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Sunday, February 25, 2018
Marech fishing conditions in February
. Water Conditions: Lake levels are
very healthy. Presently, Lake Lanier’s
water level is 1,070.59 or 0.41 feet
below the normal full pool of 1;071.
Lake surface temperatures are rapidly
rising with main lake temps in the lower
50’s. We actually found water tempera
tures in some of the stained pockets that
were approaching 60 degrees which is
about 10 degrees warmer than normal
for this time of year. The main lake and
creeks mouths are clear to stained. The
creeks, pockets and rivers are every
where stained to muddy. The
‘Chattahoochee River is clear but will get
muddy quickly.if we have heavy rains.
Check generation schedules before
heading out to the river at 770-945--
1466. - ' o
Bass: Consider that water tempera
tures have risen around 10 degrees in
just the past few weeks. Couple that
with almost a 4-foot rise in water levels.
This has created rapidly changing con- .
ditions for bass fishing. Anglers must be
willing to adjust during the day to stay
successful. :
The good news is that you can just
about pick your favorite method of shal
low or deep-water fishing to catch fish
this week. We have caught fish on just
about every lure in our tackle boxes
except top waters and I bet even that is
working somewhere out there.
Your go to lures should include mov
ing lure like a SPRO McStick, Little
John DD, spinner bait or a Chatter Bait
for catching fish during active periods.
Anglers should also have an assortment
of bottom bumping lures like a jig,
shaky head, Texas or Carolina rig and of
course the old reliable drop shot.
Some deeper fish are still out there but
a large influx of bass are moving shal
low. There are lots of smaller spotted
bass on the docks but your better bites
are coming from staging fish around
rocky secondary points near creek or
ditch channels from 10 to 25 feet. Use a
jerk bait or crank bait up shallow early.
Switch to a jig or worm during less
active feeding times. Try dragging these
lures instead of hopping them for the
best results. Remember that crawfish
Busch wins Atlanta pole, Wallace still in spotlight
s )
Rookie’s feud
with Hamlin
dominates headlines
By Charles Odum
The Associated Press -
HAMPTON — Darrell “Bubba”
Wallace Jr. was the hot topic even as
Kyle Busch won the pole Friday at
Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Busch will start in front Sunday in the
second race of the NASCAR Monster
Energy Cup season after edging Ryan
Newman in a close battle.
Busch overcame handling problems in
the first two rounds of qualifying to win
the pole with a lap of 184.652 mph in
the third round. Busch won his 28th
career pole, and his first at Atlanta.
Busch beat Newman’s 184.419 mph.
Wallace will start 19th, in the middle
of the 36-car field. Much of the talk
Friday remained on his second-place
finish in last week’s Daytona 500.
Wallace was the first black driver in
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ERIC ALDRICH
Columnist
crawl around slowly on the bottom and
you want your jig to mimic these fresh
'water lobster dinners.
We found some very shallow fish in
the stained and murky water that will hit
shallow running crank baits, spinner
baits and even a shaky head but you will
need to place your lures very close to
where the bass are to ensure a strike.
Bass are sight feeders but they also can
feel vibrations through the lateral lines
on their sides.
Lastly, very few anglers are fishing
after sunset but there are some magnum
spotted bass moving shallow on the
rocky points both out on main lake on
back into the pockets. My go to lure for
catching these fish is a black and blue
SPRO Little John DD. Even though this
deep diving plug will dive almost 20
feet you can still cast them up very shal
low and work them over and through the
rocks for some big bass after dark.
Stripers: Striper fishing continues to
improve and there are plenty of stripers
from the from Buford Dam all the way
up into the creeks and rivers. Very
stained conditions have made the bite in
some areas up lake a little tougher.
Target the mud lines and clearer water
for your best results. i
I encountered some large schools of
5- to 15-pound class fish down by the
dam during the cloudy, foggy conditions
earlier this week. I suspect these fish are
enjoying the current flows created by
the increased dam generation. Trolling
umbrella rigs and pulling flat lines has
worked well for these fish. Casting
spoons or SPRO Buck Tails to fish on
the surface has been a high percentage
method to pick up a few extra bites.
Target the humps and points from
the Daytona 500 field since 1969. The
second-place finish was the highest for a
black driver and any rookie. .
“It was just crazy, awesome,” Wallace
said Friday.
On Sunday, he’ll be the first black
Cup racer in an Atlanta race since Bill
Lester finished 38th in 2006.
Ryan Blaney, who will start 26th,
revealed Friday that last week Dale
Earnhardt Jr . was so worried about
Wallace that he arranged for Blaney to
provide counsel for the rookie.
“He was like ‘Hey, I need you to go
call Bubba and calm him down because
I think he was getting overwhelmed
with all the media and the pressure that
was kind of being thrown upon him and
we haven’t even gotten started yet,’””
Ryan Blaney said.
Blaney, who is friends with both
Earnhardt and Wallace, said he encour
aged Wallace to enjoy the “well
deserved opportunity.”
Blaney said the second-place finish
proved Wallace “dealt with it really
well.”
Kevin Harvick qualified third, fol
Buford Dam and around the mouths of
Baldridge, Shoal and Young Dear
Creeks and keep an eye out for diving
gulls. These birds and your Humminbird
Electronics are the key tools for locating
these schooling fish.
