Dawson County news. (Dawsonville, Georgia) 2015-current, February 13, 2019, Image 14

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    2B I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com
Wednesday, February 13,2019
LAKE LANIER FISHING REPORT
Bass will continue to bite late in day as weather cools
Lake Lanier is above normal
pool at 1,071.86 or .86 feet above
full pool of 1,071. The CORP is
dropping the lake quickly and the
level may have fallen even more
by the time you read this report.
Lake surface temperatures are
around 50 degrees with some
warmer water in the backs of the
pockets. The colder weather
should drop temperatures, but not
too quickly.
The water quality is improving
on the lake but there are still plen
ty of stained areas. The lake
below Browns Bridge remains
clear in the in the creek mouths
and stained in the backs of the
creeks. The upper lake creeks are
stained in the mouths and very
stained in the backs and the rivers
are very stained. Check genera
tion schedules before heading out
to the river below Buford Dam at
770-945-1466.
A reminder of our free semi
nars: West Marine in Buford with
be hosting two free seminars. Call
470-202-1052 for details and
directions.
On Tuesday, there is a free
striper and bass fishing seminar
from 6-7 p.m.
On February 26, there is a free
electronics seminar. Factory reps
will be there to help customers
with GPS, mapping, finding fish
and much more.
Bass fishing has been tougher
in the mornings but it’s been bet
ter during the warmer afternoons.
The past week’s record warm
temperatures have made winter
fishing feel more like late
February or early March. The
water should retain some warmth,
even with the colder weather
coming in.
ERIC ALDRICH
Columnist
We have been starting out in the
morning fishing slow moving
lures like shaky heads, drop shots
rigs and jigs around ditches and
drains that feed out from shallow
flats. The bass are wanting to
move shallow, but the shorter days
are still keeping them deep. These
early morning fish are in depres
sions from 20-35 feet.
I have relied on my Lowrance
Carbon units to “video fish” these
deeper bass. Keep a drop-shot rig
ready at all times while working a
jig or shaky head down the sides
of the depressions. Use Sunline
Fluorocarbon and a sensitive rod
like my Kissel Krafts Custom
Rod, so that you can feel the
deeper bites. A lot of these fish are
migrating in from deep water later
in the day.
In the afternoons, it’s been
crank baits working best. The fish
have been biting on rocky banks
with sun shinning on them. Wind
has been a plus. Crank a mid-to-
deep diving lure like a SPRO MD
or DD through the rocks. The
secret is to fish slow and steady.
When the lure hangs up, just stop
reeling and it will usually float
free of the obstruction. If not, use
your trolling motor to get on the
other side to pop it free.
With the cooler weather fore
cast for this upcoming week,
these patterns may change but not
by much. Hit the water and go
catch some fish.
Striper fishing has been good.
We continue to see stripers shal
low in the mornings and all day
long on cloudy days. On sunny
days, the stripers can be either
shallow or deep. Use your
Lowrance electronics to show you
where the fish are located and
keep moving until you find them.
Flat lines and weighted flat
lines have worked well this week
with the warmer weather. Down
lines are still working too. Be pre
pared for all conditions. Look for
fish and bait in the pockets and
pull shad, herring or smaller trout
around the areas where you mark
fish.
Keep a trout shallow on a plan
ner board that you can run close
to the bank. This will often pro
duce larger fish. In my experi
ence, stripers over 20 pounds run
alone, away from the schools of
medium-sized fish.
This tip is from my buddy
Mack Farr. If you see a lot of fish
on the screen, drop a Captain
Mack’s Mini Rig down through
the school and reel it through the
school to trigger a bite. These fish
are eating herring and shad that
are schooled up in tight and this
smaller umbrella rig will be hard
to get through a hungry school of
stripers.
Trolling Umbrella Rigs is also a
great way to cover water while
looking for the schools that you
can drop bait to. Run your boat at
around 2 mph and watch your
graph while trolling your lure. If
you have a down rigger, set it to
15 or 20-feet and slow troll a
SPRO McStick.
As mentioned last week, I rely
heavily on my Lowrance
Carbon’s Structure scan to see
fish that are outside of the stan
dard two-dimensional sonar cone.
Structure scan can give away a
big school of stripers that anglers
would normally miss and that
Carbon 16 screen is so big you
can see almost everything with it.
Crappie: The crappie are relat
ing to deeper docks midway back
into the smaller creeks and also in
the warmer pockets off the main
lake creeks. Target docks that
have brush set around them or that
have holes in the Styrofoam floats
where beavers have set up a
hutch.
If you are unable to use elec
tronics, then a big giveaway is
older docks with fishing rod hold
ers.
Lowrance Structure Scan
makes seeing the best areas much
easier. Set your distance to 50 feet
and to the left or right side only,
based on which side of your boat
the docks are located. Ride
around the front of the docks to
find the most productive areas to
shoot jigs.
These schools are easy to see
and look like multiple roundish
dots.
Shooting jigs takes some prac
tice. There are plenty of YouTube
videos showing this technique.
Before you snag your jigs on
docks spend some time practicing
by setting your garage door a foot
above closed and practice shoot
ing from your driveway. Make
sure to cut off the tips of your
hooks to prevent animals or your
self from accidents.
Bank fishing: I recently saw a
post on Facebook asking if there
are any anglers who bank fish for
catfish. While there may not be
many, there probably should be
more people fishing for “mister
whiskers”. Lake Lanier as well as
many farm and subdivision
pounds have good populations of
catfish.
