Lake temperatures are in the lower 80s. The lake is down almost 17«- feet low at 1053.6 and is dropping over an inch a day. Lake Lanier is mostly clear but it will get stained during times of heavy traffic. The Chattahoochee River is clear.
Bass
Bass fishing is decent, and the milder than normal temperatures have helped. Bass have been unusually shallow at times this week, so keep all of your options open.
The most consistent pattern for larger spotted bass has been to work the schooling fish out in the creek mouths and main lake humps and points. Vary your lures between a topwater plug like a SPRO Dawg, then switch over to a subsurface bait to catch the suspended fish. One of the best and most economical lures to use is a white sliver Rooster Tail.
I like a heavy ¬-ounce model, and I throw these on a bait-casting outfit. Most people prefer a ¬- or 1/16th-ounce version and they throw these on a spinning outfit. Whichever method you prefer will work. Throw the Rooster Tail out and let it sink to the bottom or to where the fish are suspended. Then engage the real and retrieve this inline spinner just fast enough to keep the blades moving.
You can get the heavier Rooster Tails at Hammonds Bait and Tackle, but I have not seen them anywhere else except on the Internet. Try working the banks early and later in the day with a small deep diving crank bait. I have been using a new prototype SPRO deep diving Little John with great success. Make sure to hit the rocks and brush when you retrieve your crank bait.
If you want to ensure a great day of fishing for the kids, then spot tail minnows are your best bet in summer. Down line these native bait fish around 20 feet in the creek mouths around brush and rocks.
Stripers
Striper fishing remains great, and Shane Watson states that the lead core trolling bite is very good. Use a 1-ounce SPRO Buck Tail in spearing blue and tip this jig with a plastic trailer or better yet, a live blueback herring.
Set your lead core at seven to eight colors and keep your boat moving at around 2 mph. This is a great way to scout around and to find the bigger schools of stripers.
Once you locate the stripers on your Humminbird Electronics, switch over to down lined bluebacks for some great action. Set your lines at the level that you see the fish.
Most of the stripers have been hanging around the 50-foot mark but I have seen them much shallower on overcast days.
Crappie
Keith Pace says the crappie fishing has picked up slightly, and he is still finding some smaller to medium crappie on shallower flats.
Make sure that you pick an area with deeper water close by. Early and late in the days has been OK for trolling crappie jigs and spoons in fewer than ten feet on these flats.
During the day, target the deeper brush piles and stumps at around 15 feet. The night fish are still biting on the bridges and deeper dock with lights.
Trout on the Chattahoochee
The trout fishing is good. On the weekends there is still a lot of float traffic on the river so it will pay to get out there early. The trout will bite best before the sunlight hits the river.
Continue to use Rapalas and Rooster Tails and work these lures on the lightest line you can use.
A slow steady retrieve works best but some times a pause and go retrieve can also trigger bites. Live bait (where permitted) has been working all day long.
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 email him at esaldrich@yahoo.com or visit his website at esaldrich.tripod.com. Remember to take a kid fishing!