Mike's hawg of a spotted bass

Well it appears that we turned the corner this week. Some days were really good and others were okay. Basically we are seeing fish both on sunny and overcast days. Overcast days simply mean the fish should feed longer on the surface. We are finding fish EVERYWHERE on the lake….From the north end to the south end the fish are there. So are the loons and the gulls along with some terns. This makes it easier to locate the stripers. I found fish this week working the surface with the loons. They worked a baitball in tandem and it was a beautiful thing to see. The fish are not easy pickings! You need to be quick on the cast and accurate to get a bite. Most fish are averaging about 8-12 lbs and I also caught my first fish today on a jigging spoon. Fish are chowing on small baits and my two best baits are still the somethin’ else along with a wiggle minnow thrown on an intermediate line. Sinking lines MUST be carried as we are starting to see big schools of fish on the depth finder that are 20-30 feet down. This weekend looks to be great with the low pressure coming in on Saturday. Dennis Ficco was out with me today and he landed two 10 lb fish on fly. Nice going Dennis!  See you on the pond! 

HC

HC, fly rod, striped bass and a wiggle minnow fly

So the past few days the striper fishing on Lanier was extremely visual. Fish are feeding on the surface and before the rain storm we were finding PLENTY of fish eating on top. Some folks are having a hard time feeding the fish and getting them to eat. I will say that it is best to throw a really small fly on an intermediate line or a floating line (2nd choice). The somethin’ else fly is still my first choice followed by both a coyote and a wiggle minnow. I am seeing small groups of 3-4 fish busting bait on up to groups of 50+ churning the water. Fish have moved up the lake a bit (as expected). Cloudy days are definately preferred over sunny days BUT the fish are committed and feeding on bright sunny days too. It is just a stronger bite when overcast. You must get on top of the fish quickly, QUIETLY and make as few false casts as possible. The quicker you get the fly into the surface melee (before they go down) the more likely the hook up. Two false casts are preferred but four or more is a certain way to not get bit. Most fish I have hooked and caught over the past week has been over 10 lbs. Fish are eating threadfin shad in the 1 1/2″ length. Stripers are known to be the MOST size specific species when it comes to feeding…………..nuff said. See you on the pond!

HC

Wellllll………………just as I finished up writing a very somber fishing report last Thursday, the fish seemed to perk up over the past couple of days. Friday saw a few fish up on some of the mouths of the southern creeks. Saturday I had a few nice schools of fish chowing on the surface for about 30 minutes before the front moved through. We got two fish to eat and landed one fish at 12+ lbs. Fish ate a wiggle minnow on an intermediate line just under the surface. It was a beautiful take! Had GLowe out with me chewing on Fuentes and sipping coffee. Right after the front came through the stripers shut down but we were able to find a few spots chasing bait on the surface mid-lake. Sunday was just too windy in the morning but I hear the fish ate on top Sunday PM. Today (Monday) was OUTSTANDING!!!!! It appears the fish are committed and the top water bite is onnnnnnn……..(again). The moon is tonight so the fish are very active. You need to get out on the pond to see this type of feeding. NO WHERE do you see this type of feeding (BIG FISH) blowing pothole size erruptions on the waters surface other than Lanier…..C’mon over and witness the flurry while it lasts! HC

Well the fishing has taken a turn for the worse. Not quite sure what is happening.  Water temps are P-E-R-F-E-C-T in the mid 60’s but the fish are not responding on top too well. Bass are all over humps and brush piles down 15-20 feet. Some stripers with them too. Walkin’ the dog type lures will get you a bite as will jiggin’ spoons. For fly fishermen……you just need to wait it out as it WILL get better soon. I have been cancelling and rescheduling ALL my fly rod trips until the lake gets out of this funk. I think it will pick up shortly as bait is high in the water column and it just should! Everything on the pond looks really good. It may just be that with all the extra water we have that the lake turnover is taking a bit longer than normal. Last 2 years when the water levels were 12-15 feet lower we were kickin’ butt. See picture below for my best fish of the week………….ha, ha. See you on the pond! HC

Well here is the latest skinny on Lanier. Wind FINALLY stopped blowing on Monday. Went out in the PM to see what was happening on the pond. Found a few fish milling around on the surface around 4PM BUT could not get on top of them quick enough to make them eat. Fish in the morning were not seen eating on the surface BUT if you threw a chug bug on top of some brush piles or up close to the bank on a tapered point, you got some stripers to eat! Went out today and found lots of fog on the pond. Had to travel south using instruments…..Once I got down below Browns Bridge the fog lifted. Found a few small pods of fish chowing on top. They were moving quick and were up and down wayyyyy to quickly. No time to throw feathers at these fish so I resorted to 12 lb test and a chug bug. Got 4 to eat and managed to land 2 of them. One was just shy of being a teenager…..best is yet to come! Thursday/Friday look to be UNREAL based on weatherman’s forecast…..See you on the pond! HC

