Ken Sturdivant, Lowrance Professional
Fishing Staff will be conducting FREE! Sonar Seminars at Bass Pro Shops Outdoor
World in Lawrenceville Georgia. All seminars are the last Saturday of each month
and start at 2pm. All are
subject to change without notice.
The Bait Shop at Bald Ridge
Marina. Captain Marty Allagood has fresh bait and Lake Lanier fishing tackle and
is open every day. They even have boat and jet ski rentals! Call 770-887-BAIT
(770-887-2248)
Our DVD,
Rods, Reels and Lures for Bass is now on sale for only $25.00 including
shipping. Send a check payable to Southern Fishing Schools Inc. to: Southern
Fishing Schools Inc, 106 Hickory Ridge Drive, Cumming Georgia. Please allow 14
days for delivery.
February 9, 2012
LAKE LANIER IS DOWN 8.05 FEET, THE CREEKS ARE SLIGHTLY STAINED AND THE MAIN LAKE
IS CLEAR & 54 DEGREES.
This Lake Lanier Bass report is from Jim Mathley, Jimbo's Lake Lanier Guide
Service. 770-542-7764
Bass fishing is very good. The action on Lanier over the past week has been
outstanding. The upper end of the lake is now 54 degrees and climbing and that
is where we have continued to focus our efforts this week. We have still been
working the ditches and pockets in creek arms and we have also focused on main
river points and secondary points with rock and clay and brush that are near
deep water. We have found good activity shallow as well as in the 15 to 25 foot
zone where brush is present. When we are out in deeper water, we are focusing on
the ditches with isolated timber and using either a spoon jigged vertically or a
jig worked VERY slowly through the timber. We have caught the shallow fish on
shaky head worms, jigs, crankbaits, jerkbaits,and the Fish Head Spin. The
shallow fish seem to be the best fish and most available during periods of sunny
weather, while the cloudy weather pushes the bait and fish deeper. If there is
wind blowing, fish your moving baits where the wind is the strongest and most
direct into the bank and use a very slow retrieve with any of the above baits.
When using the jerk bait, make sure to impart three to five second pauses
between your twitches. When searching for the deeper fish in the creek
channels/ditches, use your Lowrance electronics to identify subtle structure
changes to include creek-ditch depressions. Where there is bait, there is or
will soon be fish. As always, once you find a creek, pocket, or main lake area
holding bait and fish, you may have success by rotating that area with other
areas you find holding bait and fish. Fish move up and down in the water column
throughout the day, and in the same context move from deep to shallow. Given
that, if you have success at one point in the day in a particular location, you
may return again later and enjoy further success in the same area and perhaps at
different depths.
This Lake Lanier Striper report is from Captain Ken West and Captain Mike
Maddalena of Big Fish On! Guide Service, 404 561 2564. www.bigfishonguide.com
Striper fishing is good. The projected cold fronts should lower the lake
temperature by a few degrees and continue to drive the bait further back into
the creeks and onto flats. We continue to have better luck on smaller baits but
we have gotten a few reports of medium gizzards working. The key is to cover as
much water as possible with a variety of baits from the middle of the creeks to
all the way in the back. Start early with no weight on the free lines on four
planner boards (two on each side) and two or three free lines behind the boat.
Once the suns gets up, add some weight your lines. Also hang a couple of down
rods over the side and vary the depth depending on the bait and the depth of the
water. Vary your speed from .3 to 1.0 mile per hour. This will cause your baits
to work better than being pulled at a constant speed. The Umbrella rig will work
and can be used effectively to check out the creek channels. There are fish in
every creek with a high concentration of bait. On the south end try the back of
Six Mile Creek and Four Mile Creek. Depending on the water temperature Flat
Creek could fire up. There are some fish in Flat Creek now but if the water
starts to cool into the mid 40's they will show up in force. Ada Creek and
Gainesville Creek are good places to start on the north end. We teach ON THE
WATER SCHOOLS for SONAR and Rods, Reels and Lures for Bass. Call for details.
Call for details.
