Took a short trip on Lanier today to get my boat ready for the upcoming season. I didn't intend on fishing but if I got my work done quickly, I planned on wetting a line or two… After doing some cleaning and fresh water tank work, I took a closer look at my trolling motor problem. Looks like the deep cycle batteries may be dead as they won't hold a charge. Other than that, nothing major needs to be done. The boat will be serviced early next week and I'll get any replaced that don't measure up to the "load test" my mechanic will do.
Once my work was done, I decided to play a bit. It was around 1:00 PM and maybe the worse time to try but I had a little time to kill. I've been trying to get on spotted bass with spot tailed minnows thinking it would be fun for the kid. One strategic throw of my cast net landed 13-14 large spot tailed minnows from my dock and with the live well full, I headed up the lake in search of spots. I thought drifting BB, in the shade, would be killer. Turned out to be a bust; I couldn't buy a bite. I was marking 80 degree water, some little bait pods out over the channel and even what I thought were some fish mixed in the deep water around the pods. After struggling to catch anything, I called Doug. I asked about the fish I thought I was seeing and he said he thinks they're spotted bass. After trying to target them, I think he's right. They appear small on the graph, won't hit the troll or jig presentation and are almost always singles. To get over fish that would eat, he said to work the channel markers at 20 feet. Turned out he was right!
From that point on I headed north fishing every reef marker I found. Basically I'd drop my bait and get an instant hook up. It was like clock work; the spots were right at 20 feet and I was able to catch 1-2 per stop. As expected, I was able to establish a pattern and with my expectations met, I headed home. Just below the Chestatee cut through by Keith's Bridge ramp, I noticed what looked like a Striper chasing a lone Blue Back. I pulled up to the spot and kept my eyes peeled. Within a few minutes, I saw the little guy surface again for 2-3 jumps and was quick on my cast ahead of his trajectory. My fluke didn't hit the water for more than a second and "fish on". This fish was small, around 5 lbs, but fun and so much stronger compared to the spotted bass I'd been catching. I waited around looking another 5 minutes and sure enough, same sequence of events unfolded. In fact, it may have been the same Striper! Realizing these were in fact small fish, I reeled up and called it a day.
With the start of June we inch ever closer to the summer pattern. I was marking 81-82 degrees in the water just above BB so no doubt the lake is heating up as summer takes hold. We are on a "faster than normal" heat pattern which is fine with me. With any luck they'll be schooling on the southside by the end of this month.
The summer fishing season for Lake Lanier Stripers is soon to start. As the month of May winds down and the school year comes to an end, the waters of Lake Lanier will warm in the summer heat. We're currently marking 75-78 on the lower end of Lanier and up the lake the water temps are fast rising into the 80's.
This time of year fish can be caught but in general I don't like to run to the water where they're most active. Instead I opt to wait them out and will try to catch them as they forage down lake. I'll typically take trips heading up the lake in search of pockets and places where fish are beginning to amass. I usually don't start this search till June but this year decided to try in May. Suffice to say it's still way too early…
Rick and I hit the lake Wednesday the 26th and fished this exact pattern with nothing positive to show for our efforts. We ran the channel from Aqualand up to Gainesville Creek and really didn't cross paths with any Stripers the whole day. This time last year the lake was filled with bait and the water was very low. Not so this year. Currently there are very few bait pods to be found and the few you do find are around humps and long points. No doubt they're sticking around the warmer water and as you move up the lake, there are more bait pods to be seen on the fish finders.
Sticking to the patterns I like means a lot of empty screen space but at some point they will show up. When the water gets warm enough, fish will be forced to the channel and when they arrive, I hope to take advantage via the troll and deep water jig. Check back weekly as I expect to be on the pond at least once a week now till the fishing gets going.
Got out today thinking the fish would be rolling on the surface with the incoming storm. WRONG! I don't think I've ever done more riding in one day as I did today. I went as far north as Wahoo and as far south as the Dam in search of fish breaking but all the gas I burned was in vain…
I hit the water around 11:00 and expected to find fish on top as we have a big low pressure system moving in over the next day. Cloud cover was dominant and the only thing missing was wind. I guess maybe that was a major factor because over the next 4 hours I didn't see much of anything up top. On the way up the lake, I bumped into the only surface fish I was to see. This happened right in front of Rivers Fork camp ground. I got off one cast with a fluke and hooked up. A few minutes a later a 7 lb Striper was landed. This happened around noon.
