Newspaper Page Text
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 19,2014
Schooling bass easy for anglers to catch
ERIC ALDRICH
Columnist
Water Conditions:
Lake Lanier’s water level
actually rose a little with
this week’s rains to
1,068.44 or 2.56 feet
below full pool of 1,071.
Water surface tempera
tures have dropped and
risen based on weather
trends but are presently in
the lower 70s. Lake
Lanier is clear to stained _
on main lake and stained
in the rivers and creeks.
The Chattahoochee River
is stained below Buford
Dam due to lake turnover.
Check generation sched
ules before heading out to
the river at 770-945-1466.
Bass: Bass fishing
remains strong and the
fish are schooling
throughout the day. There
has been a good morning
bite on main lake on intc
the creeks and this action
can occur any time of
day. Contrary to conven
tional fishing wisdem
Lake Lanier’s spotted
bass will strike top water
plugs better in sunny con
ditions during the day
time hours vs. other lakes
where overcast mornings
or at sundown are when
the best bite cccurs. This
is because of the forage
fish, blue back herring are
the main food source for
bass and stripers in fall.
When the sun shines the
predator fish can silhou
ette herring against the
surface which makes for
some awesome top water
action for anglers to
enjoy.
When targeting bass
that are eating the long
slender herring you
should try to “match the
hatch” and use long slen
der lures. Top water lures
like a Sammy, Big Bites
jerk shad or Super Spook
are all great choices to
use when the spotted bass
are locked into a the her
ring bite. Other subsur
face lures will work well
and it’s hard to beat a jerk
bait. A SPRO McStick
110 is working very well
right now and you don’t
have to decipher how
long to pause this lure
like you would in the
winter. Instead you can
do what I call “stupid
fishing” which simply
means cast out and reel it
back in with a medium
steady retrieve. Because it
is so easy to fish a
McStick is a great lure for
kids and adults alike right
now while water tempera
ture are over 60 degrees.
If the herring bite
eludes you then other
methods have been work
ing too. Crank Baits,
Worms on a Jig Head and
even a buzz bait first
thing in the morning are
all great lures to try. You
may also find that the
large mouth bite is good
MOUNT PISGAH 21, PINECREST ACADEMY 14
Paladins suffer first sub-region loss
By Matt Green
For the Forsyth County News
B i
JOHNS CREEK -
Mount Pisgah handed
Pinecrest Academy its
first region loss of the sea
son by a score of 21-14 at
Savior Field in Johns
Creek on Friday night.
The Paladins (5-2, 2-1
Region 6-A, Div. B) were
moving the ball well in
the first quarter, but mis
takes 'prevented them
from putting any points
on the board.
“We had some opportu
nities to put the ball in the
end zone early, but penal
ties and miscues cost us a
couple - chances;”
Pinecrest head coach
Todd Winter said. “Not
scoring on the opening
drive really hurt us. When
you're facing a high-pow
ered offense like this, you
‘have to take advantage of
your opportunities.”
Mount Pisgah (5-2, 2-1)
was able to get on the
board first in the second
quarter when quarterback
Aaron Winchester, a
Georgia State commit,
scampered 18 yards for a
Patriots score. It was a
methodical 11-play,
92-yard drive that ate up
nearly five minutes of
ciock and gave the
Patriots an early 7-0 lead,
which they carried into
the half. :
Pinecrest came out in
the second half and drove
right down the field in
seven plays and capped it
off with a 6-yard touch
down run from Adam
Guard to tie the game at
7
The Paladins finished
the game with 44 carries
for 169 yards with five
different players shoulder
ing the load.
“I'm proud of every
body on this team,” Guard
said. “Ryan McCarthy
played great, the o-line
stepped up in the second
half, everyone dug their
feet in and fought till the
end”
The Patriots responded
immediately with another
long drive that ended with
Mount Pisgah 21
Pinecrest 14
PinecrestAiad. 0 0 7 7-14
MountPisgsh 0 7 7 7-21
Second Quarter
MP: Winchester 18 run (kick good),
341
Third Quarter
PA: Guard 6 run (kick good}, 8:32
MP: Dixon 8 pass from Winchester
(kick good), 5:21
Fourth Quarter
MP: Winchester 1 run (kick good),
847
PA: Paimer 18 pass from McCarthy
(kick good), 37
an 8-yard touchdown pass
from Winchester to Osby
Dixon, putting Mount
Pisgah up 14-7.
" Penalties stalled yet
another Pinecrest drive
deep in their opponents’
territory, and brought up a
fourth-and-18. The
Paladins ran a fake punt
that was completed to
Nick Palmer down the
sideline, but picked up
only 17 yards for a turn
over on downs.
The Paladins were
3-for-4 on fourth down
conversions in the game.
After a l-yard touch
down run from
Winchester put Mount
Pisgah up 21-7 early in
the fourth, Pinecrest’s
Ryan McCarthy fumbled
on the opening play of the
ensuing possession, seem
ingly ending the Paladins’
chances. But two plays
later, Peter Nelson picked
off Winchester in the end
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surface lure. The same
lures as mentioned above
in the bass fishing report
will also work great for
stripers. Because of the
anglers can often catch
both species at the same
time in the same location.
