The Southern Fishing report by Ken Sturdivant 2-2

By Ken Sturdivant

106 Hickory Ridge

770 889 2654

Cumming, Georgia 30040

www.havefunfishing.com

February 2, 2012

LAKE LANIER IS DOWN 8.34 FEET, THE CREEKS ARE SLIGHTLY STAINED AND THE MAIN LAKE IS CLEAR & 52 DEGREES.

This Lake Lanier bass fishing report is from Jimbo Mathley, www.jimboonlanier.com

Bass fishing is good. The lake level has stabilized over the past week and the water temperatures have been on the rise. The upper end of the lake is now 52 degrees and climbing, and that is where we have been focusing our efforts of late. We have continued to work the ditches in creek arms and we have also focused on main river points and secondary points with rock/clay and brush that are near deep water. We have found good activity in the 15 to 25 foot zone where brush is present. When we are out deeper, we are focusing on the ditches with isolated timber and using either a spoon jigged vertically or a jig worked VERY slowly through the timber. We have caught the shallow fish on shaky head worms, jigs, crank baits, jerk baits and the Fish Head Spin. The shallow fish seem to be the best fish and most available during periods of sunny weather, while the cloudy weather pushes the bait and fish deeper. If there is wind blowing, fish your moving baits where the wind is the strongest and most direct into the bank and use a very slow retrieve with any of the above baits. When using the jerk bait make sure to impart three to five second pauses between your twitches. When searching for the deeper fish in the creek channels/ditches, use your Lowrance electronics to identify subtle structure changes to include creek ditch depressions. Where there is bait, there is or will soon be fish. As always, once you find a creek, pocket, or main lake area holding bait and fish, you may have success by rotating that area with other areas you find holding bait and fish. Fish move up and down in the water column throughout the day, and in the same context move from deep to shallow. Given that, if you have success at one point in the day in a particular location, you may return again later and enjoy further success in the same area and perhaps at different depths.

This Lake Lanier Striper report is from Captain Ken West and Captain Mike Maddalena of Big Fish On! Guide Service, 404 561 2564. www.bigfishonguide.com

Striper fishing is very good. It’s February and the water temperature is in the low 50’s. We have never seen the lake water this warm in February. We have also never seen this much bait. There is plenty of bait 30 to 50 feet down over the river and creek channels. The river channel from Gainesville Marina to the Hwy 60 Bridge is a prime example of deep water bait. We are also seeing some bait starting to move into the back of the creeks over a 20 to 30 foot bottom. Ada Creek and Gainesville Creek are good examples of what we will call shallow bait. This has been a very good week for free lines. Use the flat lines with no weight and lines with a single split shot fished 50 feet behind the boards and 100 feet behind the boat has out fished down rods. We have not had any luck graphing for groups of stripers. Instead, we are pulling free lines and down rods where we find the highest concentrations of bait fish. Small baits continue to your best bet. If you can throw the cast net, get some threadfin shad and use them. If not, take some medium shiners, very small trout and small herring. Try any creeks with a large concentration of bait. Focus on the creeks and river channel from Flat Creek north to Wahoo Creek. Holly Park area, Ada Creek and Gainesville Creek are good starting places. We teach ON THE WATER SCHOOLS for SONAR and Rods, Reels and Lures for Bass. Call for details. Call for details.

February 2, 2012

WEST POINT LAKE IS DOWN 5.76 FEET, DIRTY & 53 DEGREES BY CHRIS BELL

Bass fishing has been good. Fish have really been scattered with the changes in water level and temperatures. Fish can move as quickly as they pull into an area. Most of this change is related to bait movement. Our best pattern has been running main lake points and secondary points within pockets with mid depth crank baits in craw and chartreuse patterns to combat water color. The best areas have been mid lake to the 109 Bridge.

Hybrid and striper fishing is great. Fish have positioned on top of humps and road beds. Using live shad dropped down to schools of fish is working the best. Use your depth finders to locate fish. You may have to check multiple areas before locating fish with the recent changes in water levels.

