Fishing Reports (scroll down for latest report!)

Lake Lanier and Chattahoochee Fishing Report
late August
Report by Eric Aldrich.

Forsyth County Fishing Report

Late September and Early October

Report by Eric Aldrich.

Water Conditions: Lake temperatures are in the mid to lower 70’s. The Lake Lanier water level is dropping and is around 1054.4 or right around 16.5 feet below full pool. The Chattahoochee River is clear and cool. Check generation schedules before heading out to the river @ 770-945-1466

Bass: Bass fishing has been very good with the continued milder temperatures. You will need to keep an open mind when fishing in the fall. Don’t concentrate as much on what types of lure but instead find the active fish and they will eat almost any properly presented lure. Bass are moving around a good deal and finding the bait is the key that will unlock great fishing. Use your Humminbird Electronics to locate the large schools of blue back herring, bass and stripers. Also keep an eye out for any surface activity. You may only see a single fleeing baitfish or one or two bass breaking the surface that can give away a much larger school of fish. My buddy, Jeff Yero, use to say the water may be glassy on top but there is fish war going on below the surface!

When you find the schools throw a SPRO Dawg 125, Super Spook or larger buzz bait when it’s choppy and down size to a SPRO Dawg 100 or smaller top water plug when the surface is calm. When a bas strikes and misses you top water plug keep it moving at the same pace or even faster and they will often come back for multiple hits until you finally hook up. Almost any lure will work when the fish are on top. Crank baits, swim baits, SPRO Buck Tails and the old reliable Rooster Tail will all work well.

We have also caught fish on finesse techniques like a jig head or drop shot rigged finesse worm but it’s hard for me to slow down when the fish are hitting faster lures! If you want to ensure some great catches then by some large blue back herring form Hammond’s and flat line these bait fish in the mouths of any main lake creek.

Stripers: The top water action is still going strong but it can be a challenge to stay with the fish as they are up and down quickly. At times you may see an acre of stripers exploding on the surface or you may only see a few fish on top but the action is happening! One of the best techniques to consistently catch top water stripers is to wake a Red Fin on the surface. Reel this lure slow and steady and keep your rod tip held high so that the lure forms a defined V wake on the surface. The stripers will hit these plugs so hard you may need your heart pills! As with the bass other lures will work well so keep a SPRO Buck Tail or SPRO Dawg tied on as well. Live bait fishing has also been very good and the stripers are bitting flat and down lined blue backs and trout. Hammond’s has trout in stock for the rest of the winter and they are easier to keep alive then blue backs. The down lines have been working best when you see fish at 20 to 40 feet or more on your Humminbird Electronics. Here is a tip for catching a trophy striper. Often the

smaller stripers will be the fish that appear on the surface. Bigger stripers will hang below the school picking off wounded baitfishes that flutter down form the surface activity. Try throwing a large spoon or SPRO Buck Tail to the school and let it lust free fall through the fish. It will very rarely hit the bottom before a fish attracts it even on the free fall. These will often be the bigger 20-pound or more stripers. Trolling buck tails on lead core or down riggers has been working well this week. The Bomber Long A bite is just starting to get going and they actually are hitting these lures best right at sunset. Be VERY careful if you venture out after dark as the low lake levels cause many unseen obstructions just below the surface.

Crappie: The Crppie fishing is good. And the same methods that were working last week are still productive. The fish have moved shallower with the milder temperatures.

Troll Micro Spoons and crappie jigs at 10 to 12 feet from the creek mouths on into the creeks.

Trout on the Chattahoochee: Trout fishing has been a little slower this past week but it’s still pretty easy to catch a limit if you know what to do. I often fish one lure all day long for some good action. I use a 1/8^th or 1/16^th ounce white and silver (color isn’t that important!) Rooster Tail on very light two or four pound test line. Fly-fishing and live bait (where permitted) is also working fair.

