The striper fishing on Lake Lanier is falling into the Winter patterns. The bait is thickening up in the creeks and the stripers are following them. Live bait will be hard to beat in December.
The baitfish are now moving into the creeks in very large schools as mentioned . Some of these schools are absolutely massive. On and off throughout the day the stripers will move through this bait and feast. You want to be waiting on the stripers with the traditional downline with blueback herring and rainbow trout around these massive pods of bait. You will need the same setup for the herring and the trout but you will need different size weights and hooks. Spool up a Penn Fathom II 20 reel with fifteen pound Trilene Big Game clear line paired with a Shakespeare striper rod. You can use this setup year round for stripers. Tie a carolina rig on the end with a Capt. Mack 2 ounce swivel sinker and 5 foot leader of 15 pound Trilene 100% Flourocarbon and a Gamakatsu 3/0 octopus hook. If the trout are smaller, go with the 1/0 or 2/0 Gamakatsu Octopus hook. On the herring, use the smaller 1 ounce Capt. Mack swivel sinker. Also on the herring use a smaller size 1 Gamakatsu Finesse Wide Gap hook and 12 pound Trilene 100 % Flourocarbon. All of these details are important. These details will make the difference between fishing and catching.
If you want to catch these fish on artificials. The spoon is a great choice. Tie on a Capt. Mack Super Spoon on a 6’6” Fenwick medium action rod paired with a Abu Garcia Revo X with 10 pound line and drop the spoon to the bottom and work it in a yo-yo type motion around the big pods of bait. Most of the bites will be on the fall of the spoon. If you do see some surface action, keep a Berkley Spy tied on a spinning rod. This late in the year the stripers will be feeding on small threadfin shad which the Spy will match.
To find where these deep pods are located first look for any birds. The birds always narrow your search. Now that you are in the right area, the proper electronics are crucial. On the Humminbird Solix, you can see these huge pods of bait and even see your bait swimming around on the hook around the schools of bait. During the Winter do not be afraid to fish in the middle of the day. Many times in the Winter the best fishing is during the warmest part of the day. A win all the way around. No need to freeze at daylight. See you on the water, the pleasure boaters are gone and the lake is all set for fishermen.