Stripers also go through a false -
spawning run in early spring. Stripers do
not actually reproduce in Lake Lanier
but they still go through the ritual of this
process and that means they will move
up shallower into the rivers and creeks.
Areas like the Chestatee River,
Chattahoochee River and feeder creeks -
like Wahoo and Little River are prime
places to check. :
- These fish up lake are eating the same
offerings as mentioned above. Dragging
herring or medium shiners of flat lines
or planner boards has been effective in
the hard to find clear to stained water.
Pulling an Captain Mack’s Umbrella
“Rig is also an effective wat to cover
water while seeking out the best loca
tions. Always keep a SPRO Buck Tail at
the ready to cast to any surfacing fish.
As with the bass stripers have started
to bite well after dark down around the
dam and in the back of the creeks. Cast
a SPRO McStick 110 or 115 ortry a
Bomber Long A or Redfin for some
awesome strikes after the sun goes
down.
Crappie: The crappie are on the move
You may find a prime dock one morning
only to hit it again later in the day to
find it devoid of fish. Couple this with
docks that are being moved as much as
50 yards away from where they sat just
a few weeks ago. This means that
anglers must rely on their electronics
and be willing to stay and play or move
and grove along with the fish!
In the past trolling or “lake raking”
with small crappie jigs on up to 10 or
more rods has been a great method
when water temps are between 50 and
60 degrees. It is still a viable method but
all of the leaves, twigs and pine straw on
the surface have made this method very
difficult after the recent rising water lev
els. If you can find the banks away from
where the wind is blowing then you may
be able to employ this method.
lowed by Daniel Suarez. Defending
champion Brad Keselowski qualified
fifth. Austin Dillon, coming off the win
at Daytona, will start 25th.
Defending NASCAR Cup champion
Martin Truex will start 35th after his car
did not pass inspection. As a penalty, car
chief Blake Harris was suspended for
the weekend and a 30-minute practice
hold will be enforced on Saturday.
Wallace finished sixth in Atlanta’s
Xfinity race last year.
“This will be my first time in Atlanta
in a Cup car,” he said. “I know how. this
place is in an Xfinity car and it’s not any
fun, well it’s a lot of fun, don’t get me
wrong, but hanging onto that thing is a
challenge. I'm looking forward to it.”
Wallace’s boss, team owner Richard
Petty, said the rookie is adjusting just
fine.
“No, he don’t feel like he’s a rookie,”
Petty said. “... I think he fell in really
good with the guys who have been there
for a long time because so far he hasn’t
done anything really stupid. As long as
we keep him straight, he’ll be OK.”
The strong showing at Daytona solidi
Your Source for Property in North Lll3l 8
Shooting or casting small jigs has
been the go to method this week. Seek
out docks and brush close to ditch and
creek channels for your best locations.
Your Side Imaging will greatly up your
odds of seeing the schools of crappie.
Some anglers have started to catch
fish from the banks. Minnows under a
float or casting crappie jigs will work
OK ‘around the bridges, rip rap banks
and areas that have laydowns.
Trout: Trout fishing is picking up and
the Department of Natural Resources is
ramping up its trout stocking efforts all
over North Georgia. These newly
released trout are dumb and hungry.
Most of the stocked trout are 8 to 12
inches but the DNR will also throw in
some larger broad trout to make things
interesting.
After heavy rains, trout fishing can be
tough but remember that that rain run
-off washes food into the creeks, rivers
and smaller lakes plus it increases oxy
.gen levels so it’s actually a good thing.
Live earth worms, corn, salmon eggs
and Berkley Power Nuggets are all good
choices where live bait is allowed. The
old reliable Rooster Tail is a time-tested
producer for any trout waters.
A dry and wet fly double drop rig is a
good choice because trout are eating
both subsurface terrestrials and newly
hatched insects on the surface. With the
record high temps there have been some
very early insect hatches. Small nymphs
on the top fly and a woolly bugger down
below have been a great combo if you
are a fly flinger! -
Bank Fishing: The crappie are mov
ing within casting distance around many
of the smaller creek bridges and around
laydowns in local parks. Grab a few
dozen crappie minnows and a lead
weighted float or some light crappie jigs
and a spinning outfit with 4- to 6-pound
test and take your kids or parents fish
ing!
Eric Aldrich is an outdoor writer, marketing
specialist and bass angler. Reports are
based on personal experience and permis
sion from a close network of friends.
Contact him at esaldrich@yahoo.com.
fied the status of Wallace, 24, as a rising
star in NASCAR.
Atlanta Motor Speedway president Ed
Clark said calls to his ticket office this
week were dominated by fans express
ing interest in Wallace.
“He’s going to be great,” Clark said.
Blaney and Wallace have been friends
since the two 10-year-old boys raced
Bandolero cars together.
Blaney said he believes Wallace “can
have a huge impact” on the 43
Chevrolet and “grow it to places it
hasn’t been in recent years.”
The only distraction for Wallace is a
feud with Denny Hamlin. Wallace said
Friday he has been excluded from
Hamlin’s informal golf league, which
includes a few other NASCAR drivers.
Wallace added “I removed myself” from
Hamlin’s basketball league.
The problems between the two began
last week when Wallace objected to
what Hamlin said was intended to be a
joke when he claimed 70 percent of
NASCAR drivers take the prescriptio
drug Adderall to help with concentra
tion.
5B