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2B I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com
Wednesday, August 15,2018
Bass fishing is tough; striper fishing is sporadic
By Eric Aldrich
Water Conditions: Lake
Lanier has filled up slightly after
the recent rains. Currently we are
at 1,072.5 feet, or one and a half
feet above the normal full pool of
1,071 feet. Lake surface tempera
tures are varying between the mid
to uppers 80’s depending on if it’s
raining or sunny.
The main lake and lower lake
creeks mouths are clear to
stained. The upper lake creeks,
pockets and the rivers are stained
to muddy.
Check generation schedules
before heading out to the river
below Buford Dam at 770-945-
1466.
Bass fishing has been tougher
this week, even with quality elec
tronics like the Lowrance Carbon
units I will be using going for
ward. We have really struggled to
get a lot of bites. That being said,
we are catching some good ones
when we do hook up.
Video fishing with a drop shot
rig has been the go to technique
this past week. The bass seem to
be holding in brush and on the
timberlines from 25 feet on down
to as deep as 40 feet. Drop down
on the best brush even if you
don’t see fish on your electronics.
Many fish are buried deep in the
brush or hanging very close to the
bottom where they are harder to
see on your electronics.
My setup for a drop shot fish
ing rig is comprised of a #1
Gamakatsu Aberdeen or a drop
shot hook rigged with either a
Big Bites Shakin” Squirrel in
Green Watermelon Red Flake or
a Lanier Baits finesse worm in
LJ’s Passion color. I always dip
these worms in JJ’s Magic to
make sure that the fish hold on to
the worm longer. I use an
18-inch, 7-pound Sunline
Fluorocarbon Leader with a
SPRO Swivel attached to a
16-pound Sunline SX1 Braided
main line. I use a Kissel Krafts
Custom Rods medium weight
spinning rod with a Shimano reel.
This set up allows you to offer a
finesse presentation while still
having enough power to get these
fish out of the brush and into the
boat.
Other presentations like a Ned
Rig, Carolina Rig or finesse
worm on a 3/16th or 1/4 ounce
Gamakatsu Alien Head will pro
duce. Work these rigs through the
brush and on down the steeper
drops close to timber lines.
Consider cranking this deeper
cover with a SPRO Little John
DD 90. These deep diving crank
baits will dive up to 24 feet deep
on a very long cast.
Striper fishing has been either
tough or good based on finding
deeper fish in the ditches and tim
ber lines just off the main river
and creek channels. The fish may
be stacked in an area one morn
ing only to vacate it later in the
day or the next morning. Stripers
tend to be pelagic, meaning they
are not relating to the bottom or
structure but instead following
the fast-moving schools of her
ring. Stripers have one job in the
dog days of summer — to eat.
Down lined herring, native spot
tail minnows or large shiners are
the best baits this week. Herring
need close attention to keep them
lively during the hot days of sum
mer. Fresh water with the proper
amounts of ice and sea salt plus
an air stone to provide oxygen are
almost essential when air temper
atures approach the 90’s. They
also need a round bait tank to
protect them from getting “red
nose” from bumping into the cor
ners.
Native spot tails and large shin
ers are a lot easier to keep alive,
but they still need a little ice to
keep them lively. You can keep
these baits in a standard bass boat
live well or smaller bait tank. Try
to use the recirculate option
instead of pumping in hot lake
water to keep them alive.
Use down lines with a heavy
two-ounce sinker to get your baits
through the hotter surface layer
on down below the thermocline
at 25 to 35 feet. Use a mainline of
20-pound Sunline Natural mono
filament attached to a SPRO
Swivel with a long 12-pound
Sunline Fluorocarbons leader.
The longer the leader the better,
but 10 to 12 feet is a good start.
Use your Lowrance Electronics
to locate the schools of stripers. If
you do not mark fish keep mov
ing until you see the arcs or wavy
lines that indicate stripers. More
times than not, you will also see
clouds of bait fish where the
stripers are located. Be aware that
these deeper stripers will con
stantly be moving, and their loca
tions can change hourly. Just
because you found them yester
day does not mean you will find
them today.