Eric Aldrich is a part time outdoor writer, bass fisherman and sponsored by Humminbird, SPRO, Gamakatsu, Tru Tungsten and Hammonds Fishing and Boat Storage. Reports are based on personal experience and permission from a close network of friends. I would love to hear from our readers so please email me at esaldrich@yahoo.com or visit my website at esaldrich.tripod.com. Remember to take a kid fishing!


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		Lake Lanier and Chattahoochee Fishing Report late August Report by Eric Aldrich. Water Conditions: Lake temperatures are in the lower 80’s. The lake is down almost 17 and half feet low at 1053.6 and it dropping over an inch a day. Lake Lanier is mostly clear but it will get stained during times of heavy traffic. The Chattahoochee River is clear. Check generation schedules before heading out to the river @ 770-945-1466 Bass: Bass fishing is decent and the milder than normal temperatures have helped. Bass have been unusually shallow at times this week so keep all of your options open. The most consist pattern for larger spotted bass has been to work the schooling fish out in the creek mouths and main lake humps and points. Vary your lures between a top water plug like a SPRO Dawg then switch over to a sub surface bait to catch the suspended fish. One of the best and most economical lures to use is a white a sliver Rooster Tail. I like a heavy ½ ounce model and I throw these on a bait-casting outfit. Most people prefer a 1/8th or 1/6th ounce version and they throw these on a spinning outfit. Whichever method you prefer will work. Throw the Rooster Tail out and let it sink to the bottom or to where the fish are suspended. Then engage the real and retrieve this inline spinner just fast enough to keep the blades moving. You can get the heavier Rooster Tails at Hammond’s Bait and Tackle but I have not seen them anywhere else except on the Internet. Try working the banks early and later in the day with a small deep diving crank bait. I have been using a new prototype SPRO deep diving Little John with great success. Make sure to hit the rocks and brush when you retrieve your crank bait. If you want to ensure a great day of fishing for the kids then spot tail minnows are your best bet in summer. Down line these native bait fish around 20 feet in the creek mouths around brush and rocks. Stripers: Striper fishing remains great and Shane Watson states that the lead core trolling bite is very good. Use a 1-ounce SPRO Buck Tail in spearing blue and tip this jig with a plastic trailer or better yet a live blue back herring. Set your lead core at 7-8 colors and keep your boat moving at around 2 and a half miles per hour. This is a great way to scout around and to find the bigger schools of stripers. Once you locate the stripers on you Humminbird Electronics then switch over to down lined blue backs for some great action. Set your lines at the level that you see the fish. Most of the stripers have been hanging around the 50-foot mark but I have seen them much shallower on overcast days. Crappie: Keith Pace says the crappie fishing has picked up slightly and he is still finding some smaller to medium crappie on shallower flats. Make sure that you pick and area with deeper water close by. Early and late in the days has been OK for trolling crappie jigs and spoons in fewer than ten feet on these flats. During the day target the deeper brush piles and stumps at around 15 feet. The night fish are still biting on the bridges and deeper dock with lights. Trout on the Chattahoochee: The trout fishing is good. On the weekends there is still a lot of float traffic on the river so it will pay to get out there early. The trout will bite best before the sunlight hits the river. Continue to use Rapalas and Rooster Tails and work these lures on the lightest line you can use. A slow steady retrieve works best but some times a pause and go retrieve can also trigger bites. Live bait (where permitted) has been working all day long. Eric Aldrich is a part time outdoor writer, bass fisherman and is sponsored by Humminbird, SPRO, Gamakatsu, Tru Tungsten and Hammonds Fishing and Boat Storage. Reports are based on personal experience and permission from a close network of friends. I would love to hear from our readers so please email me at esaldrich@yahoo.com or visit my website at esaldrich.tripod.com. Remember to take a kid fishing! Forsyth County Fishing Report Late September and Early October Report by Eric Aldrich. Water Conditions: Lake temperatures are in the mid to lower 70’s. The Lake Lanier water level is dropping and is around 1054.4 or right around 16.5 