Captain Clay’s Fishing Report

Lake Lanier

July 2007

Water Temperature: 82 degrees & rising

Lake Level: Approx. 1065 and Falling

Stripers:   The summer downline fishing for the stripers is here. The fish are grouped up into very large schools. Some of these schools will have several hundred fish in them. The better fishing will be on the south end of the lake. Do not put out bait until you see some fish on the graph. You cannot sit and wait on the fish for any period of time or your bait will not be any good. This time of year good electronics is crucial. Any of the products made by Lowrance are hard to beat.  For the most part, the fish will be 30 to 40 feet deep over 60 to 100 feet of water. Drop your bait just above the schools of fish.  Use a 7ft leader of 15lb Triplefish fluorocarbon and a 2/0 Mustad octopus hook. Tie the 15lb leader under a 1 1/2oz. swivel sinker. Live herring will be the preferred bait during the summer months. For the most part, stripers will feed exclusively on herring during the summer months. Be sure to take plenty of bait. The herring will not stay alive very long on the hook due to the high water temps.

Bass:  The spotted bass on the lake are heading for the deeper brush. Once again, electronics are crucial to finding the brush piles out on the points. The most productive technique will be to use live spottail minnows on a dropshot rig. The dropshot rig consists of a size 2 or 4 light wire mosquito hook rigged 18 to 24 inches above a clip-on type sinker.  The spottail minnows can sometimes be purchased at the tackle store but most of the time you will have to catch them yourself. Use a 7 or 8 ft radius 3/16” mesh net to catch the minnows. The minnows will be on every sandy beach and boat ramp on the lake. If you want to use artificials, use the drop shot rig with a 4-inch Aaron’s magic Roboworm or similar 4-inch green plastic worm.   Lastly, do not let the low lake levels affect your decision to go fishing. If the lake levels continue to drop, look to see the topwater bite to be very good for the spotted bass. The brush piles the bass are holding in will be closer to the surface and more bass will come up to attack passing baitfish.

Crappie:  During July, the crappie fishing becomes less popular. Most of the crappie fishing will continue to be at night using lights under the bridges or around the marinas on the south end of the lake. Three of the best places will be Bald Ridge Marina, Six Mile Creek Bridge, and Two Mile Creek Bridge.  Any type of light or lantern will work but the Hydroglow fish light is the best. The light is neon green and approximately 4 feet long. This light is becoming popular all across the nation and is produced locally.

To view pictures from recent trips visit the North Ga Fishing Bulletin Board at

www.northgafishing.com

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