Crappie fishing has been good. Fish have pushed further back into creeks and pockets with the higher water levels. For your trolling bite troll Jiffy jigs in a black chartreuse pattern to depths of ten to twelve feet. Whenever cover is present in the way of brush piles and lay downs multiple crappies will hold in this time of year. Use live minnows down lined to depths ten to twelve feet in and around cover. Learn how to use the new Lowrance GEN2 Structure Map technology with our exclusive On the Water schools. www.havefunfishing.com

February 2, 2012

LAKE ALLATOONA IS DOWN 9.56 FEET, STAINED AND 51 DEGREES

This bass fishing report is from Matt Driver 404 456 6094 www.proanglerradio.com

Bass fishing is fair. Due to the unseasonably warm winter, fishing patterns are not typical for the month of February. Leave the float n fly and drop shot rigs at the house unless there’s a major cold spell. It doesn’t appear there will be a shad kill. Even if we have some cold weather, there’s not going to be a big change in fishing pattern. Basically, we’re on pre spawn type stuff. We’re moving a lot and using crank baits. A Spro McStick 95 jerk bait and lipless crank baits are working the best. Fish are all over the water column right now. We may see it change mid month and fishing will get a little tougher. We don’t think there will be a mass migration to deeper water. Right now, 15 feet is the average depth.

This Lake Allatoona Fishing Guides Fishing Report Is Bought to You by Robert Eidson of First Bite Guide Service 770 827 6282 www,firstbiteguideservice.com. *

Line side fishing is good. For stripers, big baits fished on planer boards have been producing some good sized stripers and good numbers. We are using big gizzards or big trout in the creeks and in the rivers. Little River up to Clear Creek have been producing best. The key to fishing this part of the lake right now is clear water. If the water is muddy don’t waste your time putting out bait. Go find the mud line and start fishing. Hybrid fishing is good but seems to be best mid lake. Fishing medium shiners and threadfin shad on down lines between 20 to 45 feet deep are working best. Look for these fish over the river channel between Galt’s Ferry and Clear Creek. Top water is right now. But it only last about 20 minutes at sun up. Trolling has been VERY SLOW for the past few days. Look for it to pick back up as the water clears. We teach ON THE WATER SCHOOLS for SONAR and Rods, Reels and Lures for Bass. Call for details. Call for details.

February 2, 2012

LAKE HARTWELL IS DOWN 7.51 FEET, CLEAR & 51 DEGREES

Bass fishing is good and the bass are biting like it is almost spring. Shallow baits are working all day and the Alabama rig with the swim baits around main lake reef markers over humps and points is best. Use almost any of your favorite lures including the drop shot rig and the jig head worm. The jig and pig and the crank bait are also working. If the Carolina rig is your favorite use a Carolina Keeper on a three foot leader. Work the backs of these docks as well as the bank cover and the sea walls on down lake. Later in the day, use a 7A Bomber in crawfish or fire tiger colors right on the docks and get the lures under these docks with accurate casts. This works best up the rivers in the off colored waters. The upper rivers are off colored and use a larger Zoom Magnum lizard or a worm as well as a spinner bait around the banks and drop them into the cuts under the big trees right on the bank. Try the football head in the 5/16 ounce head with a Zoom Ultravibe Craw. Keep the Zoom Super Fluke ready all day and pearl ad baby bass are the best colors on a 3/0 Mustad offset worm hook and some Sufix Elite 10 pound line Be sure to use some fresh line as the line sides may decide to eat this bait. See our web site for Rods, Reels and Lures for Bass DVD on sale.

February 2, 2012

CLARKS HILL IS DOWN 7.76 FEET, 52 DEGREES & STAINED

Bass fishing is good and a lot of fish moved into shallow waters to start their bedding ritual for the year. On the shallow creek ledges in the mouth of the creeks there are schools of bass. They will bite a Texas or Carolina rigged worms and the trick worms in watermelon seed color. Use the brass and glass weight for extra sound and work baits all the out off the points and ledges. Later in the day use the Fat Free Shad crank baits in shad and Citrus shad as well as the baby bass pattern on the creek banks. Be sure to bounce the baits off the bottom for the extra strikes. In the up river creeks mouths, slow roll a Stanley spinner bait with gold and silver willow leaf blades. See our web site for Rods, Reels and Lures for Bass DVD on sale.

