Fishing

Lake level: Down 4.6 feet
Temperature: 80s
Clarity: Mostly clear

BASS: Bass fishing on Lake Lanier is fair to good. The fish are settled into the true late summer patterns right now with several patterns working. The top water bite is still happening especially early in the morning with the Fluke, Riser and Skimmer over the structure on humps and long points in the 25- 40-foot range. The bass can be scattered around these areas and suddenly break anywhere so be prepared.

The drop shot bite is good around the same structure and along ledges. Work a Sweet Rosy, Blue Lily or morning dawn color worm directly over the bass. Use your electronics to determine where they are set up for the day, either in the brush or around it, and get your bait right on their nose.

There are some good bass being caught using Live Scope to find the balls of shad over the deep structure. Often this deeper structure is in the middle of the creeks so it takes time to scope and find the bait balls that have the bass around them. Once you locate them, take a three eights Spot Choker with a Mayor or fluke type trailer and target the bass that are around the bait ball.

These bass may be moving so you will need to lead them with your cast in the direction they are headed. Cast your Spot Choker past the bass and let it fall to a depth just above the bass and start a steady retrieve back. Once the bait is over the bass you can give it a quick pop and if the bass react speed up your retrieve to trigger the strike. This method can produce some really good bass but it takes time to locate the schools and determine if they are active.

It’s hot out there but you can still Go Catch ‘Em!

Report by: Phil Johnson: pjohnson15@hotmail.com, 770 366-8845.

STRIPERS: Stripers are in the back of coves in small schools of 4 to 6 fish. Use electronics to mark the fish and circle back over with your downlines using blue back herring.

Put your bait at a variety of depths to see what they respond to. Change bait often to have active herring because of the heat and oxygen levels in the water.

Report by: Buck Cannon, 404 510-1778.

NOTICE: Tidwell Park, one of Forsyth County’s lake access points, will be off limits until 2029. The closing is due to construction for a new raw water intake facility on Lake Lanier, according to Forsyth County government officials.