Power fishing with a Nichols
spoon or SPRO Bucktail and a
Big Bites Suicide Shad has been
working in combination with
your live bait down lines. Drop
these offerings down to the bot
tom through the school, and then
reel them up through the fish as
fast as you can for some arm
breaking strikes.
You will need to move around
a lot, so try trolling a Captain
Mack’s Umbrella rig on seven to
eight colors of lead core and run
your boat around three miles per
hour while you search for fish.
This set up will put your umbrella
rig right around the thermocline
layer where the striper will be
located. Watch your electronics,
and when you see stripers, stop
and drop your baits rigged on
down lines.
Crappie fishing has been very
slow and about the only way we
can catch any is to fish the bridg
es or lighted boat docks with
Hydro Glow Lights. The good
news is that you will probably
catch a mixed bag of crappie,
brim and bass with live bait
rigged on a slip bobber so that
you can adjust the depth of your
crappie minnows or native spot
tails.
Trout fishing ranges from fair
to good both up in the mountains
and below the dams in the colder
waters under these tail races.
Working a small inline spinner
on light 4-6-pound test is a great
lure year-round. Cast your spin
ners out, let them sink, and then
reel them just fast enough to keep
the spinners moving. I have
caught trout by holding a Rooster
Tail almost still while I let it spin
in the current.
Live worms, Berkley Power
Nuggets and com will do well on
a bottom rig below the rapids.
Just make sure the waters you
fish allow live bait fishing.
Bank fishing: A question was
asked on social media this week
about how an angler could catch
large, eating-sized brim. The best
way to do this is to get access to a
local farm or subdivision pond.
The small lake across the street
from my home has huge, hand
sized brim that are suckers for a
worm or cricket under a bobber.
All you need is a standard kid
pole and reel like a Zebco 33 or a
small spinning outfit. Just use a
small Aberdeen hook tied directly
below a bobber with no extra
swivels or snaps. You should use
a very small split shot when fish
ing with crickets. Cover the entire
hook with your worm or cricket
and cast it close to the banks.
On Lake Lanier you can catch
a lot of smaller brim with the
same set up. For the larger brim
you will need to fish deeper. If
you have access to a dock, just
cast a weighted line with a worm
or cricket and let it sink 10 feet
deep. If you do not have access to
a dock, then use a slip bobber set
to 10 feet deep and cast it out
around deeper banks with rocks
or laydowns.
Eric Aldrich is an outdoor writer, mar
keting specialist and bass angler.
Reports are based on personal experi
ence and permission from a close net
work of friends. He would love to hear
from his readers so please email him at
esaldrich@yahoo.com.
FROM 1B
Football
Bob Christian Dawson County News
DCHS Defensive Backs Coach Bradley Fowler views tape during an
Aug. 10 varsity game.
At the end of the first the score
was tied at seven and remained tied
through the second quarter as, once
again, both teams settled down to
the dirty work of defense.
Starting the second half with pos
session of the ball the Tigers took
full advantage of the opportunity.
Relying again on the speed and
power of their backfield duo they
drove the ball the length of the field
and scored on a 9-yard Kamara run
to open the second half and take a
14 to 7 lead.
The lead was short lived as a long
run by Bryson Trigg of the Raiders
on the next play from scrimmage
set North Forsyth up for a quick red
zone score. Just like that the game
was again tied, this time at 14 all.
The third quarter continued to be
an exciting affair as the Tigers, sub
stituting Riley Herndon in at quar
terback, began to air out the ball in
a change of pace from the running
game.
Once again the strategy paid off,
as late in the third Herndon lofted a
32 yard bomb to the back of the end
zone where it was snatched out of
the air by tight end TJ Wilson for
another Tiger touchdown bringing
the score to Tigers 21, Raiders 14.
