The lake level is at 1069.64 (1.36 feet below full pool) and water temps are 55-57 degrees depending on where you are on the lake. The Chattahoochee and Chestatee arms, northern creeks like Latham/Johnson, Thompson, Gainesville, and Little River, and southern creeks like Sardis and Bald Ridge will all be holding fish in December in 30-60 feet of water. Look in these areas for lots of bait with your Humminbird Helix or Solix electronics. The fish will be close to these schools of bait and even if you don’t see them go ahead and get your baits in the water. Be patient and spend at least 15-20 minutes in these areas so that the fish can find your baits. The bait bite will continue to be the best bite throughout December. Capt Mack’s Perfect Planer Boards and flat lines will be the preferred tackle for early morning fishing. As the sun gets up, switch over to down lines with a 3-4 foot 10 pound leader. The best baits will be small trout, herring, and medium shiners, but larger shad and trout will be good for those few bigger fish that are showing up. As water temperatures continue to cool the stripers will begin to key on smaller baits and the Capt Mack Super Spoon will be the artificial to keep at the ready. The ¾ oz spoon will be the size to go with as it can be easily used in deep (50-60 feet) water and in shallower (25-30 feet) water as well. The workhorse white/chartreuse scale, white/blue scale, and glitter will all be great colors to start with and the new chrome glitter and chartreuse/chartreuse scale will produce on overcast days. These spoons are usually used for vertical jigging when you have schools of stripers under the boat. Drop the spoon to the bottom and lift the spoon 5-10 feet up and let it flutter back to the bottom. You will get a lot of hits while the spoon falls back down, so stay awake. The Striper Experience boats like to use 15 pound braid with a 3-4 foot 12 pound fluorocarbon leader on a 7 foot medium action casting rod so that you can “feel” these bites on the fall. Twisted line is inevitable with these spoons and casting rods handle that twisted line better than spinning rods, but a spinning rod can still be used.
Try to be the shepherd. Leave the 99 and go out and look for the lost 1 until you find it (Luke 15). When someone is lost go look for them and then rejoice when they are found. Remember with all the shortages that Jesus is the real reason for the season.
Call us today at 678-300-4865 to book your Striper Experience!