I decided to do a little exploring today and after spending a few hours scouring the lake in the rain, decided to hit some old holes. The recent rain, cold air and wind has caused the lake water surface temperature to drop almost 10 degrees below what I would consider normal. This in turn is causing the fish to scatter. I was able to catch fish above Browns Bridge which typically doesn't happen till after October some time. These fish have been smaller for me and since I'm always after "big", I headed back to the dam to finish out the day. Turned out to be the right call….
Around 4:00 they started getting thick on the screen and before long I was trolling and jigging them like it was just another summer day. The first fish I landed turned out to be a MONSTER! Weighing in at just over 20 lbs, I can't say I've ever boated a fish so fat this time of year!
I took out the winners of my Lakeview Auction fishing trip Sunday and we had a terrific day on the water! Rick and his son Jackson came aboard the Main Office Sunday afternoon and we hit Lanier in search of some Striped Bass. I had my first mate Jonathan on board and along with all the weekend warriors, we ventured out just after 1:00 PM on this beautiful Sunday. The temperatures were mild for summer and not surprisingly, the lake was filled with boats! Basically the lake becomes a giant "wave pool" but this didn't seem to bother the fish….
After looking at 1-2 spots along the main channel, we started marking some Stripers down by the dam in deep water. We ended up spending the whole day within site of Buford Dam road and what just had to be the busiest part of the lake! The boats were buzzing around us all day but with the Stripers biting as much as they were, it didn't seem to bother anyone aboard. We trolled fish ranging in size from 8 lbs all the way up to 15 lbs. Rick is now convinced Lake Lanier does in fact have a healthy stock of Striped Bass. And Jackson got to feel just how strong these fish can be by reeling in big Stripers on both trolling and light spinning tackle. Here are just a few of the photos from the day (click on them to enlarge)…
We fished from 1:30 to 6:30 and over the course of those five hours we boated 20 fish. At the end of the day I'm sure Rick and Jackson were both happy with the days events and amazed at the quality of fish Lake Lanier maintains. In fact, so impressed was Rick that I wouldn't be surprised if the next time I pull up to his dock I see a nice Center Console Striper Boat ready to hit the water!
We got several more photos which can be seen clicking the thumbnail image below. The photo album has captions added and can accept comments. You can also download larger image files better suited for printing by clicking any photo in the album.
Since my last post, things have really turned "on" up at Lanier. The Striped Bass fishing has been off the charts! Rick and I scored over 20 fish last Thursday with the big fish of the trip tipping the scales just over 20 lbs. Friday I was out by myself and even though I didn't mark a lot of fish, I was able to boat 9-10 via the troll and jig. The surface temps are still low considering we're in the middle of August but the thermocline appears to be in place and the fish are following the summertime pattern for sure.
After reviewing the charts for this week, it was pretty obvious there was going to be a "middle of the day" feed and sure enough, I was dead on. I caught over 20 today during a 4 hour time period and though I didn't boat any monsters, I did see a ton of fish. Just check out following screen shots from some video I took.
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- When you see Stripers this thick on the screen, it's not a matter of "if" they'll bite but rather "how many can I catch"!!
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- I boated over 20 fish and by the end of the day, I was pretty much exhausted!
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- These 8-10 lb fish are super strong and a blast to catch on spinning tackle!
For now on I expect most every trip will be productive. Fish are all over the lake and as the supply of bait pods dwindle, the ferocity of the "bite" will only increase. For the next 4-6 weeks, it should be the same pattern of trolling till you find them; then either keep trolling or jigging to boat fish. An average trip should yield 10+ fish; really good days will be 20+ or more and I expect several exceptional days (30+ fish) before it's over.
There is some hurricane activity brewing up in the Atlantic Ocean which I hope mostly misses us. Last year a couple of storms rolled over Atlanta and had a profound impact on Lanier. True we need the rain but all that wind plays havoc with the thermocline. Hopefully we don't get a "season interrupted" like last year….
Anyone who's been wanting to go on a trip I suggest you drop me a line so we can get it set up; the bite won't get any better!
C.J.
Jonathan and I hit the lake this afternoon for a quick trip. I figured we'd be able to catch a few fish between 2-5 PM and I was right. The prime was at 3:00 and though it was a Friday afternoon, I thought we'd manage the boat traffic Ok and it turned out to be a good bet.
We got our first fish of the day about 4 minutes after the lines got wet! Turned out to be the "big" fish of the day measuring a solid 16 lbs on the Chatillon scale!
The rest of the day produced fish both trolled and jigged. Jonathan has bested me lately while jigging. Not sure what he's doing but he keeps getting the fish to bite! Fortunately he goes back to school next week so he won't be able to show me up much longer!
Thursday, Bori and Jill hit the ocean for some summertime Coho Trolling. Now I have to say, based on what Bori is wearing, I find it hard to believe it's "summertime" up in Oregon but I guess he is a little north of us here in Georgia…
Not surprisingly, Rick and I decided to hit Lanier for some summertime Striper Trolling!! Check out these photo's proving once again that the "nut" doesn't fall far from the "tree"…
