It’s already December? This year flew by quick! The Christmas season is upon us. We have 18 days left to get that shopping done..and a day of excitement, experiences, and memories together with friends or the anglers in your family is a great gift idea. Those of you who bought multiple trips thank you so much. You led me to this give away..it’s Christmas so why not? In a way to say thank you everyone I’m you guys a free fishing trip. You buy 2 trips you get 1 FREE. That simple. That is $450-$850 cash back in your pocket. No doubt, we can all use that this time of year. Perfect to give to the friends and family as presents or even keep a trip or 2, or all of them for yourself and invite whoever you want. They are good any time of the year including peak season. Recipients schedule the trip anytime to their convenience. You can mix and match trip durations (4, 6, or 8 hours) and the amount of anglers 1-6. The free trip just has to be equal value of the lesser. You can buy them on the website or give me a call or text. (404-803-8608) If you buy them on the site purchase your 2 like normal and all 3 will be sent via email the day of, by mail, or both whichever you prefer. Make sure you type in the info who they are for or you can note to leave them blank and fill names out yourself at anytime. They are also transferable, contact me if you need to do so or have any questions. I can’t get too crazy with this deal so it’s good through December 16th only. Again, thank you everyone who’s been out fishing with me, It’s been a great year let do it again!
Now on to what’s happening now with the fishing. The fall turnover is long behind us and the winter bite has been hot! Some recent trips have really pumped some high numbers and quality fish in the boat. I’m talking summer time numbers but healthier fish. The lake is at 1062.48’ MSL. Despite the recent rain that is 8.52’ below full pool and still slightly dropping. Surface temps are in the mid to upper 50’s.
I’ve been asked multiple times if the lower lake levels have a negative impact on the fishing. The extended answer is NOPE! Haha, not one bit. If you are beating the bank and docks bass fishing you might need to find some of your different honey holes for the time being but we are mainly catching deep. Actually, this is a great time to observe all the structure we fish in the shallower months and take notes. Brush piles, stumps, rocks, transitions, they are all revealing themselves along the banks and humps. The creeks halfway to all the way back both northern and southern ends of the lake are holding bait. With the bait the predator fish are following. It’s not uncommon to see a 5-6 species day hit the deck while targeting stripers. Just about all the creeks are fishing well. Pick the area you know best north or south. No need to burn all that gas, even though I’ve been known to run a good bit. Trolling live baits on freelines and boards are still a great tactic and will be for the most part all winter. Some of the bigger fish have been pushing shallow so make sure you running that bank side board with a big bait. Trolling the creek flats and clipping the points have been big producers if you’re trolling. However, I am not trolling. The hot bottom depth has been that 40-50’ range and downlines anywhere from 20-40’ deep. Use your sonar to find the bait, the fish will be close by. If you are not marking much fish while scanning don’t be fooled. Just a few fish could yield a lot more than what that bottom machine is telling you. I have been keeping a variety of baits on the boat and some days one may work much better than another. Then other days they just seem to eat everything. Herring, gizzard shad, and trout all have been producing. If you’re spot-locked, kick out a freeline or 2 just like fishing in the summer. If you are getting a lot of window shoppers try slow trolling your downlines .3-.5mph and that might entice the eats.
Lastly, sight fishing is my favorite way to catch em’! It could happen anytime but the ideal conditions you want are the cloud cover/overcast days and falling barometer. Yes, these are the not so pretty days outside that the inexperienced anglers associate with days they would rather stay inside. Bad move, I get pumped up for these conditions. We are not out here to sunbath and read a book, we are out here to catch fish. It’s winter time and the best fish and bait finders on the lake have arrived. The migratory Gulls and Loons. Their vision is excellent and they are your eyes in the sky. Running and gunning the birds is a very exciting way of hunting them down and getting those surface eats. It’s incredible when it happens. Small artificials that represent a 2.5-3.5” threadfin shad is what I’m using. The Cast Prodigy and Echo in the Casper or Blueback Herring patterns on a 3/8 oz jig head has been hard to beat. Here is a tip if you catch the right conditions on one of these cloudy days. One, have a good pair of binoculars aboard. No, there is no bikinis this time of year. You want to keep looking out for those birds flying and diving. A trick to spotting the birds far away is to glass the dark tree lines on the horizon. The birds are white. The clouds and overcast sky is white. They easily blend in with the sky but will stand out with a dark background that being the shorelines. Give it a try if you haven’t before it gets intense! I have dates available this month and it’s a great bite. Call or text me anytime for more info, if you would like to book, or to jump on the free fishing trip steal! If I don’t see you before then, I hope everyone stays safe and has a very Merry Christmas/Fishmas.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Andrew Hammond
(404)803-8608
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