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2B I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com
Wednesday, December 25,2019
LAKE LANIER FISHING REPORT:
Fish still biting despite cooler weather
Water Conditions: Lake
Lanier’s water level has
risen about a half a foot and
is at 1,067.83 feet, or 3.17
feet below the normal full
pool of 1,071. Water tem
peratures are in the low 50s.
The main lake and creeks
mouths are clear to stained.
The creeks and rivers are
slightly stained to very
stained. The Chattahoochee
River below Buford Dam is
still stained. Check genera
tion schedules before head
ing out to the river at 770-
945-1466.
Bass: It was brisk
enough this morning to
make me think fishing
would be slow, but the bass
are still biting. This trip
consisted of answering a
customer’s questions about
his Lowrance electronics’
Structure Scan and teaching
him how to set up custom
ized waypoints, icons and
names. Reviewing all of
this provided the opportuni
ty to scan a lot of water to
see what the fish are doing
for this report.
Many of Lake Lanier’s
bass are in a transition peri
od right now. Some are
shallow. Some are suspend
ing around bait from 10 to
30 feet while others are
relating to the bottom out
deep from 40 to 55 feet
deep. These fish are swim
ming below the bait schools
waiting for an easy meal.
The thermocline has not set
up yet, and low 50-degree
water allows the bass the
ERIC ALDRICH
Columnist
luxury to roam throughout
the water column as they
pursue herring and shad.
Junk fishing may be your
best bet this week. The fish
are at all depths, and they
are eating a variety of for
age. Small to medium-sized
shad, larger herring, gizzard
shad, brim and even craw
fish are all on the menu.
Pick your favorite method
and be willing to change up
as needed to catch fish.
We have continued to tar
get the ditches early in the
day. Spotted bass will slide
up shallow early before
sunrise and actively feed for
about an hour on sunny
days and even longer on
overcast days. These fish
will swim out to deeper
water as the sun gets up.
Cast a SPRO Little John
DD or RkCrawler or try
fishing a jerk bait like a
McStick or Pointer 110.
Cast these lures up shallow
parallel to steeper banks
and retrieve them with a
slow, steady or jerk and
pause retrieve.
You can keep up with the
bass in ditches throughout
the day. After the shallow
fish quit biting move out
deeper and cast a Cane
Thumper or Suicide Shad
on a Fish Head Spin and
work it along the bottom
from 10 to 30-feet. Fish
will relate to both the edges
of the ditches as well as out
in the gut of the ditches
from 35 to 55 feet deep.
Use a drop shot with a
Prizm Colored Lanier Baits
Fruity Worm. This color
along with Blue Lilly have
been working very well for
the deeper fish.
Try working a TRD on a
Ned Rig and just drag it
along the bottom. This is a
killer technique for catching
bass, but remember, less is
more. Don’t shake or hop it.
Just let the lure drag or
swim along the bottom.
Keep a little slack in the
line and feed the lure line as
you work it along the bot
tom. Bites will usually be
subtle.
Other lures are producing
both shallow and deep.
Jigging spoons in the ditch
es as well as along bluff
walls or out deeper can
score multiple bites when
you get over a good school.
Slow rolling spinner baits
or digging crawfish colored
crank baits around rocky
banks is a great way to
catch a fat spotted or large-
mouth bass this week.
Striper fishing remains
good. Different methods are
working, and anglers
should take clues from the
above bass report. Pick
your strengths and go fish
ing. Trolling umbrella rigs
is working. If you prefer not
to troll, then dragging bait
on flat lines, planer boards
and down lines are all via
ble methods depending on
what depth and location
your Lowrance Electronics
show fish.
Trolling is a great way to
both cover water, as well as
locate and catch stripers on
Lake Lanier in early winter.
Locate the clouds of shad
schools on your screen and
pay attention to what depth
they are relating to. Drag a
Captain Mack’s regular or
mini rig around 2 m.p.h.
Position your rigs at or just
above the depth where you
mark bait and fish.
Successful trolling
anglers need to be able to
control the depth of where
your rigs are running. You
can utilize planer boards,
down riggers and lead core
line to obtain the proper
depth with your rigs. You
can also add or decrease the
weight of your buck trails,
add or delete trailer or
switch from heavy monofil
ament to braided line. All of
these factors affect the
depth of your rigs ran.
Watch YouTube or refer to
some of the best guide web
sites for the proper formula
for successful trolling.
Last weeks’ rains seem to
have pushed a lot of the bait
schools into the mouths of
the pockets and creeks.
Once you locate productive
looking water, you can
deploy either flat or down
lines, depending on where
the fish are positioned in the
water column. Medium
shiners, herring and smaller
trout are all working well.