See the New Bait and Tackle Store On
Lake Lanier. Island Bait and Tackle is located on 5825 Lanier Islands Parkway,
Buford Georgia 770-614-0080 www.islandbaitandtackle.com. Check with US Army
Corps of Engineers web site to find a list of the ramps that are open before
going out. Due to the low lake level a significant number of ramps are closed.
http://www.sam.usace.army.mil/lanier/BoatRampElevations.htm
Lowrance Structure Scan/Down Scan Tips
Sheet
Structure Scan
Set up the quad panes on HDS-8/10:
Press pages – right arrow to structure
Down arrow to structure & sonar & chart, press enter
Set Up for Max Performance
Set the left top pane view to look both left/right
HDS 8&10 Press view button soft key
HDS 5&7 Press menu, down arrow to view – enter
Up arrow to left/right – enter
Change Active Pane
Hold the page key down until the orange box moves to the top right box
HDS 8&10 Press view button soft key and change to look down
HDS 5&7 Press menu – right arrow – down arrow to look down – press enter
Change Width of Panes
Press menu – menu – up arrow to page – right arrow – down arrow to adjust pane –
right arrow
Hold the right arrow down and adjust the left panes to have ¾ of the screen –
press enter
Edit Overlay Data
Press menu – menu – arrow up to page – right arrow – down arrow to edit data –
right arrow
There is a blue box around the active field to edit, i.e. (Structure depth) –
Press enter and use arrow keys and move data to desired location – then press
exit. Press down arrow key and the blue box will change to the next active field
to move, i.e. (Water temp) – Repeat this process on other data to edit or move.
When edits or moves are completed, press menu – down arrow to save – press
enter.
Add Overlay Data to Screen
While in edit overlay data press the menu key and down arrow to add - press
enter and up arrow to GPS – right arrow and then down arrow to (Speed over
ground) press enter. This will add that data to the screen. Repeat this process
to add time or any other data as needed.
Change the Size of the Overlay Data
While the data is active, with the blue box around it, press the Zoom out or
Zoom in to make the data larger or smaller as needed.
Other Optimum Settings for Use of Structure Scan
Use pallet #6 for best viewing on structure scan panes only
Contrast for pallet #6 is best at 72% to 76%.
Pallet #5 works well on Structure Scan with 80% contrast.
Pallet #1 or #13 work very well for conventional 2D sonar. Set the ping speed at
18 for good performance.
Structure Scan Speed
Optimum speeds for the use of Structure Scan technology would be 3 to 10 mph. It
can read at higher
Speed’s depending on where the transducer is placed.
Hide the “Quick Buttons”
On the HDS8 and the HDS10, press and hold the Exit button and the “Quick
Buttons” will go away. Press and hold the Exit button and the “Quick Buttons”
will reappear. Pretty cool.
Turn these HDS machines off properly!
Turn all HDS products Off to save settings or waypoint’s. Press the power key
one short stroke, the menu will come up with the standby mode active (blue box
around standby). Arrow down to power off and the HDS will power off.
Use the “Shallow Water” setting for any inland water application. This dictates
a minimum search of 0 to 100 feet, so bottom is not lost and sonar lock on is
fast in shallow water. “Fresh Water” setting applicable to Great Lakes and unit
goes into medium range search 0 to 400 feet.
To optimize key strokes while Structure Scan panes are active (on HDS 8&10)
press the view soft key in the bottom right side of the screen and leave the
view menu up on the screen while trolling around looking at cover or structure.
This will allow you to change the view to all left or right based or where the
object would appear on the screen. Then range less as much as possible keeping
the object visible, and move the cursor over the object and press Zen. This will
shift the object to the center of the screen and zoom it in. BE SURE TO ZOOM
BACK OUT AND GO BACK TO VIEW LEFT/RIGHT MENU.
The user needs to understand options and choose the correct setting for their
application. Settings can be found under menu – menu – sonar – fishing mode –
enter – choose application – press enter.
We have 50 GPS waypoints for bass
fishing on Lake Lanier 25 on the south end and 25 on the north end of Lake Lanier for sale for
$99.00. Get the GPS waypoint and the structure as well as the lures to use on
each location. Send a check for $99.00 to: Southern Fishing Schools Inc., 106
Hickory Ridge, Cumming Georgia, 30040
Look on the bottom of this page for
a "sampler".
