Lake level: 1071.54
Clarity: Stained
Temperature: 70s

Bass Fishing: Bass fishing is good. The Spotsticker jig heads and all-white Mini-Me spinnerbaits will catch fish on almost any main lake point.

Ride over some points with the Lowrance Down Scan technology and you can see fish on the bottom in 25 feet of water. Use the Zoom finesse worm cut down an inch on a spinning reel. Ten-pound Sufix line has been an excellent deep water tactic. Use a Weedless Wonder lead head and this light rig will allow anglers to feel the light strikes. And the strikes are very light. Most of the fish we have caught never even move with the bait, they just hold on. With any wind blowing, this is all but impossible to work properly. Usually, the spots pick up this lead head and hook combination and swim of with the whole rig in their mouth. But right now the strikes are very hard to feel.

Many of the spots are not on any structure. Moving baits can cover these points quickly. Try a Zoom mini lizard on the drop shot and a 3/16 ounce sinker on the bottom of the rig or lighter. Spoons are the second choice bait and no more than a small ½ ounce size as all the baitfish the spots are very small. Try some live minnows on the drop shot, too. Sand finesse worms, natural blue, and cinnamon green are the best colors.
Report by Ken Sturdivant’s Southern Fishing Report, www.southernfishing.com.

Striper Fishing: Stripers are schooling in large groups in the mid-lake up to Gainesville. Using your electronics locate the schools in 40 to 60 feet of water and use down lines with blue backs. Fish 30 to 45 feet deep. Use drumming method to attract the fish and keep your eyes on alert because the bite will be substantial. The topwater has been hit or miss so has a Sebile or a spook ready.
Report by Buck Cannon, Buck Tails Guide Service,
404 510-1778.

Crappie Fishing: Crappie fishing is excellent. Don’t be afraid to look for blowdowns in shallow water. Recently, while scanning docks in 20’ of water using side-scan we found a blowdown 5’ deep loaded with crappie. Look for open water brush in 10 to 20 feet of waters. Plan on losing several jigs and minnows because you have to be down there with them to catch them. Look under docks that are in 15 to 30 feet of water with brush or structures. Use your electronic charts to locate these areas. Down line small crappie minnows with BB-sized sinkers. Jigs are also producing very well. My Jig recommendations are blue and chartreuse or light green over dark green ATX jigs. They can be used equally well for short casting, vertical jigging or dock shooting. We use a 5-pound test, high visibility yellow K9 braid. Watch your sonar carefully for bait. Crappie like to live near their food source. Use scanning type sonar (e.g. Down and Side Imaging) to locate schooling fish, and complement this with the latest in live scanning sonar technology (e.g. Garmin’s LiveScope or Lowrance LiveSight). Set waypoints on your electronic charts so that you can quickly return to productive locations. Note that you can do this on a smartphone or tablet using the Navionics “Boating app.
Report by Captain Josh Thornton,
770 530-6493.