Try adding one large trout
or gizzard shad to your
spread to coax a big bite!
Crappie fishing has
picked up a little. Master
crappie anglers know how
to shoot tiny jigs up under
docks. Crappie love docks
with brush because they
provide cover where these
tasty critters can hide and
ambush prey.
Hopefirlly you have been
building a milk run of pro
ductive docks on your GPS.
If not, utilize your side scan
to locate the best water. You
will often see thick clouds
that indicate shad schools
or small, compressed dots
which are often crappie.
Crappie will be located in
these same haunts through
out the winter
Shoot crappie jigs up
under the back floats of the
docks, engage you reel and
allow the jig to pendulum
through the water column.
The crappie may be as shal
low as 5 feet or as deep as
30 feet, so pay attention to
the depth where you catch
fish and concentrate on
making the same cast again.
Bank Fishing: There is a
good population of catfish
on Lake Lanier. Most
anglers catch these whis
kered fish as a by catch
while targeting stripers or
bass. Catfish are aggressive
predators that will strike
live or dead bait and occa
sionally eat artificial lures.
There are several species of
catfish, and they can range
from one pound on up to 30
or more pounds.
You should use medium
to heavy tackle when fish
ing for catfish from the
banks. Use 10 to 14-pound
monofilament and make
sure your line is fresh and
your rod and reel are in
good shape. You can pur
chase commercial rod hold
ers or make your own out
of PVC, which you can
hammer into the bank to
secure your rods.
Use live shad, cut dead
shad or traditional catfish
baits like nightcrawlers or
chicken livers. Rig up a
Carolina Rig. Use a hook
with a 1 to 2-foot leader
tied to a swivel and a
1-ounce egg sinker on the
main line. Hook your bait
securely, and make a lob
cast to prevent the bait from
slinging off the hook. Target
banks that have deep water
in front of them. Wait a
while for the fish but move
after an hour if you don’t
get a bite.
Eric Aldrich is an outdoor
writer, marketing specialist,
guide and bass angler. He is
currently booking teaching
trips for Lake Lanier's spot
ted and largemouth bass.
Reports are based on per
sonal experience and per
mission from a close net
work of friends. He would
love to hear from his read
ers, so please email him at
esaldrich@yahoo.com
Rememberto take a kid fishing.
FROM 1B
Girls basketball
Dec. 19, to remain tied atop
region 7-AAA with a regional
record of 3-1.
Returning to familiar
ground on Dec. 20, Dawson
County hosted the Oconee
County Lady Warriors for
what turned into a tough,
physical contest.
The first period saw multi
ple turnovers on both sides of
the ball as each team played
tight one and two man press
defenses to open the game.
Oconee’s long pass offense
found the weak spots in the
Dawson defense and the Lady
Warriors held the edge 11-9 at
the end of the set.
Dawson County shifted
gears in the second period
after junior Bella Henson
fired up the crowd with a
WNBA worthy no-look,
behind the back pass in traffic
to Benson for two points.
From there, the Lady Tigers
went on a 16-2 run, led by
D’Oliveira’s 12 points and
featuring Townley’s perfect
4-for-4 performance from the
line, to take a 33-17 lead into
halftime.
“The second quarter was
much better than the first,”
Sweat said. “We started mov
ing on both ends of the floor.”
Oconee County opened the
third period with a quick burst
of scoring, but the Lady
Tigers fought back and
matched them point for point
to hold onto their double-digit
lead heading into the final
minutes.
The final eight minutes
resembled more of a wrestling
match than a basketball game
as the Lady Warriors resorted
to tying up the ball and pur
posefully fouling in their
efforts to slow down the pace
of the game. By the end of the
period, three Lady Warriors
had fouled out of the contest.
Dawson County maintained
their composure, sinking 75
percent of their free-throw
opportunities for 12 points,
and secured the victory by a
final score of 59-43.
D’Oliveira led the Lady
Tigers for the second game in
a row with 14 points, 10
assists and a ridiculous 10
steals. Townley followed with
13 points along with 5
rebounds and 2 blocks.
The win extended Dawson
County’s overall record to 8-5
and provided the Lady Tigers
with a burst of momentum as
they prepare for the opening
round of the Christmas in
Commerce tournament on
Dec. 26 where they will face
the 9-4 Stephens County Lady
Indians.
Bob Christian Dawson County News
Junior Mariah Benson fights for the rebound on Dec. 20 against the Oconee County Lady
Warriors.The LadyTigers went on to win the game by a final score of 59-43.
FROM 1B
Football
4 Oklahoma Sooners, at
Mercedes-Benz Stadium in
Atlanta.
