Lanier striper report Feb 23rd, 2009

Well folks......the water temps have bottomed out and have stayed fairly consistent at between 45-47 degrees. It is just C-O-L-D and the fish are doing what they sometimes do when it gets cold. They disappear.........Many fish are spread out and we are having a difficult time finding big schools to throw at. I have cancelled trips now for the past 2 weeks. No let up on that strategy appears to be coming anytime soon. If the fishing pattern is a poor one then we do what any ethical guide should do....reschedule the trip and either go fish the Hooch or drop tiny jigs down to crappie on my dock. For those who just need to suffer, the good news is that most all the fish I am catching are good size. Biggest fish this past week was a 19+ lb beast taken on a size 4 somethin' else. The day before my buddy (Capt Clay Cunningham) was fishing bait and landed a 35 lb behemouth. This is the time that we usually see the biggins' (as we southern boyz say). That pattern of big fish should continue thru March. However, once the water temps rise to about 52+ degrees then I expect to see more fish feeding in the mornings in the backs (I mean where the water almost runs out) of the coves. Loads of fun! Some schooling is taking place now and the birds will surely give it up for anglers looking to suffer. I even caught a BIG white bass this past week (these puppies use to be WAY more common). It was a nice suprise! Believe it or not....I look forward to seeing you on the pond :)

HC

Lanier striper report 2/3/09

Well the show season is finally over........After having flown up to NJ for the Somerset Fly Fishing Show and back to Atlanta for the AFFS all in the same weekend, all I can say is GET ME ON THE POND! Fishing has been pretty consistent. That is to say that when we get a front coming thru the pre-front conditions make the fish extremely active. After the front comes high pressure and blue skies which throw the feed off. 2-3 days after the fish start to feed again. So here are the results: Before the front we can get between 6-15 bites a morning for the couple of mornings before. After the front we are LUCKY to get 1-3 bites for the mornings fishing. Once the weather settles in we are back to 3-8 bites for the mornings fishing. Fish are now mixed sizes. Had Dennis (poon) Ficco out with me yesterday and we hooked 10 stripers. We landed 8 which ranged from 3 to 14 lbs. Also landed 1 spotted bass and a largemouth of about 4 lbs. Total = 12 bites (before the front). Fish are still feeding on little threads and the somethin' else fly is still our best producer. We had some surface feeding yesterday as well as lots of birds feeding up on the bank (giving away the stripers location). All in all Feb looks like it should be another good month.........see you on the pond! David Cannon photo. Cowen video. HC

Lanier striper report 1/10/09

As we turn to the new year the striper fishing on Lanier has been nothing short of AWESOME. Once again the low water conditions have allowed the baitfish to have less cover to hide and made them easy targets for striped bass. This past fall was as good as last year with the exception of the size of the fish being caught. I think the fish were bigger this fall. Average striper being caught is in the 8-12 lb range. Fish are gorging on 1-2” long threadfin shad. Fly fishermen are out fishing all others on the lake by a 3-1 margin. We can simply MATCH-THE-HATCH better. The hot fly has been the “somethin’ else” which is nothing more then a small Clouser type minnow tied w/a bit of magic in the throat. Average number of bites per day can range between 5-15…..Still enough on the surface to make it interesting on intermediate lines however PLENTY of fish are being found in gigantic schools between 10-25 feet below the surface. These are easy targets using integrated shooting heads. Fish are still all over the lake both north and south. We were just getting to see the beginnings of the back of the cove bite which allows you to throw at fish that are in water as shallow as 1-2 feet. We still have a few days open in January. See you on the pond! (if not then maybe at the Atlanta Fly Fishing show on Jan 24th & 25th)

HC

Lanier striper report Dec 18

Well things have changed a bit after the 3" of rain Lanier received last week. First the lake level came up 1 foot. That is certainly a good start. The waters north are muddied up pretty good so you will either need to find a new area to fish if you do not like slinging flies into brown water. The fish are still up there and over the past 3 days the afternoon bite appears to see more top water action then the morning. The morning bite is still very good with a combination of graphing fish on the depth finder and using sinking heads to catch them and the use of intermediate lines when you see surfacing fish. With this cloudy weather all week the fishing has been pretty consistent with an average of 6-12 bites a day. Some days we got up to 20 bites. It is all dependent on the caster.....amazing how surfacing fish can completely make a perfectly good caster lose all his or her mechanics. Fish are still north and south but I like north a little better. Try 2 mile, 4 mile and 6 mile if you are fishing the south end. Look for birds as a dead giveaway to find the fish. Biggest news is that the bait and fish are moving into the creeks. Stripers are still on 2" long baits. Finding fish in the creeks will make fishing even a little better although the surface feeding will slow down some. See you on the pond..........

HC

Lanier striper report Dec 7th

Not much to say without feeling like a bragger. This past week was OFF THE CHARTS good. Had many fish (and some biggins'- as we southern boys say) this past week on every trip. Fish are both way south and north. Gulls and terns have been really helpful (may have to split my tips with them). Fish are gorging on little threadfin shad and on cloudy days the action can last all day long. Sunny days still has fish feeding but the feed is not as epic. Extremely visual right now. I would say the next 3 weeks will be some of the best fishing we see as fly and light tackle anglers. Flyrodders have a distinct advantage over conventional guys as we can match the hatch better. Here are some numbers to get your mouths watering: Wed- Tom McCue had 6 stripers on fly the smallest of which was 10 lbs and the largest was 28 lbs! Thurs- Bill (bamboo) Oyster (seen in photo) was out and we hooked 6 fish to 16 lbs. Fri- Robert Lee was out and we hooked 5 fish to 16 lbs. Today (Sat) David Cannon and I hooked 10 and landed 8 fish to 16 lbs. ALL THESE FISH MENTIONED WERE TAKEN ON FLY (somethin' else pattern). When the fish are on top an intermediate line is the best. When they are not then a sinking line is in order. Still have some days open in Dec...... See you on the pond.

HC

Lanier Fishing Report 11/10

Water temps have plunged into the low 60’s and the top water has started off with a bang! Lots and lots of surface feeding fish being seen ALL OVER the lake. Best times are from first light until 11am and then again from 4pm until dark. Mixed sizes of stripers being caught on the fly. Fish this past week were caught up to mid teens in size. Some days show groups of 5-10 fish (small packs) and other days shows groups of 50-100 (large packs). This week showed fish working bait balls of small shad up and onto the beach. We caught fish on intermediate lines in 18” of water. Some days we caught 2 or 3 fish and other days we hooked over a dozen. Now thru Xmas should be some of the best fishing of the year. Looks like we are going to have another fantastic fall and early winter striper bite. Best of all is that the fish are munching on threadfins rather then blue backs. If you have never seen this surface bite then just check my web site under “Lanier Fishing Footage” which shows scenes from last years top water feast. Love to talk more about it but I have to get to my vice to replenish my fly box………….see you on the pond!

Henry Cowen

The New Year...........

It is the end of September and the lake has cooled down some. We are already starting to see some top water activity on the lower end of the lake. At 73 degrees we are just weeks are even days away from seeing the top water bite open up. I suspect that by sometime in early October (1st-10th) the fishing will begin. Last year I had my greatest fall season ever on Lanier. This I believe was due to the low water levels we experienced last year. Well we are going to see these low water levels again. Fly rodding and redfin fishing will be extremely rewarding if all goes as I suspect it will. Should be starting up our guide trips by mid October. Check the web site for our NEW witching hour trips (after work). These trips are always very visual (lots of surface feeding) and a bit more cost effective then the normal 5 hr half day trips. See you on the pond!

HC