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Striped and hybrid bass fishing excellent in NE Georgia

Peak time for striped bass is August and September

By late summer, lakes typically become less crowded with anglers and boaters since schools have reopened and many water enthusiasts are now spending time at sporting events and other outdoor recreation opportunities, making it a great time to be out on the water. Lakes Hartwell, Lanier and Nottely provide excellent striped bass fishing in northeast Georgia, particularly during the months of August and September.

Hartwell and Nottely also are stocked with hybrid bass and provide the majority of hybrid bass action in this part of the state. Stripers caught from these reservoirs average 10 pounds but some weighing up to 30 pounds will show up on occasion, according to biologists with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division. Hybrid bass are somewhat smaller, averaging 3-5 pounds, but some weighing more than 10 pounds are there for the taking.

Striped bass typically have about seven heavy and distinct black stripes running the length of their body while hybrids have the same amount or stripes, but they appear "broken." Occasionally, some striped bass also have a few "broken" lines. Stripers prefer water temperatures of less than 75 degrees and tend to concentrate over river channels and around submerged islands where their favorite coolwater baitfish, the blueback herring, are abundant. WRD creates hybrid bass at the Richmond Hill Hatchery by crossing a female white bass with a male striped bass. These hybrids are then stocked in lakes and reservoirs across the state.

Now that you know where to go, all you need is a boat, a fish finder and the right tackle. The number one productive summer pattern is to downline live baitfish directly under your boat in 25-40 feet of water. Bream and shad are good summertime live baits but most local anglers prefer blueback herring, which can be bought at many local bait and tackle shops. A typical live bait rig consists of a seven-foot medium striper rod filled with 17-pound line with a six-foot leader section of 14-pound line with a 1/0 or 2/0 hook tied on. To get your bait down to where the fish are, use a one or two ounce slip sinker weight and attach it just above the leader and attached swivel where the two lines tie together. Other productive deepwater methods are trolling lead-core line with a single 1 ounce, bucktail jig and fishing with umbrella rigs with bucktails.

"The six-week period from the first of August to mid-September is the best time of the year to locate large schools of stripers in the cool, oxygenated depth zone called the 'thermocline' at depths between 25 and 50 feet," said WRD Fisheries Biologist Reggie Weaver. "As the summer progresses, stripers will migrate out of the creeks and toward the dam where the largest amount of coolwater habitat exists."

Summertime hybrid fishing primarily consists of the same above-mentioned baits and deepwater techniques used for stripers. Hybrids, particularly fish less than 5 pounds, are more tolerant of warm surface waters in late summer than stripers, meaning that early mornings and late evenings are great times for topwater hybrid action. They love to feed on the abundance of late spring hatched shad and herring. Much of the shallow water action occurs just below the surface and may only be detected by a few fish driving baitfish to the surface. This action can be explosive but feeding episodes may only last for several minutes. Medium size topwater baits, soft plastic jigs and shallow running crankbaits that resemble small shad and blueback herring are best bets for surface feeding hybrids.

For more information about striper and hybrid fishing in northeast Georgia, visit www.gofishgeorgia.com or contact the WRD Fisheries Office in Gainesville at 770-918-5489 and if you go, don't forget to take a kid and a camera with you.

A recent national survey indicated that 87 percent of Americans believe fishing and boating have a positive effect on family relationships. So take your family fishing and you will always have something in common.