Led by Burrows, LSU
enters the game as an offen
sive juggernaut that has been
among the top four teams in
the country since week 3.
Averaging 554.3 yards per
game, the Tigers ran the table
in 2019 going 13-0 overall
and 8-0 in the SEC to include
a dominating performance
over the Georgia Bulldogs to
win the conference.
Burrows’ rewrote the record
books in his Heisman winning
campaign in 2019 as he shat
tered the single season pass
ing yards and passing touch
down marks for both LSU and
the SEC with 4,715-yards and
48 touchdowns. He also
became the only quarterback
in LSU history to throw for
300 or more yards in three
consecutive games.
On the receiving end of
Burrows’ arm is arguably the
most talented wide receiver in
the country, Ja’Marr Chase.
With 1,498 receiving yards
and 18 touchdowns, Chase
leads the NCAA in both cate
gories and stopping him will
be critical if Oklahoma hopes
to win the game.
Opposite Burrows,
Oklahoma quarterback Jalen
Hurts is making his third con
secutive appearance in the
college football playoffs, hav
ing made the trip twice with
Alabama before transferring
to the Sooners in 2019.
Hurts leads the country in
yards per attempt (11.76)
while also ranking 20th in
rushing yards (1,255) among
all players. He also has an
NFL caliber target in wide
receiver CeeDee Lamb who
has picked up 14 touchdowns
and 1,208 yards through the
air.
Both teams fielded
improved defenses in 2019
when compared to past sea
sons, but Oklahoma has found
themselves in trouble in a
handful of contests during the
season.
The Sooners sole loss came
to the unranked Kansas State
Wildcats, and they had to
come from behind twice
against the Baylor Bears to
win their spot in the final
four. LSU, on the other hand,
has outscored their opponents
by an average of 26.6 points
per game and faced their
toughest challenges against a
pair of top-10 opponents in
Auburn and Alabama.
The 2019 Peach Bowl
should be a high-scoring
shootout between two of the
best offensive units in the
game, but in the end the
weaker defense of the Sooners
will be the difference.
Prediction: LSU 45
Oklahoma 41
The Fiesta Bowl:
In what is the most antici
pated game of the 2019 sea
son, the Fiesta Bowl caps off
the evening starting at 8 p.m.
in Phoenix, Arizona featuring
the No. 2 Ohio State
Buckeyes against the No. 3
Clemson Tigers.
The game is a re-match
almost down to the last detail
of the last time the two teams
met in the 2016 Fiesta Bowl
when No. 2 Clemson shut-out
the No. 3 Buckeyes 31-0.
This year will be a different
story as Ohio State brings two
Heisman finalists to the table
in quarterback Justin Fields
and defensive end Chase
Young. Fields commands the
number one scoring offense in
the country, while Young
leads the nation in sacks
(16.5) to anchor the second
ranked defense.
Widely described as the
most well-rounded team in
college football, Ohio State
was ranked among the top-4
in pre-season and has never
left. The Buckeyes have flip-
flopped the No. 1 ranking
with LSU all season as the
dominated opponents from
week one to week 13, leading
the NCAA with an average of
48.7 points per game.
After transferring in from
Georgia, Fields found the
right fit in the Buckeyes with
an eye-popping 40-1 touch
down to interception ratio on
2,953 yards bolstered by run
ning back J.K. Dobbins 1,829
yards and 20 touchdowns.
Well tested, Ohio State
enters the game having won
five games against top-25
opponents defeating
Cincinnati (by 42), Wisconsin
(by 31), Penn State (by 11),
Michigan (by 29) and
Wisconsin again (by 13).
They also have a pair of wins
over two conference champi
ons outside of the Power-5
against CUSA’s FAU and the
MAC’S Miami (OH).
The Tigers also feature a
well-balanced attack with
quarterback Trevor Lawrence
overcoming some early sea
son woes to amass 3,172
yards passing and 34 touch
downs and Travis Etienne
picking up 1,500 yards and 17
touchdowns on the ground.
Despite their season-long
dominance, Clemson arrives
in the playoffs surrounded by
question marks. Their 13 sea
son opponents finished with a
combined record of 80-78 and
only featured one team ranked
in the top-25 at season’s end
in the Virgina Cavaliers.
This lack of experience may
well prove to be the undoing
of the defending champs, as
the Tigers have not seen any
thing comparable to Ohio
State on either side of the
ball. Young will be a force to
be reckoned with, and the
Buckeyes offense will find the
gaps in the Clemson defense
to give Ohio State the victory.
Prediction: Ohio State 42
Clemson 31
