King.Of.Anglers.Jeremiah
Fishing ? Instructor!
Sorry y'all, haven't posted in awhile, but everybody wants to know where the fish are biting with it being so darn hot outside so I decided I would chime in. The simple answer to where they're biting is they're biting EVERYWHERE! I've been fishing at least 4 times a week all year long at multiple places within 2 hrs of my area for multiple species and smoked em pretty much every time, so I'll break down where I've been lately and the patterns that were working, mainly on largemouth and spotted bass, stripers and hybrids, crappies and catfish. Keep in mind that I fish from the bank 90% of the time, so I can't get some places where you guys can, but I can still tell you an idea of where to look. Haven't really messed with the trout this year and I won't be hitting saltwater here in Georgia until the mullet run this fall. So, here you go!
Lake Lanier: Bass are biting good shallow and deep, both largemouth and spotted. Hitting the boat ramps early and docks with points and steep drops close by has been great. The fish are pushing baitfish up shallow and busting them from about 30 minutes before sunrise up until about 9:30 to 10am lately. I catch these fish with walking baits like the evergreen shower blows in the smaller 105 size. They're hitting Zara Spooks and storm chug bugs also. An erratic retrieve with very short pauses is getting their attention better than slow retrieves. After the fish stop hitting on top, I change to a shaky head or finesse jig and work the riprap banks anywhere I can find. They're really holding on rock right now. Some areas I go to with wood haven't been as productive. Drop shot is also working with a green pumpkin finesse worm with the tail dyed in Chartreuse JJ's magic. The crappie are holding at Marina's and bridge pilings on the lake. Bobby Garland's baby shad in monkey milk is a killer! Don't fish without it! Catfish have finished spawning, but are still aggressively feeding in some areas. Finding easy access to deep water from the shoreline is key. Cutbait and nightcrawlers are working better than chicken livers.
Lake Allatoona: The "dead sea" is alive with fish around the bridges and boat ramps, similar to Lanier. Difference is the baitfish are smaller and they will not pursue a large walking bait. I've done much better with a popper style bait in a shad pattern. Work it quickly across the top, only pausing next to targets like a tree stump or dock. Ned rig has been working well too. I use a zman shroomz 1/5oz head and a roboworm Ned worm in yellow perch and margarita mutilator. Drop shot has produced a few fish, but the Ned has been winning out especially with the increased pressure on the lake. Shaky head is another great option with the zoom trick worm in green pumpkin magic getting the most bites. Crappie are in similar places the bass are found at, but require more searching to find them. A Chartreuse or white jig has caught most of them. For catfish, live bream has worked best for size. Rocky areas near deep water and deep bridge areas have been good. Channel cats and smaller flatheads have been biting well. No blues, but perhaps they're on deep water ledges or near the dam right now.
Chattahoochee River: I have fished the river primarily below Morgan falls for bass and striper. The bass are holding in deeper, slower pools around logjams trying to get out of the current. If you can find slow moving water or just about ANY creek that empties itself into the river, I can promise you that you will find some bass. Hardbaits are not doing well in the river right now, but anything with a skirt on it meaning spinnerbait, chatterbait, jig or buzzbait will all get you bit. I rely heavily on a war eagle double Willow spinnerbait myself in either white or white and Chartreuse. Throw it out and reel it just to the point where you can barely see it below the surface. Flipping with plastics into heavy cover with a tungsten 1/2oz flipping weight and a Tro-kar 5/0 flipping hook has been racking up numbers of largemouth and shoal bass as well. Creature baits only, no worms here, as you need the bulk of the creature and the shape to easily get in and out of cover. A ribbon tail worm only tangles the tail up in the tree branches when you flip it into logs. Stripers have been on and off lately. On any given day you could catch a dozen or you could only catch one but I have at least not been skunked. Heavy jigs, storm paddle tail swimbaits and cut bait fished on the bottom are all top producers. Fish current breaks and deep holes in the river. They also hold around logjams so you better hold on tight because a few striper have been caught while looking for bass on the flipping rig. No lighter than 20lb fluorocarbon is a MUST.
