Fishing news

from Lakeside on Lanier November 2020

Shore Lines

Lake Lanier Fishing Report A sampling of fishing information and tips from area experts

Lake level: 1071.54 Clarity: Stained Temperature: 70s

Bass Fishing

Bass fishing is good. The Spotsticker jig heads and all white Mini Me spinnerbaits will catch fish on almost any main lake point.

Ride over some points with the Lowrance Down Scan technology and you can see fish on the bottom in 25 feet of water. Use the Zoom finesse worm cut down an inch on a spinning reel.

Ten-pound Sufix line has been an excellent deep water tactic. Use a Weedless Wonder lead head and this light rig will allow anglers to feel the light strikes. And the strikes are very light. Most of the fish we have caught never even move with the bait, they just hold on.

With any wind blowing, this is all but impossible to work properly. Usually the spots pick up this lead head and hook combination and swim of with the whole rig in their mouth. But right now the strikes are very hard to feel.

Many of the spots are not on any structure. Moving baits can cover these points quickly. Try a Zoom mini lizard on the drop shot and a 3/16 ounce sinker on the bottom of the rig or lighter. Spoons are the second choice bait and no more than a small ½ ounce size as all the bait fish the spots are very small. Try some live minnows on the drop shot, too. Sand finesse worms, natural blue and cinnamon green are the best colors. (This report is from Ken Sturdivant’s Southern Fishing Report, www.southernfishing.com.)

Striper Fishing

Stripers are schooling in large groups in the mid lake up to Gainesville. Using your electronics locate the schools in 40 to 60 feet of water and use down lines with blue backs. Fish 30 to 45 feet deep. Use drumming method to attract the fish and keep your eyes on alert because the bite will be substantial. The top water has been hit or miss so have a Sebile or a spook ready.

This report is from Buck Cannon, Buck Tails Guide Service, 404 510-1778. Crappie Fishing

Crappie fishing is excellent. Don’t be afraid to look for blow downs in shallow water. Recently, while scanning docks in 20’ of water using side scan we found a blow down 5’ deep loaded with crappie. Look for open water brush in 10 to 20 feet of waters. Plan on losing several jigs and minnows because you have to be down there with them to catch them.

Look under docks that are in 15 to 30 feet of water with brush or structures. Use your electronic charts to locate these areas. Down line small crappie minnows with BB sized sinkers. Jigs are also producing very well. My Jig recommendations are blue and chartreuse or light green over dark green ATX jigs. They can be used equally well for short casting, vertical jigging or dock shooting. We use 5 pound test, high visibility yellow K9 braid. Watch your sonar carefully for bait. Crappie like to live near their food source. Use scanning type sonar (e.g. Down and Side Imaging) to locate schooling fish, and complement this with the latest in live scanning sonar technology (e.g. Garmin’s LiveScope or Lowrance LiveSight). Set waypoints on your electronic charts so that you can quickly return to productive locations. Note that you can do

Over the next four weeks, the

Corps of Engineers will continue lowering water levels at Lake

Lanier to 1069.0 feet above sea level. The drawdown began in early October to take levels to the winter elevation of 1070.0 msl.

this on a smartphone or tablet using the Navionics “Boating app.

This report was filed by Captain Josh Thornton, 770 5306493.

ENJOY FISHING ON THE LAKE!

Lake level lowered to winter pool for Buford Dam repairs

SAFE

The additional one-foot release will accommodate the Corps to make head gate repairs. The work is expected to start at the end of November and continue for approximately three weeks.

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12 LAKESIDE November 2020 Heavy rains from Delta increase shoreline erosion

By Pamela A. Keene

Portions of the shoreline at Lake Lanier suffered heavy damage from the remnants of Hurricane Delta in early October.

“This was a 25-year storm event that brought an immense amount of storm-water runoff from across the headwaters of Chattahoochee into Lake Lanier,” said Dale Caldwell, headwaters director for the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper in Gainesville. “In addition to severe erosion, this much stormwater runoff can threaten the water quality of the lake. Every bit of pollutants from construction and industrial sites, plus oil leakage from vehicles, possible E.coli from pet and wildlife waste and excess chemicals from fertilizers and pesticides could end up in the lake.”

As part of its work, the Headwaters office staff and volunteers regularly monitor possible pollutants in the lake. They take samples and, when an issue is found, they work with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Environmental Protection Division and local governments to address concerns.

“We continue to appeal to area citizens and businesses to be mindful of how they deal with possible pollutants,” he said. “From tossing out cigarette butts or not cleaning up after your pet to companies not installing proper silt fencing or dealing with construction site runoff, there’s a cumulative effect that has immediate and long-term consequences.

“If everyone did their part each and every time, our waterways would be much cleaner.”

Litter Gitter report

Last month, the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper released a report summarizing a one-year study of a new way to collect trash in the river. Called the Litter Gitter, the small-stream collection devices were installed along a portion of the Chattahoochee near downtown Atlanta along Proctor Creek.

In the 16 months the Litter

Gitters have been in place, more than 1,100 pounds of trash and debris was collected. That included recyclable plastic beverage bottles, plus non-recyclable plastic bags and Styrofoam products. Litter Gitters are manufactured by Osprey Initiative.

“At this time we will continue the use of Litter Gitters in Proctor Creek and will be adding them to portions of Sweetwater Creek,” said Jordan Yu, the Riverkeeper’s watershed protection specialist. “The report will help other cities, businesses and non-profits make decisions about implementing their own trash reduction plans.

For more info or to read the re-

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PHOTO BY CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVERKEEPER Debris from Delta’s heavy rains flowed into Lake Lanier, including this area near Thompson Bridge Road in Gainesville.

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