Soon after I was up in Sardis mulling around my bud DY who was seeing fish down low. He was holding his ground but the fish weren't biting. I idled around searching to see if there was anything worth waiting for but only graphed small fish so I boogied. From there I headed south and around 2:00 PM stumbled upon some fish deep in front of the dam. I dropped my DD and bam, fish on. Some 7-8 minutes later I had boated a summer sized Striper around 11-12 lbs which made the day.
Around 2:30 I threw in the towel and was calling the day a bust and headed back to dock. Before I did I had to look in front of Aqualand one more time. This is where I had all that action last week so I was hoping maybe there would be something up and about. Well, to my surprise, I spotted a small school of fish tracking northward. There were 4-6 fish swimming much like you see dolphins along the coast with their backs coming out of the water. Weird thing was these fish weren't feeding; they were just cruising up and down and they were BIG! I grabbed my giant trout plug, made a cast right on top of them and for a moment could "feel" a fish. It didn't seem like a bite but instead it felt like the bait was rubbing on one as it swam by. At that point my lure got "launched" out of the water and I'm not sure if they tail whacked it or if it was a miss hit. Regardless, there was no hookup and that splash seemed to initiate a deep dive. In other words, they were gone.
Overall a "bad" day everything considered. After getting home, I checked the BP for the day and noted there was no major rise or peak; it essentially was a "flatline". This was in contrast to yesterday when it rose up and dropped which in turn initiated a strong bite DY witnessed. This time of year a flatline or low BP for a day will enable the fish to stay deep regardless of light. Yesterday, given the steep drop off from 11-3, the fish were up high so I guess I missed it. Oh well, such is the plight of winter fishing on Lanier.
Went out on the lake today for the first time in November and man was it wild! Fish were breaking everywhere; definitely the most action I've ever seen "up top". I spent 4 hours on the water and didn't have to travel beyond Flowery/Aqualand/Mud for all the "action".
Got on the water around 11 and immediately found birds in Flowery Branch. I wasn't able to get close as they would scatter as I approached but I never did see fish so I wasn't fretting it. After turning the corner at the mouth of FB and heading toward the gas dock, I was able to hit pay-dirt. Small pods of fish were surfacing all around and I started throwing everything at them figuring they'd be quick to bite my offering. Turns out I was wrong. For the most part, they didn't want anything big. Instinctively I expected this but with hope I kept the heavy tackle tied on hoping I could somehow coerce them. Wasn't happening… Reluctantly I tied on a fluke and sure enough, that was the deal.
Flukes cast to rolling fish would get attention. The key was getting on top of the fish right as they surfaced, which is a lot harder than it sounds, and the other key was patience. Fast retrieves are a no-no when they're on this small bait bite; let the lure sit and 4 of 5 times they'll bite it on the drop. At noon I had my first fish, around 12 lbs, and just 2 bites so I wasn't knocking them out but I was making progress. With fish seemingly everywhere I thought I would have had more luck but getting quality casts proved to be a lot more difficult than I imagined. Still, I hung in tough and stuck to my game plan.
Around 1-2 PM I was able to make 2 decent casts (after 20+ bad ones). Both resulted in hits; one hit was converted to a fish boated. The light lure on heavy line made long casts difficult and took away one of my "strengths". Still, I kept at it. Around 3 PM I got another bite and then another. At days end I had boated 4, ranging in size from 11-14 lbs, and all were caught on fluke. I did have 3-4 instances where I was over them thick and nada. This was hard to accept. But overall, not bad considering I hadn't been out in a month.
Today the surface temps were up around 66 degrees and still quite high considering the time of year. I do expect them to drop a lot in the coming weeks and for the most part, fishing to be tough or "tougher still". A good day will be anything over 5 fish; a decent day 2-4 and there is always potential for the inenviable "skunky" ala "Olla" (def: Rick going out for the nite bite and not catching anything…). There will be days when they turn on and this will usually be right before a storm. Fast approaching systems with a falling BP and wind will be best. Slow moving LP systems won't provide nearly as good impact with the best time to go for these storms a day or two before they arrive (even if it's sunny). Such is the pattern in the winter so try to go when it will most count and you'll be sure to put fish on the boat!