The Tigers defense, led by strong
performances from Logan Barnes
and Zac Baloga, continued to sty
mie the Raiders forcing another
three and out to give the Tigers
another shot on offense.
Still in at quarterback, Herndon
quickly brought the team downfield
using a short, precise passing game.
As he dropped back for a critical
third down, needing the first to con
tinue the drive, he got the chance to
demonstrate his speed. Breaking
free from the Raider’s backfield
pressure Herndon scrambled 30
yards for the touchdown, sealing
the Tigers victory with a final score
of 28 tol4.
“Overall, we did a few things
wrong,” said Tigers Head Coach
Sid Maxwell. “But we did a lot of
things right. We just need to settle
down, focus and play the next play.”
The DCHS Tigers begin the regu
lar season at 7:30 p.m. Friday night,
Aug. 17, with an away game versus
Habersham County.
Bob Christian Dawson County News
Carol Drake stands ready to hit during an Aug.
9 game.
FROM 1B
Softball
eight batters while walking one and allowing only
five hits, the Lady Tigers continued the offensive
onslaught adding four runs in the second and four
more in the fourth.
The Danes put themselves on the board with a tre
mendous solo home run by Jesse Denardo in the
third, but the effort was not quite enough to spark a
rally.
“We didn’t play well enough against a good club,”
said Denmark Head Coach David Smart.
“[Schandera] in the circle did a good job moving
the ball around.”
The Dawsonville Lady Tigers continued their sea
son Aug. 13 with their first away game versus
Union County, which resulted in an 8-1 loss.
FROM 1B
Christian
Each week I plan to
gather together some of the
news stories from around
the country where Georgia
athletes are featured, just in
case you are out there like
me, wondering on occa
sion, “Whatever happened
to that guy?”
Peachtree City heads to
Williamsport
After posting a 4-0
record through the Little
League Baseball Southeast
Regional Tournament and
defeating the team out of
Virginia by a final score of
3 to nothing, the Peachtree
City American LL team
out of Peachtree City, Ga.,
is on their way to
Williamsport, Pa., to play
in the Little League World
Series.
The first team ever to
attend the big game out of
Peachtree City, and the
first in seven years to go
from Georgia, the young
men, all 11 - 13 years old,
will face off against the lit-
tle leaguers from
Honolulu, Hawaii Lriday,
Aug. 17.
Georgia running back
named to Top 15
University of Georgia
running back D’Andre
Swift was recently name as
one of the top 15 backs in
college football by
Yardbarker.com.
Playing last season as
the third string back to
Nick Chubb and Sony
Michel, Swift showed
flashes of speed and power
when given an opportunity
with the ball. Having
moved up to the number
one slot on the chart due to
both Chubb and Michel
entering the NFL D’Andre
Swift is primed to be one
of the most explosive
backs in the country.
Speaking of Chubb
and Michel
Nick Chubb made his
debut in the NFL Thursday
night during the pre-season
game between the
Cleveland Browns and the
New York Giants.
According to Cleveland,
com, Chubb “looked hesi
tant at time” and finished
the game with only 11
yards on 15 carries. Chubb
did have one reception for
an additional 12 yards, but
the consensus is more will
be needed if he wants a
spot on the depth chart
come week one.
Sony Michel, on the
other hand, suffered a
minor knee injury during
practice and had to under
go a procedure to drain
fluid from his knee. Michel
did not suit up for the
Patriots pre-season game
last week and is not
expected to take the field
until the third pre-season
game at the earliest.
Despite earlier reports
that the Patriots had big
plans for Michel, his
inability to take to the field
will be a hindrance as the
pre-season continues.
If you have any tips from
around the world of sports
or anything you just want
to discuss, drop me a line a
• 16 Colors in Stock
•Delivery Available
(706) 265-3099
www.metalroofingsalesinc.com
82 Etowah River Rd.
Dawsonville, GA
bchristian@dawsonnews.
com
Play hard. Have fun.
Bob Christian is the sports
reporter for the Dawson County
News
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