It’s on!!!!!!!!!! The fall top water bite has officially begun as both large and small groups of stripers are busting the surface. Early and late day is always best to find these fish feeding. Since this is a relatively new pattern the fish will eat just about anything thrown into the boils or white water. Fly and lure are both going to be effective.  Hallelujah!!!!!!!!!! HC

Hey guys,

We are very close to firing up our guide service for the new season. The past 4 months have been a well needed rest from the pond. I have been trout fishing a bunch and bass fishing a little. I can honestly tell you I have been anxiously awaiting the fall bite. I suspect that the top water bite will fire up sometime between October 10th and 20th. last year the bite was off the charts through the first week of January. Generally speaking overcast days are better than sunny days even though we caught them either way. The afternoon bite is generally preferred over the morning bite from October through the early November.  After that the morning bite is usually stronger. We will again be offering “witching hour” trips for those anglers looking to fish the afternoon sunset bite for a shorter period and thus a less expensive trip. I will continue to update the blog regularly with information for folks looking to do-it-themselves or just wanting to see how the lake is fishing. Fall trips are starting to book so I suggest if you are thinking of coming out with us that you pencil in a date on our calendar.

Fishing thus far has not really fired up. Water temps are in the lower to mid-70’s and we are VERY CLOSE to the start of the fall fishing. We are catching some small to medium sized spots on both chug bugs and flies. Fish are mostly below Browns Bridge. Spots are starting to school some. Stripers will follow suit shortly and the good news is that fish ear eating REALLY SMALL SHAD…..that is a really good! Hope everyone has a great season and as usual I hope to see you on the pond. HC

Jared caught this 12 lb striper on a redfin fishing w/his grandfather Art

Over the past couple of weeks the striper fishing has been very inconsistent. For those anglers wanting to catch a striper on a fly then your best shot is to fish a dock light. That fishery has been fairly consistent. Only problem is one day the fish are 4-6 lbs and the next they are 1-3 lbs. For non night time anglers then your best bet is to throw conventional top water gear and use either redfins or sammys/spooks to entice the top water feed. The spots on the other hand are fairly consistent. You can really hang a big one at this point and time. Plenty of 4-5 lb spots being caught on top water conventional tackle so the chance of getting one on the fly is very possible. Most of the fish are holding off the main lake points and in about 10-30 feet of water. Start way off the point and eventually move shallow. I am getting most of my bites below Browns Bridge and as far down as the dam. We are just seeing the fish school a bit too. Both stripers and spots are mixed together. On Saturday I threw several times into a school of busting spots and hooked a striper. Caught 12 small stripers on dock lights yesterday (on fly) along w/hooking 6 stripers on top water sammy lures (up to 7 lbs). This should hopefully continue for another 3-4 weeks. See you on the pond. HC

Striper fishing on the fly has been tough the past week, however the spotted bass are eating off the top on crease flies. With the new moon approaching I suspect everything will bust open by weeks end. Water temps are hovering in the low 70 degree range. For non fly anglers the top water bite has been okay. Spots are feeding on walk the dog baits while stripers are hitting best on redfins. Early morning is by far the best time to go. Check out the video footage I took this week on one of my dock lights. The stripers and spotted bass were easy pickins’.  See you on the pond. HC

So here we are coming down the back stretch of Lanier’s striper season (for fly and light tackle fishing) and we are full fledge into our top water bight. Stripers are eating consistently off the surface every day if you roll a walk the dog bait or redfin at them. Have not caught any really big fish yet, but are getting plenty of 5-8 pound fish to respond. Fish are being caught both north and south off the main lake and secondary lake points. The dock light bite is also extremely strong too. Tossing feathers into a lit dock will get you some immediate gradification. The fly bight on top water for stripers is not so great, as long casts are required at this time. The fish are just starting to school under the surface some and this has led to some catches being made on sinking lines using either big Clousers or my baitfish pattern. The top water spotted bass bight has been VERY consistent. Crease flies are accounting for most bights. Fish are mostly on the smallish side (3/4-1 1/2 lbs) however the spots are JUST getting off the spawn and this pattern should blow open ANY DAY! I still fully expect a major striped bass push on top water from fish STILL coming down from the spawn in the next week (at the latest). A full fledged shad spawn will be the next major EARLY morning pattern we look for over the next 4-5 days. This will take place both north and south. WE ARE DEFINATELY RUNNING 2-3 WEEKS BEHIND SCHEDULE. Great stuff still to come…………see you on the pond! HC

Scott from the Nickie Gregory Companies outing w/a fat top water striper