Lanier Striper and Spot Fishing in July

I have been out on Lanier several times over the past week and the fishing is great!  Stripers and spots are settling into their summer time patterns.  When fishing lake lanier from the kayak, the key is to get on the water early and off by noon to avoid the crowds.  The above photo is a nice sunrise over the lake.  It is hard to beat the view from a kayak!

Spotted bass are biting very good right now!  Topwater and the dropshot are the two main tactics to use.  Using a dropshot from the kayak takes some practice but can load the yak once you figure out this technique!  I search the 20-35ft depths around points, humps, docks etc and look for active fish on the graph.  If it is very windy you will have difficulty with this tactic from the yak so check the forecast before heading out!  Once you mark fish drop the worm down to them and slowly wiggle it on the bottom, try not to move it too much.  When setting the hook reel up to apply pressure much like a live bait presentation.  Dropshotting from the yak is a fun way to spend a morning!

Striper fishing has been good to excellent from the kayak this month!  These hard fighting fish are a blast to catch from the kayak on lanier!  I am catching them all on downlined blueback herring.  The majority of the fish are 2-4 pounds but some larger ones are out there to be caught!  Striper fishing on the kayak is action packed and don't be surprised if you get two fish hooked up at the same time!

My best trip this past week saw 13 stripers in the kayak!  Not bad for a one man show!  This is what I enjoy about kayak fishing.  The kayak is eco friendly, cheap and extremely productive when it comes to targeting any species of fish on a variety of waters!

I am catching these stripers over 50 to 100 ft bottoms.  Keep your bait above the fish you are marking, 30-40ft seems to be the magic depth right now but don't be afraid to drop them lower if that is where you are graphing fish!  Often stripers come up to your bait then go back down.  This is called "window shopping."  When they do this using your paddle to knock the side of the yak can entice a strike.  Even try dropping your bait and reeling it back through the fish to get bit!

Get out there if you can!  The next two months are some of the best for striper fishing on lanier all year!  The bass fishing isn't bad either!  For more information on kayak fishing lake lanier visit:
www.lanierkayakfishing.com 
www.lanierkayakfishing.proboards.com

Good luck, Yakdawg!