West Point Lake: West Point and the river at the dam have been excellent. In fact West point has been my favorite place to fish freshwater since I was a 7 year old for good reason. Bass fishing has been great early in the morning and late in the evening. Strike King deep diving crankbaits like a 5XD in powder blue Chartreuse or gizzard shad fished has been good. Throwing a Rattling lipless crankbait and fishing shaky heads around riprap banks has been good as well. I have only fished for stripers in the river so cannot speak on how they are in the lake, but there's still plenty to be caught. A Betts pop n stripe, kastmaster spoon, or live shad have all worked well on hybrids, striper, and white bass alike. I expect this fall to be fantastic fishing this year on the river. I caught catfish up to 12 pounds until I got tired of them using cutbait. The guys using chicken liver averaged smaller size fish up to about 5 pounds. You need at least 15lb test line for these fish. There were a few guys using 8lb breaking off multiple times. USE A SMALL HOOK. I missed every bite on my usual 4/0 octopus circle hook until I switched to a 1/0 baitholder hook. If you're a saltwater guy, or have saltwater gear, bring your surf rod. You can catch bigger fish when the corps cut the dam on. Everybody else who doesn't have the equipment leaves, and you can stay there nailing stripers and cats on the same kind of gear you would catch bull reds in the surf with. This is where 65lb braid, 6oz sinkers and heavy spoons come in handy. There's carp at every place I mentioned also, but nowhere are they more prevalent than here. Make a bread crumb and bird seed mixture with banana, sweet corn and other flavorings, bait up with some corn and you will literally catch carp one after the other until your arms hurt like I have every time I've gone.
Small lakes and ponds: the same pattern has worked on multiple small ponds and lakes in my area. Take a spinnerbait, topwater or crankbait and fish it around grass. If you're not getting caught up in lake weeds every so often, you're not fishing where the fish are. Texas rig a big worm or creature bait in a dark color and flip it into cover. Also, maybe buy some black and red jigs and trailers. The crawfish in the spring and summer are bright red with a lot of black on them. They seem to turn black or black and blue in the fall and winter months.
That's it so far y'all! I have dozens of pictures of big bass, carp, stripers, coolers full of crappies and all kinds of other fish I may upload later. Good fishing!
Lake Lanier: Bass are biting good shallow and deep, both largemouth and spotted. Hitting the boat ramps early and docks with points and steep drops close by has been great. The fish are pushing baitfish up shallow and busting them from about 30 minutes before sunrise up until about 9:30 to 10am lately. I catch these fish with walking baits like the evergreen shower blows in the smaller 105 size. They're hitting Zara Spooks and storm chug bugs also. An erratic retrieve with very short pauses is getting their attention better than slow retrieves. After the fish stop hitting on top, I change to a shaky head or finesse jig and work the riprap banks anywhere I can find. They're really holding on rock right now. Some areas I go to with wood haven't been as productive. Drop shot is also working with a green pumpkin finesse worm with the tail dyed in Chartreuse JJ's magic. The crappie are holding at Marina's and bridge pilings on the lake. Bobby Garland's baby shad in monkey milk is a killer! Don't fish without it! Catfish have finished spawning, but are still aggressively feeding in some areas. Finding easy access to deep water from the shoreline is key. Cutbait and nightcrawlers are working better than chicken livers.
Lake Allatoona: The "dead sea" is alive with fish around the bridges and boat ramps, similar to Lanier. Difference is the baitfish are smaller and they will not pursue a large walking bait. I've done much better with a popper style bait in a shad pattern. Work it quickly across the top, only pausing next to targets like a tree stump or dock. Ned rig has been working well too. I use a zman shroomz 1/5oz head and a roboworm Ned worm in yellow perch and margarita mutilator. Drop shot has produced a few fish, but the Ned has been winning out especially with the increased pressure on the lake. Shaky head is another great option with the zoom trick worm in green pumpkin magic getting the most bites. Crappie are in similar places the bass are found at, but require more searching to find them. A Chartreuse or white jig has caught most of them. For catfish, live bream has worked best for size. Rocky areas near deep water and deep bridge areas have been good. Channel cats and smaller flatheads have been biting well. No blues, but perhaps they're on deep water ledges or near the dam right now.
