure and recent cool temps and the wind didn't help. Fortunately they were patient and their patience paid off. Right around dinner time the Stripers showed up and made the trip well worth our time. We boated 10 fish in less than an hour and the bite was both fast and furious. Once again David landed the big fish of the trip but Dad did get his share of action. Look for a video to post sometime over the winter once I have time to get it on line. For now, here are some photo's of the trip.
My friend Joel has fished for Striped Bass on Lanier for many years but said he's never had a day like he did on our trip. We boated over 20 fish in just 4 hours and most all were jigged. Joel was amazed at the action which started as soon as we got outside the no wake zone. His first monster was trolled out over the channel and pulled the scales down to 21 lbs. His second monster was jigged and was a hefty 26 lbs! All the fish were released but I think he was wondering what that 26 lb'er would have looked like on the wall…