February 2, 2012

LAKE RUSSELL IS FULL, CLEAR & 53 DEGREES

Bass fishing is good and the bass are feeding all day on shad in the creeks and ditches. They are biting the Carolina rigged Zoom 5 inch lizard around brush and standing timber. As the days get longer, use a small shad colored crank bait like the Shad Rap on points. Use the Stanley dark green or all black 1/2 ounce jig and a larger Uncle Josh #11 pork trailer on the heavy cover. Cast a dark red and black Texas rigged Berkley Power worm in the larger sizes slowly worked on the heavy wood lake wide. Slow roll a ½ ounce Lucky Craft Redemption spinnerbaits with the willow leaf and Colorado blade combo in gold’s and silvers on points. Also, use larger dark worms over the grass and around rip rap on the rocks around ramps and bridges later each day with the warming waters. See our web site for Rods, Reels and Lures for Bass DVD on sale.

February 2, 2012

LAKE SEMINOLE IS FULL, STAINED AND 63 DEGREES BY MATT BATY

Bass fishing is good. The bass are in a spawn pre spawn mode. For spawning bass look in the backwater ponds off of the main lake. Look for sandy areas and once you find a bass on the bed, use a Big Bite Baits Warmouth in Green Blue Gill, along with a 5/0 EWG Gamakatsu hook and a 3/8 ounce tungsten sinker. Use the Sunline 22 pound Machine Gun Cast when bed fishing. For pre spawn fish, look on the main lake flats and fish the edge of sandbars with a shallow running crank bait. For 3 feet or less, use a Spro Fat John in Nasty Shad, and for water a little deeper than 3 feet, use a Stanford Razor Shad Shallow Runner in Summer Pattern. Each of these baits is perfect for locating and catching pre spawn fish on the flats. Learn how to use the Lowrance Structure Scan and Down Scan technology with Southern Fishing On the Water fishing schools.

February 2, 2012

LAKE GEORGE IS FULL, 55 DEGREES, STAINED

Bass fishing is good and use the jigs and Texas rigs. Green pumpkin lizards are working and use the larger lizard later in the day. Small Rat L Traps and Shad Raps are working also. Fish the deeper ledge drops with the larger Fat Free Shad natural shad colored crank bait late as the water moves. War Eagle spinnerbaits with two blades like silver and a gold smaller blade is a good choice. We teach ON THE WATER SCHOOLS for SONAR and Rods, Reels and Lures for Bass. Call for details. Call for details.

February 2, 2012

LAKE WEISS IS DOWN 4.42 FEET STAINED AND 47 DEGREES BY MARK COLLINS GUIDE SERVICE

Now available for sale 50 of my proven GPS waypoints for off shore structure for Bass and Crappie fishing on Weiss Lake, Alabama. E mail ken@havefunfishing.com

Bass fishing is fair and the spotted bass have started biting again in Little River, drop shot rigs with a small craw or 4 inch Senko worm are working well. Very few large mouth bass are being caught.

Crappie fishing is good and a lot fish are being caught, long line trolling in Little River and Little Spring Creek on 1/24 ounce Jiffy Jigs in colors JJ05, JJ08, JJ13, JJ17, JJ23, JJ33.

February 2, 2012

LAKE SINCLAIR IS DOWN 1.52 FEET, 54 DEGREES, MOSTLY STAINED.

Bass fishing is good. Head up the rivers and the fish are a little more active. The bass are off the river points and deeper stump rows. Flipping a dark Zoom U tail on a Texas rig greens on wood and brush very tight bank and river structure can draw a strike. Try casting or flipping the river docks and shallow bank with a V and M motor oil lizard. Main lake docks and sea walls are fair and use the white buzz bait early and late. Keep a Zoom Super Fluke ready and skip this bait under the larger docks and let it sink all the way to the bottom and work it almost like a worm. We teach On the Water Schools for Sonar and Rods, Reels and Lures for Bass. Call for Ken details.

February 2, 2012

LAKE OCONEE IS FULL, 51 DEGREES.

