Look for busting stripers and spots from Chestatee Bay down to the Dam. Keep moving until you see the fish for best success. We have seen them busting on the surface out on the main lake and in the mouths to the middle of southend creeks. Mornings and afternoons have been about the same. Cast Spro Dawg’s, Sebile’s, Redfins, Spooks, and Sammie’s to these surfacing fish.
If you can’t find them on top, fish freelined bluebacks on as many points and humps as you can. Expect a mix of stripers and spots on the freelines, so I would invest in some of the Eagle Claw pre-rigged stinger hooks when fishing with bluebacks. If you can’t find them up shallow, you will need to fish downline bluebacks 30 to 40 feet deep, just off the bottom on main lake and secondary points. Capt. Mack’s u-rigs are also a good choice if the fish are deeper. There are some stripers up the lake in both the Chattahoochee and Chestatee Rivers.
I would freeline and pull planerboards with trout or gizzard shad when fishing up north for a big fish. There are also a lot of smaller size stripers up the lake in Wahoo, Little River, and in Gainesville creeks. Downlines and u-rigs will work best on these smaller fish. Down the lake, when the fish have been on top, they have ranged in size from 5 to 20 pounds on our guide boats. There is nothing like seeing an acre of stripers busting on the surface. We’ve also caught and released some really big spotted bass that are mixed in with these surfacing stripers. We’ve also caught some bigger spots that have been up on points in five to ten feet of water while live bait striper fishing.
This report is brought to you by Shane Watson Guide Service www.lakelanierstripers.com. Hammond’s Fishing Center, and Carolina Skiff Boats. Good Fishing.