Striper / Crappie Report for December 2015
by doug | 0 comments
Striper action has been very good this month. Live Bluebacks and trout are producing most of the action. The trout bite should get better as the water temps drop into the low 50’s. With the warm weather we have had water temps are 7-8 degrees warmer for this time of year. We are averaging 15 -20 stripers on our charters lately. Urigs are working also. Try trolling 60 -100 ft. behind the boat at around 3 mph. Any time I see stripers that are finicky this time of year the urig will usually trigger the fish. The key to catching winter stripers is finding the bait. Look in the backs the major with your sonar and also watch for diving gulls and loons. They will find the fish for you.
Crappie have started early this year. I had a 150 fish day the week before with some fish pushing over 1 pound. All the crappie hit 1/32 ounce jigs with minnow bodies. Colder weather will only get the crappie more schooled up and easier to catch. I will be out next few days and will report back soon.
February 3, 2015 Crappie/Striper Report
by doug | 0 comments
Crappie are getting cranked up on Lake Lanier. I went out on a couple of crappie charters last week and boated around 50 nice fish on each outing. The water temps are holding around 47 degrees which is perfect for winter time crappie. The lake level is nearly full and the water color is a perfect stain for crappie fishing. Several weeks back the big rains we had muddied up much of the good areas we fish for the crappie making the fishing then a little tougher. Since the water has settled out and back in good shape. All the crappie we caught last week were suspended at 10-15 ft. depths. We boated all our fish on 1/16 and 1/32 oz. jigs with small tube jigs. Fishing should continue to be good for the crappie on into March. Striper fishing has been ok with most of the fish being caught trolling urigs on main lake points. Live herring have been producing action also fished on flatlines and planner boards. The best time for the stripers this time of the year is usually late afternoon when water temps. creep up a degree or two. I will be back out on the lake Thursday and Friday. Will report back soon.
Striper/Crappie Report March 25, 2014
by doug | 0 comments
Fishing has still been good for crappie. Ive had my best luck on sunny days which bunches up the crappie around shallow boat docks. I fished Sunday for crappie and struggled to catch around 40 fish but it stayed overcast all day which makes it a little tougher on the dock bite. Still getting the crappie on small jigs and 4 pound test line. The crappie are making there way back into the creeks towards spawning areas. They will soon be in blowdowns and buck brush in the backs of the creeks. We are coming up on a new moon this Sunday which should really turn them on. The next full moon will be great for th crappie also.
Stripers are starting to show up as the water temps. get into the mid to upper 50’s. The next warm spell should get em going. Planner boards and flatlining live herring have been producing some nice fish. Fish seem to really be scattered this March. We have been catching stripers out at the mouths of the main creeks and also in the backs of creeks where they should be this time of the year. Look for working seagulls and loons to put you in areas that stripers are holding.. One thing Ive learned about stripers they sometimes dont follow the predictable patterns which have produced from year to year. They can really throw you a curve ball. The night striper bite has been good casting bombers, pointers and mcsticks up shallow. Most folks are getting them in the creeks from sundown up to around 10:00 p.m. Will be out later this week and will report back soon.
Crappie Report February 15, 2014
by doug | 0 comments
Went out for crappie first time since the snow this past Friday and Saturday. Crappie were on fire. Friday Feb. 12 , I went out with Fred and Larry Schoenfeld. We boated around 190 crappie. Caught em all on jigs at same depths 20-5 ft. The water temps. were still holding at 39-42 that morning warming up to around 44 that afternoon. We are on a full moon so that really makes em bite well.
Saturday I had another charter with long time customer Chris Housley and his son Matt. We had a great day Saturday also. We did’nt catch as many as Friday but still boated around 100 crappie. We landed some nice spotted bass in the 2-3 pound range mixed in with the crappie. We even caught a couple of yellow perch. Saturday I caught a monster crappie that weighed just shy of 3 pounds. Check out the photos of our recent trips on our photo page. Hope to be out this week. We are going to have a nice break in the weather. Excellent crappie fishing will continue on into March. Will report back soon.
Crappie Report February 8, 2014
by doug | 0 comments
Went out on a crappie charter Saturday with some new customers Asif Taufio and his son Sarosh. They had never crappie fished before but wanted to give it a try. We had a slow start taking a few hours for them to get a feel for the subtle bite of a winter crappie strike. Once they got the feel we hammered em boating around 85 crappie. We ended up with 65 keepers. We caught all our fish on Bobby Garland shad bodies. I saw some 48 degree water in areas that had been frozen over several weeks back. These warm days have really warmed the water and are bringing the nice crappie up. Check out the photos of yesterdays catch on my photo page. I will be out later this week and will report back.
Crappie Report February 5, 2014
by doug | 0 comments
Went out Last Saturday Feb. 2 for crappie. The crappie action was still on. That was a beautiful day compared to what we have had lately. The air temps. that day got up into the mid 50’s but water temps are still hanging around 44 to 45 degrees. We ended up with approx. 55 keepers. Lots of nice fish. Still getting em on jigs.
Stripers are still slow. I always struggle to get them feeding when the water temps are this low. You can still get em on urigs if the water temp will get up into the high 40’s. I hope to be out later this week. Will report back when I get back out.
Ice Fishing for crappie January 27, 2014
by doug | 0 comments
Went out Monday with long time customer Jonathan Carter. Fishing was a little tougher today but we managed to catch around 55 keeper crappie. Jigs produced all the action. The Bobby Garland shad worked well and also caught some on 1/24 oz. chartruese halflies. The depths of the crappie are still the same at 5-25 ft. depths. I experienced something I had never done in my 28 years of guiding
on Lake Lanier. I have been catching crappie pretty good in some areas way up the Chestatee River but could’nt reach those areas on my Saturday’s charter due to the lake being frozen all the way across. We decided to go up and check those areas today. When we got to that area there was still a thin sheet of ice maybe a 1/4 inch thick in that area. We managed to idle through breaking the ice for about three hundred yards to reach the location. We cracked a hole in the ice and caught around a dozen good crappie through the ice. That was a first for me. Never to cold to catch some slabs. Check out the photos of that day on my photo page.
Crappie Report January 25, 2014
by doug | 0 comments
Went on a crappie charter with Randy and Christy Reddish. We learned it’s never too cold to catch crappie. Water temps ranged that day anywhere from 38-44 degrees. We ended up that day with around 90 crappie with 77 keepers. We caught em all on jigs at 20-5 ft. depths. We headed up the Chestatee that day to fish some areas I caught them in the week prior but could’nt get there due to the river being frozen all the way across. I have not seen Lake Lanier feeze like this many times in my day’s on Lanier. Had a great day with a bucket of good eating fish. Nothing like a mess of fried cold water crappie out of Lanier. Check out the photos of that day’s trip on my photo page.
Crappie Report January 16, 2014
by doug | 0 comments
Crappie fishing is on fire.I booked a last minute crappie trip today and what a good day to be on the water. Me and one client boated over 100 in about 6 hrs.We are right on a full moon and they are really active.We got them all on jigs fishing 5-15 ft. deep. Action will be good on into February. Don’t miss out. We are running a January special on crappie trips too. Give us a call. Check out the recent photos on our photos page.