Bass

The fishing remains either very good or just so-so depending on who you speak to. Last weeks March Of Dimes Tournament was won with five fish weighing over 19 pounds, but about 30 teams didn’t even weigh a fish. This is typical when the weather fronts run hot and cold. Look for fishing to get much better once the warmer weather stays consistent.

Many anglers are struggling, but the fish are active in the right areas. Due to the recent rains many of the creeks are stained to muddy in the backs. This can affect pre-spawn bass and the anglers that normally fish for shallow water bass in spring. Anglers should try backing out of the creeks to the areas where the muddy water meets clearer main lake water and start fishing in these areas. Warmer pockets and secondary points midway in the creeks are good areas to target.

Try using several different styles of baits and move around until you find active fish. We have caught bass on a variety of lures this past week. Zoom Finesse Worms on a jig head skipped under the docks have been a pretty consistent pattern. Most of the fish caught on the docks are 1-to-2 pounds but occasionally the larger females will bite. Also try fishing between the docks with crank baits, jerk baits and spinner baits.

I have done very well with a small countdown Rapala fished on a light-spinning reel. Switch over to a SPRO McStick to eliminate some of the smaller bass. Work both of these lures with a slow to medium steady retrieve.

Larger spotted bass are staging on main lake points and humps. These fish are fat and full of eggs. Spinner baits and Jerk baits seem to be the best bet out on main lake. Unlike the fish in the pockets, these main lake spots seem to prefer a faster and more erratic retrieve.

Anglers that are crappie fishing are reporting catching spotted bass and the occasional largemouth on small minnows fished below a float.

Stripers

A 44-pound striper was caught this week on Lake Lanier and you can view the pictures on Hammond’s Web site at www.hammondsfishing.net. The striper fishing is very good and they are schooling in the creeks. Up lake areas like Wahoo Creek and Little River have been good places to target. Anglers are also catching stripers down lake too. This is the time of year to boat a trophy. Flat lined bluebacks and trout are your best bet because the stripers are mostly located in the upper part of the water column in spring. A flat line is simply a hook with a bait fished weightless behind the boat.

Red Fins, Bombers and SPRO Buck tails are all good choices to use if you prefer to fish with lures. These are working well both day and night as long as you are around active fish. Use your Humminbird Electronics and ride around until you find the large schools of bait or stripers. You can also see some schooling action on top. The mud lines in the creeks are very good areas to fish. Mud lines will form where the muddy rainwater runoff meets the clearer water. Stripers coral bait against these mud lines and you can often load the boat in a hurry.

The Bomber Long A night bite has been hit or miss because of inconsistent weather but they are bitting after dark.

Crappie

Trout on the Chattahoochee

Trout fishing is very good. The area from Buford Dam down to Highway 20 has been very good. Pick your favorite lure or live bait (check local regulations when using live bait) and you should catch a limit quickly. The streams in the mountains up north are full of freshly stocked trout and fishing has been very good.