(WAYPOINTS ARE NOT REFUNDABLE)
Lake Lanier
Ramp Calculator
http://www.sam.usace.army.mil/lanier/BoatRampElevations.htm
(Requires Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet)
Stop wasting time, gas and Money.
Learn how to find
where the fish Live!
“On the Water” Sonar School Outline
We will spend the day tuning the sonar, locating fish and structure and marking
fishing locations where fish “live”. We will SEE the fish and the structure
where they live.
Learn how sonar works. What is the cone angle? What do fish look like when we
are sitting still and when we are moving? What are those long skinny lines
coming off the bottom? What are those long horizontal lines? What does a
school’s of bait look like.
How do I find the places where Bass live? Learn the technique that will
eliminate water and hot to “find” the fish.
How to use the right bass lures at the right time. We will use the Fish and
Game Forecaster and learn when to fish with what. www.moontimes.com
Tune a sonar from a to z. All the settings are there for the angler to
customize their machine.
Learn how to use the under water cameras. SEE THE
FISH!
See the GPS features in action and load numbers into a GPS unit. We will give
anglers a list of several locations at Lake Lanier where bass live. Learn how to
load GPS numbers in machines.
We also offer a $25.00 cash referral to anyone that books takes an On the Water
School or a guide trip. Be sure you tell the referral to give me your name and
phone number so we can forward you a check.
COPYRIGHT Southern Fishing Schools Inc.
Lake Lanier is a 38,000 acre reservoir operated by the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers (COE) and located about 50 miles northeast of Atlanta. Lanier receives
heavy fishing pressure due to its proximity to the large population centers
around Atlanta. Spotted bass, crappie, striped bass and catfish are favorite
targets of Lake Lanier anglers. Record low rainfall in 2007 drastically reduced
the surface area of the lake and brought predator and prey species closer
together. These “close quarters” will allow spotted bass, largemouth bass and
stripers to be more effective at locating and feeding on blue back herring and
threadfin shad in early 2008. These improved foraging conditions will allow
predator species to improve their body condition and put on weight for the
upcoming spawning season. Black bass fishing should be very good in 2008.
Spotted bass are very abundant, in excellent condition, and are putting on
weight from the ample supply of threadfins and blue backs. Therefore, anglers
should experience another good year catching numerous 1 4 pounds spotted bass.
Based on WRD sampling from 2007, the abundance of 1 to 2 pounds largemouth bass
has also improved slightly. Largemouth’s exceeding 5 pounds are present, but
limited in numbers. Spotted and largemouth bass can be caught on a variety of
artificial lures throughout the year as well as live baits such as night
crawlers, crayfish and minnows.
Anglers fishing for crappie should experience an average year when it comes to
numbers. Fish in the ½ ¾ lb. range will be common with a few larger fish
weighing in near 1 ½ pounds The heaviest stringers will be produced from late
February through April, when larger spawning fish are shallow. The best areas to
find crappie are the upper Chattahoochee arm (Clarks Bridge to Lula Bridge),
Thompson Creek and Taylor Creek. Look for downed trees in the water and use a
depth finder to locate submerged structure, when fishing for Lanier slabs.
Lanier anglers can expect another excellent year for striped bass. The lake
supports an abundance of small stripers weighing from 2 to 10 pounds. A good
supply of 10 to15 pounds stripers will also provide plenty of action and an
average number of trophy stripers (20 to 30 pounds ) are still present. Both
winter (November March) and summer (July August) offer excellent conditions for
striper fishing. Live bait (herring, shiners, bluegill, shad, and small trout),
super flukes and bucktail jigs will produce the best results. Angler success
during the summer months will depend on oxygen conditions at cooler depths
(greater than 25 ft.), which provide the striper’s habitat from July through
September. An abundant supply of blue back herring, which is the preferred
forage of stripers, plays a key role in maintaining a healthy population in
Lanier.
