July 2008

Stripers: The striper fishing on Lake Lanier is as good as it gets right now. . The stripers are in very large schools all over the south end of the lake. Some of these schools will have several hundred stripers in them. Some popular areas include Vanns Tavern, Flat Creek, and Orr Creek. Be sure to stay in the main channel of these creeks. Most of the fish will be 30 to 50 feet deep over 80 to 100 feet of water. The best tactic to catch these fish is to downline herring straight under the boat. The downline is basically a Carolina rig used in bass fishing. You need a 1/0 or 2/0 Mustad octopus hook tied to a seven or eight foot 15lb. P-line fluorocarbon leader. Tie the leader to a 1 1/2oz. swivel sinker and you are ready to go. During the summer months, herring are the preferred bait to the stripers. It is very crucial to take good care of the herring during the summer months. A good quality bait tank is very important. If you do not have a quality bait tank be sure to take plenty of ice that does not have chlorine in it. If you do not have a bait tank trolling is also a good tactic. For trolling you will need a reel with lead core line. Lead core is a fabric type line with a lead center to help it get down to the appropriate depth. The lead line is color-coded and with every color you let out it will get your bait bucktail jig or lure down approximately four feet. Good luck out on the pond.