Chattahoochee River: I have fished the river primarily below Morgan falls for bass and striper. The bass are holding in deeper, slower pools around logjams trying to get out of the current. If you can find slow moving water or just about ANY creek that empties itself into the river, I can promise you that you will find some bass. Hardbaits are not doing well in the river right now, but anything with a skirt on it meaning spinnerbait, chatterbait, jig or buzzbait will all get you bit. I rely heavily on a war eagle double Willow spinnerbait myself in either white or white and Chartreuse. Throw it out and reel it just to the point where you can barely see it below the surface. Flipping with plastics into heavy cover with a tungsten 1/2oz flipping weight and a Tro-kar 5/0 flipping hook has been racking up numbers of largemouth and shoal bass as well. Creature baits only, no worms here, as you need the bulk of the creature and the shape to easily get in and out of cover. A ribbon tail worm only tangles the tail up in the tree branches when you flip it into logs. Stripers have been on and off lately. On any given day you could catch a dozen or you could only catch one but I have at least not been skunked. Heavy jigs, storm paddle tail swimbaits and cut bait fished on the bottom are all top producers. Fish current breaks and deep holes in the river. They also hold around logjams so you better hold on tight because a few striper have been caught while looking for bass on the flipping rig. No lighter than 20lb fluorocarbon is a MUST.
West Point Lake: West Point and the river at the dam have been excellent. In fact West point has been my favorite place to fish freshwater since I was a 7 year old for good reason. Bass fishing has been great early in the morning and late in the evening. Strike King deep diving crankbaits like a 5XD in powder blue Chartreuse or gizzard shad fished has been good. Throwing a Rattling lipless crankbait and fishing shaky heads around riprap banks has been good as well. I have only fished for stripers in the river so cannot speak on how they are in the lake, but there's still plenty to be caught. A Betts pop n stripe, kastmaster spoon, or live shad have all worked well on hybrids, striper, and white bass alike. I expect this fall to be fantastic fishing this year on the river. I caught catfish up to 12 pounds until I got tired of them using cutbait. The guys using chicken liver averaged smaller size fish up to about 5 pounds. You need at least 15lb test line for these fish. There were a few guys using 8lb breaking off multiple times. USE A SMALL HOOK. I missed every bite on my usual 4/0 octopus circle hook until I switched to a 1/0 baitholder hook. If you're a saltwater guy, or have saltwater gear, bring your surf rod. You can catch bigger fish when the corps cut the dam on. Everybody else who doesn't have the equipment leaves, and you can stay there nailing stripers and cats on the same kind of gear you would catch bull reds in the surf with. This is where 65lb braid, 6oz sinkers and heavy spoons come in handy. There's carp at every place I mentioned also, but nowhere are they more prevalent than here. Make a bread crumb and bird seed mixture with banana, sweet corn and other flavorings, bait up with some corn and you will literally catch carp one after the other until your arms hurt like I have every time I've gone.
Small lakes and ponds: the same pattern has worked on multiple small ponds and lakes in my area. Take a spinnerbait, topwater or crankbait and fish it around grass. If you're not getting caught up in lake weeds every so often, you're not fishing where the fish are. Texas rig a big worm or creature bait in a dark color and flip it into cover. Also, maybe buy some black and red jigs and trailers. The crawfish in the spring and summer are bright red with a lot of black on them. They seem to turn black or black and blue in the fall and winter months.
That's it so far y'all! I have dozens of pictures of big bass, carp, stripers, coolers full of crappies and all kinds of other fish I may upload later. Good fishing!