One lure that gets over
looked at times is the old
reliable buck tail jig. A
one ounce SPRO Buck
tail will produce as many
bites as a top water and it
tends to catch the bigger
stripers that stay below
the schooling fish to pick
off the wounded bait fish.
Vary your retrieve and
start with a medium fast
retrieve then impart an
occasional jerk or pause’
to trigger these hard fight
ing fish into biting.
As with every other
pattern and time of year
your electronics play a
huge part for catching
stripers. This week the
stripers have been both
shallow and deep and
determining the proper
depth at which to fish has
been crucial to success. If
you fish below the strip
ers then you will rarely
get a bite. The same goes
if you fish above them too
but it is better to error on
the shallower side as
stripers will move up to
eat bait and they seldom
move shallower.
Use live herring or
medium sized gizzard
shad to catch the best
numbers of fish. Rely on
your electronics to deter
mine the proper depth at
which to set your live
baits. The majority of fish
in the back of the creeks
and river both up and
down lake. Largemouth
bass have been a staple
for winning local tourna
mentsmflCLanier in
the past several years.
This has been a blessing
because it allows anglers
a choice between fishing
deep and fishing shallow.
Largemouth bass tend to
weigh more than spotted
bass so they garnish a
good deal of attention
when there is money on
the line.
Stripers: Right now
Lake Lanier is in the pro
cess of lake stratification
or the term “lake turn
over” which most anglers
use to describe the layers
of cold and warmer water
that are mixing together
as surface temperatures
drop. This time of year
some anglers say fishing
is tough while other claim
that it is easier because
the stripers are higher up
in the water column.
There are a few different
methods that have been
working but the one
method that anglers seem
to prefer is catching them
on top water plugs!
The top water action is
really just starting and
stripers can be found on
the surface during major
feeding times during the
day. This action can occur
both up and down lake
but you need to be the
right place at the right
time. When the stripers
thrash the surface they
tend to be suckers for
both top water and sub-
zone, keeping Pinecrest’s
hopes alive.
Winchester finished the
game with 88 yards on
6-of-10 passing with a
touchdown and an inter
ception. He also added 15
carries for 82 yards and
two touchdowns on the
ground, but Winter was
pleased with his team’s
effort.
“I think we contained
[Winchester] pretty well,”
Winter saiig‘eWe were
spying him as well as try
ing to create pressure.
He's a great player and
this is a really good team.
No one else has held this
team under 28 points this
year.”
McCarthy orchestrated
an 11-play drive that
ended with an 18-yard
touchdown pass to Palmer
with 37 seconds left.
Palmer ended the game
with five catches-for 75
yards and a touchdown.
But after a failed onside
kick attempt, that was all
she wrote for the
Paladins, as they came up
just short.
“We started slow, but
we kept fighting,”
Pinecrest’s Jacob Hanley
said. “We're going to hit
the film room on Monday.
We have Fellowship com
ing up. In our region we
know everyone is gunning
for us and we just have to
step up, get ready for the
next week and keep work
ing hard.”
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have been caught rather
shallow so you may want
to try a down line and
also a free line to see
which one the fish prefer.
You can also run two flat
lines out behind your boat
and two down lines’
straight under your boat.
Whichever method you
use make sure that you
keep one rod with a top
water or subsurface plug
ready at all times. The
stripers may appear out of
nowhere and start busting
herring on the surface and
it pays to have a rod with
a lure ready at all times!
Crappie: The crappie
fishing will get better and
better on into November.
Not many people report
on Crappie in fall on
Lake Lanier but fall can
provide anglers with a
good stringer of these
tasty fish. The crappie
tend to concentrate on the
small threadfin shad in
the pockets and in the
backs of creeks. Look for
water that has a slight
stain but stay away from
really clear or really
muddy water. Shoot small
1/16th ounce jigs around
docks with brush or fish
with down lined crappie
minnows or shad in brush
at around 7-10 feet deep.
Trout: Trout fishing
remains very good in the
mountains but some
streams are getting ready
to close for the winter.
Check local regulations if
you plan to fish on or
after Oct. 31 as this is the
official day that the sea
son ends. Many trout
streams remain open year
round so you can contin
ue fish with dry and wet
flies and the standard
lures and live baits where
permitted by law.
The Chattahoochee tail
race continues to show
signs of lake turnover and
because of this the fishing
has slowed down slightly.
Cast inline spinners like a
Mepps or Roster Tail and
try using brighter colors
when the water is stained.
While I am more biased
to the Rooster Tail the
Mepps may actuaily work
better due to the rounder |
blade which trout can
sense,
Bank Fishing: The
bass are shallow in the
water column and they
can be caught from banks
with a steep drop where
the channels swings or on
steep bluff walls Use a
SPRO McStick 110 or try
it’s smaller cousin the
Mcßip and work these
lures at a medium retrieve
speed. You can also catch
some good fish on top
water plugs when fishing
from the shore. Because
these lures seldom run
deeper than 3-5 feet they
are less prone to snag
ging.
Eric Aldrich is an outdoor
writer, marketing specialist
and bass angler. Reports
are based on personal
experience and permission
from a close network of
friends. Contact him at
esaldrich@yahoo.com or
visit his website at aldrich
fishing.com.
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