March/Springtime Report

After a cold winter in GA the weather is finally starting to warm up and the fishing is improving! Springtime is one of the best times of year to get out and enjoy a day on the lake or river in a kayak! The mild temps and reduced boat traffic/fishing pressure make for an enjoyable experience!  

Crappie:

This time of year one of your best bets from the yak are crappie!  If you like to catch numbers of fish, have fun and take a few home for dinner then give crappie fishing a shot!  My number one producing lure so far this year has been a hand tied marabou jig in chartruese tipped with a crappie nibble.  Fish this lure around boat docks and blowdowns for a nice mixed bag of bass, crappie bream and basically any other fish that swims in the lake!  As the fish move shallower over the next few weeks continue to use a jig around brush and also take a few corks and light wire hooks to throw out a minnow or gulp alive bait to entice spawning crappie!

Bass/Stripers:

I have been out several times for stripers and the bite is slow during the day!  Pulling free-lined herring will work but have patience!  This is a great time of year to catch a trophy, my biggest striper last year was caught in late March and it was the only bite I got in eight hours!  Kayak anglers are bringing in some good catches at night on long A bombers, if you do go out at night make sure you have a good stern light and headlamp.  

The shallow bite for bass is starting and can be a fun way to spend an afternoon off in the yak!  Throwing a buck tail towards the bank, points and humps is a popular technique for stripers but will also get you some nice spots if the stripers aren't around.  My favorite technique for shallow spots is a plastic finesse worm rigged on a light spot sticker jig head or texas rigged.  This bite should pick up as the weather warms up next week.  Fishing a plastic worm around docks and brush will bring some nice spotted bass aboard the yak!
Good luck fishing, April is going to be a great month!  For more information on kayak fishing in Lanier and surrounding waters visit our online forum at http://lanierkayakfishing.proboards.com/