feet below full pool. The Chattahoochee River is clear and cool. Check generation schedules before heading out to the river @ 770-945-1466 Bass: Bass fishing has been very good with the continued milder temperatures. You will need to keep an open mind when fishing in the fall. Don’t concentrate as much on what types of lure but instead find the active fish and they will eat almost any properly presented lure. Bass are moving around a good deal and finding the bait is the key that will unlock great fishing. Use your Humminbird Electronics to locate the large schools of blue back herring, bass and stripers. Also keep an eye out for any surface activity. You may only see a single fleeing baitfish or one or two bass breaking the surface that can give away a much larger school of fish. My buddy, Jeff Yero, use to say the water may be glassy on top but there is fish war going on below the surface! When you find the schools throw a SPRO Dawg 125, Super Spook or larger buzz bait when it’s choppy and down size to a SPRO Dawg 100 or smaller top water plug when the surface is calm. When a bas strikes and misses you top water plug keep it moving at the same pace or even faster and they will often come back for multiple hits until you finally hook up. Almost any lure will work when the fish are on top. Crank baits, swim baits, SPRO Buck Tails and the old reliable Rooster Tail will all work well. We have also caught fish on finesse techniques like a jig head or drop shot rigged finesse worm but it’s hard for me to slow down when the fish are hitting faster lures! If you want to ensure some great catches then by some large blue back herring form Hammond’s and flat line these bait fish in the mouths of any main lake creek. Stripers: The top water action is still going strong but it can be a challenge to stay with the fish as they are up and down quickly. At times you may see an acre of stripers exploding on the surface or you may only see a few fish on top but the action is happening! One of the best techniques to consistently catch top water stripers is to wake a Red Fin on the surface. Reel this lure slow and steady and keep your rod tip held high so that the lure forms a defined V wake on the surface. The stripers will hit these plugs so hard you may need your heart pills! As with the bass other lures will work well so keep a SPRO Buck Tail or SPRO Dawg tied on as well. Live bait fishing has also been very good and the stripers are bitting flat and down lined blue backs and trout. Hammond’s has trout in stock for the rest of the winter and they are easier to keep alive then blue backs. The down lines have been working best when you see fish at 20 to 40 feet or more on your Humminbird Electronics. Here is a tip for catching a trophy striper. Often the smaller stripers will be the fish that appear on the surface. Bigger stripers will hang below the school picking off wounded baitfishes that flutter down form the surface activity. Try throwing a large spoon or SPRO Buck Tail to the school and let it lust free fall through the fish. It will very rarely hit the bottom before a fish attracts it even on the free fall. These will often be the bigger 20-pound or more stripers. Trolling buck tails on lead core or down riggers has been working well this week. The Bomber Long A bite is just starting to get going and they actually are hitting these lures best right at sunset. Be VERY careful if you venture out after dark as the low lake levels cause many unseen obstructions just below the surface. Crappie: The Crppie fishing is good. And the same methods that were working last week are still productive. The fish have moved shallower with the milder temperatures. Troll Micro Spoons and crappie jigs at 10 to 12 feet from the creek mouths on into the creeks. Trout on the Chattahoochee: Trout fishing has been a little slower this past week but it’s still pretty easy to catch a limit if you know what to do. I often fish one lure all day long for some good action. I use a 1/8^th or 1/16^th ounce white and silver (color isn’t that important!) Rooster Tail on very light two or four pound test line. Fly-fishing and live bait (where permitted) is also working fair. Eric Aldrich is a part time outdoor writer, bass fisherman and sponsored by Humminbird, SPRO, Gamakatsu, Tru Tungsten and Hammonds Fishing and Boat Storage. Reports are based on personal experience and permission from a close network of friends. I would love to hear from our readers so please email me at esaldrich@yahoo.com or visit my website at esaldrich.tripod.com. Remember to take a kid fishing!



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