“You really have to stay ahead of these fish and their eating habits if you want to successfully catch these spotted bass on Lake Lanier. The way these fish feed can be predictable at times and tricking them into eating my bait is a trick that is always evolving. If you’re a regular to the lake you’ve more than likely already accepted the fact that fishing changes daily and what worked today may not work tomorrow so sometimes their can be failure. You also have to accept the fact that sometimes the fish will win the battle and you have to swallow that bitter pill”.

It doesn’t happen often for me but it bit me again yesterday and I am still trying to put it behind me. Yesterday I was out on the main lake and I was in an area where I knew there was a good chance I was going to catch a big bass. I was so sure, I turned on the video camera and explained in the video that “out here on the main lake it’s a good idea to make sure your drag is set and you check your line frequently for nicks“. I then turned around and made a couple of casts. Just a few casts later a big bass just hammered my popper and the fight was on. I knew the fish was going to be close to 5lbs and that notion was affirmed when the fish jumped right in front of the boat but when I went to grab the net the fish made one of those bulldog runs and broke off. I was heart broken and I got it all on video.

Early this week I was still riding my high on the Ima Skimmer bait and the fish were practically jumping in the boat, chasing the Ima but as the week progressed the Ima Skimmer lost it’s luster and the bass decided that the popper was a better choice. The Ima Skimmer is the bait I pulled off the Wall of Shame two weeks ago and it provided me with some top notch fish and entertainment. I made a video last week with the Ima and I finally got it downloaded so here’s a little video of the Ima in action.

Thursday I was back in the shop and making a few more poppers so I could have some for yesterday morning out on the main lake. I got a late start because I had to fill up with gas and the marinas don’t open till 9am so I messed around the creek for a while. When I finally gassed up and got to the main lake I could see that I was in plenty of company on points and humps. Pretty much all week has been running and gunning a milk run I made up for my summer stop, pop and drop pattern. I’m basically hitting humps and points from the southwest end up to Browns Bridge and over to the east side and back down lake. I have a lot of options and the wind is always a factor on how I fish the milk run. Right now I’m approaching the hump or point up wind if there’s wind and hitting Stop Lock once I’m in position to fan cast the area. After I’ve pounded it pretty good with the topwater, I’m moving in with the drop shot and spending a few minutes dropping with Lanier Baits Blue Lily. Always have Blue Lily ready to drop this time of year. After 5-10 minutes of dropping I’m off to the next spot on the milk run. As it gets hotter the time sitting still in one area may be shorted to just a few minutes.

My baits of choice this week has been the Ima Skimmer in chrome, the Cane Walker 125 in chrome, the Emerald Popper, a Duo Realis G-fix 80 Spybait in American Shad and Lanier Baits Blue Lily drop shot worm.

The lake is a foot below full pool and water temps are in te mid *0’s. Here’s a few pictures from memorable fish this week.