Catfish are suckers for live bait
and cut shad. You can net your
own or stop by your local bait
shop to acquire these catfish
treats. Use the same tackle that
you would for stripers. Fishing
poles spooled with 12-20-pound
Sunline Natural monofilament
will work well.
Either place a large split shot
above your hook or use a Carolina
Rig (a sinker, swivel and two-foot
leader) and use a No. 3
Gamakatsu Octopus Hook. If you
are using line bait, hook your
minnows through the lips. If you
are using cut bait hook it directly
in the middle.
Cast your lines to channels or
the deeper parts of the ponds and
lakes and secure your rod. A piece
of PVC pipe with a diameter large
enough to hold the handle of your
rod and cut the other end at an
angle. Hammer this into the bank,
secure your rod and wait. These
fish can vary in size from 1 pound
on up to over 30 pounds, so be
prepared for a great battle.
Eric Aldrich is an outdoor writer,
marketing specialist and bass
angler. Reports are based on per
sonal experience and permission
from a close network of friends.
Contact him at esaldrich@yahoo.
com or visit his website at aldrich-
fishing.com.
5 Tigers advance to GHSA state wrestling tournament
By Bob Christian
bchristian@dawsonnews.com
Dawson County seniors
Levi Baggett, Wyatt Smith
and Kevin Arias along with
juniors DJ Mitchell, Alex
Payne, Briana Ray and
Danny Phillips traveled to
Norcross Feb. 8-9 to com
pete in the state sectionals,
the qualifying event for the
GHSA State wrestling tour
nament.
A two-day, traditional-
style event, the state sec
tionals brackets are com
prised of the top four wres
tlers in the 14 standard
weight classes from each
region and area in the state,
with the six finalists in each
class moving on to the state
tournament. This year’s
event featured 160 wres
tlers.
After a tough first day of
competition, Arias ended
his season with a seventh-
place finish in the 126-
pound weight class, while
Phillips saw his day come
to a close early in the 285-
pound bracket. Baggett,
Smith, Mitchell and Payne
all remained alive as the
tournament rolled into the
second day.
Smith, who has battled a
shoulder injury all season,
punched his ticket to state
with a sixth-place finish in
the 132-pound category and
Payne followed suit in the
220-pound weight class
with a fifth-place finish.
Mitchell fought deep into
the 170-pound bracket only
to run into a buzz saw by
the name of Dalton Malone
out of Pierce County, who
shut down the Dawson
County junior and ended
his day with a fourth-place
finish.
Baggett entered the day
heavily favored in the 195-
pound weight class with a
season record of 37-3 and
he did not disappoint.
Winning his first match
with a first-round pin, his
second by decision and his
third with a second-round
pin, Baggett made quick
work of his opponents to
capture first-place and head
into the state tournament in
top form.
This year featured the
first ever girl’s GHSA State
sectionals and tournament,
and Ray represented the
Dawson County Tigers in
the 106-pound weight class.
In a field of limited, but tal
ented, competition, Ray
wrestled her way into a sec
ond-place finished to join
the boys in the state tourna
ment.
The four-day GHSA
State tournament will begin
Feb. 13 in Macon.
FROM 1B
Boys
“They got out ahead of us in transition
and scored some easy points,” Pittman
said.
Dawson County fought back in the
second period as they continued to keep
pace with the Spartans
Junior Jasper Gibson began to find his
sweet spot along the 3-point line toward
the end of the period and the Tigers
briefly tied the game, but GAC grabbed
a quick pair of buckets to close out the
half and take a 43-39 lead into the lock
er room.
Gibson’s sweet spot from the first half
expanded to cover the entire floor dur
ing the third period as he personally led
the Dawson County comeback with a
22-point spree to give his team their first
lead at 63-61 headed into the final min
utes.
“He started feeling it in the second
quarter. I think it kind of blew every
body away,” Pittman said. “Obviously, it
was huge.”
GAC focused most of their defense on
Gibson in the final period and succeed
ed in shutting him down almost com
pletely as the teams continued to pound
away at each other.
With three minutes remaining in the
game, and the teams separated by a sin
gle basket, the Dawson County defense
turned the tide of the game with a series
of plays that finally turned the board
permanently in favor of the Tigers.
Juniors Eli Burruss and Tate Adkins
converted clutch steals into points, and
sophomore Mason Barnes successfully
challenged the lane to draw a foul and
completed the 3-point play.
The Tigers continued to build their
lead from the free-throw line in the final
minute of play and celebrated their
86-76 victory, becoming the Region
7-AAA champions.
“In my career, this was one of the bet
ter high school games I’ve participated
in,” Pittman said. “Kind of like a boxing
match, back-and-forth, all game. I feel it
was our most complete game of the sea
son. The kids played so hard, it’s a well-
deserved success.”
The win wraps up an incredible regu
lar season that saw the Tigers post a
24-4 overall record and go 10-2 in
regional play.
As the top seed, Dawson County will
mS BASKETBA.
TIMWH wssstunb rj
moat spi
Photos by Bob Christian Dawson County News
Junior Jason Gibson looks for a shot against Fannin County in round one of the Region 7-AAA tournament Feb. 7.
A New Beginning
TRINITY CHURCH
of DAWSONVILLE
An Eco Presbyterian Church
“The most loving small church
I’ve attended lately.”
Isn’t it time you came back?
Firestation #2 Highway 53
Just Down from the Tractor Supply
Junior Brody Howell breaks away for
an easy layup against Fannin County
Sunday School 9:30
Worship 10:30
host the fourth-seeded Ringgold Tigers
from Region 6-AAA in the first round
of the GHSA state tournament, tipping
off at 6 p.m. on Feb. 16.
706-531-4252