Hit the lake today for a last minute trip with David Shutte and Jonathan. Didn’t expect to catch much but you never know. David had his summer vacation cut short and called me Thursday evening to see if there was anything we could do Friday. After 1/100,000.000 of a second I answered: Lets go Fishing!

So after netting some 25 spot tailed minnows Friday morning, we ran up the lake to see what we could find. Turns out our first stop was Wahoo creek. After talking to Doug, I heard there were some fish present though they appeared to be dormant. Hoping they’d kick on at some point, I made the trip up the lake. 2 hours later we had nothing to show for the drive. The fish were small looking and after trolling, jigging and trying several presentations, we weren’t able to get any of them to bite so we headed back down toward Browns Bridge. It was right after mid day when we finally started to catch the fish we came for: spotted bass.

So for the rest of the day from Gainesville Marina to Browns Bridge we fished main point markers with both spot tailed minnows and lures. We ended up hooking up at pretty much every stop with most points yielding 1-3 fish. It took the boys awhile to learn how to get the bite and keep the fish on but in the end they did okay. The final tally was about 12 spotted bass, 4 catfish and a Striper.

The Striper came off the Rivers Fork marker where I was marking a school of them for the first time this year. I knew they were small and sure enough, the one I caught was right 5 lbs. But still it was good to see some fish this far south. The catfish were huge with two over 5 lbs. I’m convinced there are a lot of guys mistaking these for Stripers as they sure looked like them on the screen. Apparently they’re moving in schools because we got over what appeared to be Stripers but then we end up catching nothing but cats. Today we boated 4 from what I was seeing on the screen and they were definitely in a school so I’m convinced they can easily be mistaken for Stripers. Plus, they don’t like to hit the bluebacks like the spot tails which would explain so many guys complaining about “window shoppers”. I think a lot more times then anyone realizes the “shoppers” might be another species of fish.

To finish up the day we noted some fish chasing bait on the surface and Jonathan wanted to throw surface plugs at them. I wasn’t expecting much but I set us up with Redfins to see. After some 15-20 casts he was discouraged but I hung in there and sure enough, “BAM”, I got a beautiful spotted bass which turned out to be fish of the day. Right at 4 lbs, it took three attempts to finally get hooked and both David and Jonathan got to see him attack the lure on top as they heard the first splash and watched the event. They were blown away by how cool it is to see them exploding on top and now Jonathan want’s to come out around dinner time just for the top water action!

On a side note, I was marking 82 degrees around most of the lake. No doubt the water continues to warm faster than normal and I’m pretty sure we’ll be seeing Stripes southside any day now. I know some guys are catching them on the south end but they’re still being free lined. For me the real action won’t start till these fish are being caught via down line which should be later this month. I could be wrong but I’m pretty sure we’re about to have a hot, hot summer and all indicators are showing me it will be summer season that lasts a lot longer than it did these past two years. I actually have been hearing cicada’s already (actually, since June 1st) which is way early for them. Usually you don’t hear them till the last week of June and to me, this is just another indicator this summer is most likely going to be long and hot. Since this will do nothing but extend our much coveted summer Striper pattern, I say ‘bring it on”!

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.