Happy New Year to all! Well the fishing took a turn up this past week. Let me start by saying that from Thanksgiving until Xmas our fishing on Lanier was more miss than hit. However for folks willing to fish @ night there were two good options: the bomber bite and the dock light bite. While the bomber bite slacked off as it started to get cold (about ten days ago) & the dock light bite kicked it up another notch. The daytime bite was sooooo inconsistent that I cancelled nearly every trip! But right after Xmas the lake started to look like it is suppose to for winter. Water temps dropped, birds came north, bait stacked up in the river and the stripers started doing what stripers do in the winter…..eat small baits! By mid-week I was able to put a decent stringer of fish together using both the dock lights and fishing north. Also mixed in was some largemouth and spotted bass. You have to work hard but it is worth it as some of the stripers being caught are real bruisers. Every day has seen fish put in the boat from mid teens to twenty plus pounds. That along with a mix of five to ten pound fish (both on and off the dock lights) makes for a nice morning. Look for wildlife to help you find the bait and the fish after daybreak. This is the time of year you really have to pay attention and keep your eyes peeled all day long. Terns, gulls. loonns, herons and kingfishers will all help you find the fish. Both intermediate as well as sinking lines are called for. Go shallow during low light and dredge deeper once the sun rises through the tree tops (unless you see fish rolling). WIth the frigid weather here the next couple of days I suspect we will see fish moving into the shallows of the coves shortly. A REMINDER: The Great Southern Fishing Show is the weekend of Jan 21/22 and there will be lots of seminars and fly tying going on. This show is for both the fly angler as well as the conventional angler. Go to: http://www.northatlantatradecenter.com/fishing.html for more info. See you on the pond! HC
Brian Sodel w/20+ lber taken on a dock light before New Years
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