Bass fishing is fair. The main lake is clear, stained to muddy up the rivers. Think small. That’s right the small. The bass are feeding on small threadfin shad. They are all over the lake and the bass are feeding on them. Match the hatch. A small shad pattern crank bait fished around docks in 5 to 15 feet of water and use the #5 Shad Rap. Some fish are still coming on blue black jigs fished around wood structure. This pattern will pick up the bigger fish. The spoon bite on the lower end of the lake has slowed over the past week. As always if Georgia Power is pulling water ck out the rip rap around the bridges. The small crank baits will work in this area also.

Lake Oconee Line Side report brought to you by Mark Smith at Reel Time Guide Service. 404-803-0741. wwwreeltimeguideservice.com

Line side fishing is good. This report is the same as last week and should hold as long as the water temperature stays in the upper 40’s and low 50.The stripers and hybrids continue to bite down near the dam. These fish are after smaller baits. We have cut down the size of the umbrella rigs. Take the trailers and cut about an inch off of them and this will down size your rigs. Live bait is also producing. Use your Lowrance to locate the schools of bait and drop your bait in the schools. The Stripers may not show on the Lowrance but they are close to the bait. Keep a Cat. Mac spoon tied on. There are times that it will out produce the live bait.

Crappie fishing is good. The big crappie are starting to show up in the back of the major creeks. This is the time of year to fill your cooler with big slabs. Spider rigging in the back of these creeks will produce the most fish. Tip your jig with a minnow for the best results. The best jug color has been the blue black, or the green black. This should last until the end of spring. But the biggest fish will be caught over the next few weeks. The weather is good and the fish are feeding so now is a good time to take a child fishing. Sugar Creek Marina has a complete line of striper gear, crappie jigs and all the bass tackle you will need. The spring striper bite is on the way now is a good time to stock up. We teach On the Water Schools for Sonar and Rods, Reels and Lures for Bass. Call for Ken details at 770 889 2654 for details.

February 2, 2012

JACKSON LAKE IS DOWN 4.42 FEET, CLEAR & 53 DEGREES

Bass fishing is good as the water has stayed warmer so far. The rivers are a little stained so use the bright Stanley spinner bait with all white or chartreuse blades in the willow leaf style. Down lake use the Rebel Deep Wee R in the bone or parrot colors on docks and points. Use a dark Texas rigged Berkley Power worm in the larger sizes slowly worked on the docks on the lower lake. Later each day use a 1/2 ounce Strike King bright blade spinner bait on lower lake docks and on any rocks. Cast these baits right on the banks and pull them slowly over the wood on any bank. A green pumpkin Zoom trick worm around docks can get a strike. Add a Venom glass rattle in the lure. We teach On the Water Schools for Sonar and Rods, Reels and Lures for Bass. Call for Ken details at 770 889 2654 for details.

Our DVD, Rods, Reels and Lures for Bass are now on sale for only $ 25.00 including shipping. Send a check payable to Southern Fishing Schools Inc. to: Southern Fishing Schools Inc to 106 Hickory Ridge Drive, Cumming Georgia. Please allow 14 days for delivery.

Ken Sturdivant, Lowrance Professional Fishing Staff will be conducting FREE! Sonar Seminars at Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World in Lawrenceville Georgia. The BASICS OF SONAR seminars are held on the last Saturday of each month at 2pm. All seminars are subject to change without notice.

If you would like to have a free set up sheet for your sonar, send me an e mail to kensturdivant@earthlink.net and ask for the Sonar Setup Quick List. See the new Lowrance machines at www.lowrance.com. Lowrance Announces HDS Gen2. See them in action at Bass Pro Shops in Lawrenceville this Saturday from noon until 5pm.

We have these BASS FISHING books for sale: BASS FISHING LAKE LANIER, BASS FISHING LAKE ALLATOONA, BASS FISHING WEST POINT LAKE, BASS FISHING LAKE RUSSELL, BASS FISHING WEST POINT LAKE and BASS FISHING LAKE HARTWELL. These books are written exclusively for Bass and each book covers every week of the year. Each book $ 39.00. If you would like a sample of any book, send us an e mail to kensturdivant@earthlink.net. Our mailing address is: Southern Fishing Schools Inc. 106 Hickory Ridge, Cumming Georgia 30040.

Copyright 2012, Southern Fishing Schools Inc. calls us to set up a school, Maps and Depth Finders or SONAR and Rods, Reels and Lures for Bass. Call for details.www.havefunfishing.com 770 889 2654.