Lake Temperatures are in the lower 80s and the lake level continues to hold steady at just above 1,065 feet, which is less than 6-feet below a full pool of 1,071 feet. Lake Lanier is clear on the main lake and slightly stained in the creeks. The main lake and creeks will become stained around the edges on the weekends due to lake traffic. The Chattahoochee River is clear. Check generation schedules before heading out to the river at 770-945-1466.

Bass fishing is still up and down (literally!). We have encountered and OK topwater bite this past week during the active feeding periods through out the day.

The topwater action seems to be best when the sun is up. Cast a SPRO Dawg 100 or a Super Spook in a shad or blueback pattern when you encounter surface feeding fish. You will have to cover some water to locate the active schools.

The rest of the time we have to go deep to catch the bigger spotted bass. Continue to work drop shot rigs or a jig head rigged straight tail worms in the brush at 20- to 30-feet deep. Use a Spotsticker Hand Poured or a Zoom finesse or trick worm in natural colors. I locate these offshore brush piles with my Humminbird display set to side imaging then I enter a waypoint on the units GPS function. This way I can come back to the brush piles day after day without having to search for them. After this I can use my Humminbird 777c unit on the bow to stay above the brush. It’s really cool to actually see your lure falling on the screen and to watch the fish rise up to grab it. We call it “Video Game Fishing”. Learning this type of fishing requires quality electronics and some time spent on the water.

Spot tail minnows are still producing nice catches of bass. Spotted bass and other species can’t seem to refuse a lively spot tail minnow fished on a down line. If you fish for bass with live bait, please use a small Gamakatsu circle hook to ensure that these fish don’t get gut hooked so you can release them unharmed.

Striper fishing is very good but you will still need to fish deep. The fish are really schooled up from 30- to 50-feet over 55- to 100-foot bottoms.

Watch your Humminbird fish finders to determine the best depth to set out your down lined bluebacks.

Check in with Hammond’s Fishing Center for tackle and up to date reports.

Trolling is a good way to locate active fish. Use a 1- or 2-ounce SPRO buck tail jig trolled at 2.5 to 3 miles an hour on Lead Core line set out seven to eight colors for the lighter buck tails or eight or nine colors for the heavier buck tails. Once you get a bite on these moving baits you can often go back and catch a couple more in the same areas.

Try tipping your bucktails with a live blueback to increase your success rate.

Crappie fishing is slower this week. I am seeing a fair amount of fish on the bridge pilings with my electronics but they are hard to catch. Kieth Pace of Micro Spoons says that shooting jigs up under the deeper docks during the day has been working fair. The night is probably the best time to go, but you will need to work hard to catch the deeper crappie.

Use a crappie or spot tail minnows on a down line.

Continue to fish small white Rooster Tails or Rapala Countdown minnows in the mornings when fishing for trout on the Chattahoochee.

These lures will also work great all day long on the quieter weekdays. Fish these small lures at a slow and steady pace on light line. Live bait fishing has been productive where permitted.

The brim are still hitting well on Lake Lanier around rocks or submerged brush. Also try fishing for catfish from the bank this week.

Target banks that drop off quickly into deeper water. Use live or dead baitfish or large night crawlers as bait.

Make sure to fish these offerings on the bottom and secure your rods well. Catfish will bite both day and night.

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. He would love to hear from his readers so please e-mail him at esaldrich@yahoo.com or visit his Web site at aldrichfishing.com. Remember to take a kid fishing!