WRD stocked 142,000 walleye fingerlings in 2007 to boost the fishery by
enhancing spawning runs up the rivers. Wahoo Creek and the upper Chattahoochee
River arm of the lake are good areas to begin the hunt for Lanier walleye. Most
fish caught in 2008 will be in the 1 to 2 pounds range, with a few fish over 2
pounds Adult walleye are increasing in abundance, and a few larger fish can be
caught in the Chattahoochee River near Belton Bridge in February and early March
during spawning runs. After spawning, walleye move to the lower reservoir
seeking the cool, oxygenated waters (25 to 40 ft. depths). Trolling the
shoreline (spinners, crank baits and crawler harnesses) and still fishing
night crawlers on the bottom at depths of 15 to 40 feet is an effective method
for taking walleye year round. Check out www.walleyehunter.com for general tips
on walleye fishing or the “Walleye Fishing in Georgia” guidebook that is posted
on the WRD website at www.gofishgeorgia.com
We have these books for sale: “BASS FISHING ON WEST POINT LAKE”, “BASS FISHING
LAKE RUSSELL”, “BASS FISHING WEST POINT LAKE” and “BASS FISHING LAKE HARTWELL”.
These books are written by Tim White and Ken Sturdivant and each one has over 65
locations exclusively for bass and covers every week of the year. Each book
$39.00. If you would like a sample of any book, send us an e mail to
kensturdivant@earthlink.net. Our mailing address is: Southern Fishing Schools
Inc. 106 Hickory Ridge, Cumming Georgia 30040.
We teach “ON THE WATER SCHOOLS”: “Rods, Reels and Lures for Bass or Maps and
Depth Finders. Call 770 889 2654 for details or see the web site:
www.havefunfishing.com.
Copyright 2012, Southern Fishing Schools Inc. 770 889 2654.
if you would like to have a free set up sheet for your sonar, send me an e mail
to kensturdivant@earthlink.net and ask for the “Sonar Setup Quick List”.
Southern Fishing Schools Inc.
Ken Sturdivant
106 Hickory Ridge
Cumming Georgia, 30040
770 889 2654
SAMPLER
Lake Lanier G PS locations Volume One
NORTH LANIER
THESE WAY POINTS ARE
"NOT" TRUE.
(WAYPOINTS ARE NOT
REFUNDABLE!)
1. River Find this old road bed and in 25 feet of water
there is a good man made brush pile. Jigs, crank baits and spinner baits. 34 22
83 49 28
2. River Rocky Point A small pea gravel point with small rocks with spots year
round. Small crank baits, spinner baits and jigs 34 21 991 50 19
3. Creek This is an old road bed with a new man made brush pile. Right up on the
bank there are small rocks that spots and largemouth will feed on. Use crank
baits, spinner baits and jigs. 34 21 6 8 50 4
4. Creek This is a large fresh man made brush pile in front of the docks right
next to the creek channel. Use crank baits, spinner baits and jigs. 34 22 421 83
59 415
5. Creek this is a set of 4 docks with brush piles under and in front. Look for
the houseboat and fish all the docks. Use crank baits, spinner baits and jigs
drop shot, Carolina rigs. 34 32 497 83 22 21
6. Creek This is a point just past the bridge with a fresh man made brush pile
with stumps and rocks. Jigs, drop shot, Texas rigs 34 03 21 83 49 88
7. Creek This is an old road bed on the right side of the creek with a fresh man
made brush pile. The road bed goes all the straight across the lake but this is
the only place the fish hold on. Jigs, drop shot, Texas rigs and jerk baits 34
23 81 83 482 107
8. Creek This is a large hump with two very large man made brush piles. This
hump is out in the center of the creek and there are always some big spotted
bass living here. Crank baits, spinner baits, jigs, drop shot, Texas rigs, jerk
baits, drop shot, Carolina rig, Texas rigged finesse worms 34 20 138 83 52 90
Copyright 2011, Southern Fishing Schools Inc.
We have these books for sale:
"BASS FISHING LAKE LANIER",
“BASS FISHING ON WEST POINT LAKE”, “BASS FISHING
LAKE RUSSELL”, “BASS FISHING LAKE HARTWELL”
and "BASS FISHING LAKE ALLATOONA".
These books bass fishing locations exclusively for bass and covers every week of the year.
Each book
$39.00 total. If you would like a sample of any book, send us an e mail to kensturdivant@earthlink.net. Our mailing address is: Southern Fishing Schools
Inc. 106 Hickory Ridge, Cumming Georgia 30040.
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