The Lake Lanier Striper Bite Remains Strong

Tuesday, 18 August 2009 08:34

Shane Watson Guide Service Report (08-17-09).

My boat sponsor finally got my new boat completed and it's nice to be back out there everyday. Since returning, we have done well on my boat using Capt. Mack's white foil 1 oz. jigs, tipped with a live blueback or a Shadalicious paddle tail, fished 9 colors out at 3.0 mph. We have also done well on downlined bluebacks fished 40-80 feet deep in the mouths of mid-lake and southend creeks and out over the main river channel. While I was out of service waiting on my new boat, we had our other guide boats out on trips daily and those guys carried the weight and did well. Over the last couple of weeks, we've have seen good fishing on both our morning and afternoon trips. The best fishing for us has been from 8 am till 2 pm most days and again from 4 pm till 7 pm. Overall, the striper fishing has been very good for size and numbers.

This report is brought to you by Shane Watson Guide Service www.lakelanierstripers.com and Hammond's Fishing Center. Good Fishing and We Appreciate Your Business.

New Road to Connect North Hall County over Lake Lanier?

Sunday, 16 August 2009 17:39

The Gainesville Times is reporting that the Gainesville-Hall Metropolitan Planning Organization has moved forward with a plan to connect various parts of northern Hall County. The proposed road would run across Lake Lanier from Thompson Bridge Road to the Cleveland Highway.

Why Is a Northern Connector Needed?

North Hall Connector The first reason is that most of the roads in North Hall travel north. For somone wanting to get from the North-East side of Lake Lanier to the North-West, they either need to take back-roads or drive into and then out of Gainesville.

Port Royale Marina Grand Opening on Lake Lanier

Friday, 14 August 2009 10:07

When T.E.I. Industries purchased Lan Mar Marina in 2006 they had a vision of transforming the property into a resort co portroyale mmunity including a hotel, restaurants and a private home community among other amenities as part of a 10-year plan.

The grand opening under the new name "Port Royale Marina" celebrates their progress toward those goals including a new leasing and service center, the Lighthouse at the Port - a 60,000 square foot boating center housing food and drink options, clothing and accessory sales, boat sales and rentals.

Lake Lanier Striper Report & Panama City Fishing Report

Friday, 07 August 2009 13:24

Shane Watson Guide Service Report (08-07-09). I've been on our family vacation the last week and a half down in Panama City. Down there, the king mackerel and red snapper fishing was very good on live cigar minnows over a 80 to 100 foot bottom. We fished a couple of FADS out there and the king's were very thick around these attractors and flatlines worked well. Up here while I was gone, we had our guide boats out on morning and afternoon trips everyday. They have done very well on downline bluebacks fished 40-80 feet deep over the main channel and in the mouths of creeks. Mid-lake and south have been best according to our guides. The leadcore bite has been decent. The numbers on downlines have been very good. The stripers on our boats have ranged from 10 to 28 pounds the last couple of weeks. Morning and afternoon trips have both been very good on the stripers.

This report is brought to you by Shane Watson Guide Service www.lakelanierstripers.com and Hammond's Fishing Center. We Appreciate Your Business. Good Fishing.

Among Other Ideas, Perdue Seeks More Reservoirs to Capture Storm Water

Monday, 03 August 2009 09:59

In addition to appealing the judge's ruling, resuming negotiations with Alabama and Florida and trying to get Congress involved in ending the water wars Governor, Perdue is pushing for more storm water reservoirs along smaller North Georgia creeks and disused quarries.

This marks the beginning of a longer term plan to ensure water continues to flow to Atlanta and all of the area that depends on the Lake Lanier basin.

Whether part of his negotiation strategy or part his actual plan, Perdue has suggested tapping the Chattahoochee either north or south of Lanier and beyond federal jurisdiction. He also revisited the controversial idea of utilizing the Tennessee River in Northwest Georgia and opened the possibility of water transfers between Chattahoochee basin and the Flint and Savannah River basins.

Most of these ideas would be years away even with a go-ahead but they serve to show the importance of this issue to a growing Atlanta and Georgia as a whole.

Perdue may also be seeking a nationally recognized politician to broker water deals with Georgia, Alabama and Florida and names like Sam Nunn, Trent Lott, Tom Daschle and even Shirley Franklin are being bandied about.

U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson ruled July 17 that metro Atlanta has been illegally tapping Lake Lanier for decades, stating hydropower, navigation and flood control as the only intended purposes for its creation and gave Georgia, Alabama and Florida three years end their litigation. If no agreement is made by then Atlanta will revert to mid-1970's water withdrawal levels.

Plans For Glades Reservoir in Gainesville Open To Public Comment

Saturday, 01 August 2009 06:39

Hall County invites the public to attend an informational meeting at 6 p.m. Aug. 6 regarding the proposed Glades Reservoir in North Hall. The meeting will be at the Georgia Mountains Center, 301 Main St., Gainesville.

There's likely to be substantial interest in this meeting in the aftermath of the recent ruling that questions Gainesville's right to its current level of water usage from Lake Lanier. Hall County has submitted an application to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District, seeking a permit to build a water supply reservoir on Glade Farm Road close to Clarks Bridge Roard in North Hall. The reservoir will likely have a positive effect on Lake Lanier, because the water for the reservoir will come from Flat Creek rather than Lanier and it will reduce the area's need to rely on the lake.

The 850-acre Glades Reservoir will generate 6.4 million gallons of water per day, which would provide the growing Hall County population with water through 2060.

Downlines and Leadcore are Producing Best on Lake Lanier

Wednesday, 22 July 2009 19:00

Shane Watson Guide Service Report (07-23-09).

Nothing much has changed on the stripers. We've had our guides out on trips everyday since my last report. Downline bluebacks fished 30-40 feet deep over 50-100 foot bottom are producing well. Capt. Mack's white foil, 1 oz. bucktails, tipped with a live blueback or a Shadalicious are also working well. Fish your jigs 8 to 9 colors out at 3.0 mph in the mouths of mid-lake and southend creeks, also out over the main channel from mid-lake on further south. The good thing about leadcore is you can cover alot of water and still catch fish. When you see them thick on your graph, then you can wind in your leadcore and switch over to downlines. When downlining, change your bait frequently if you are not getting bit. Power reeling is also working when the fish are loaded up on the screen. For the next 2 months, nothing much will change on the stripers, as far as methods go. They will however, continue to move on down south in greater numbers.

This report is brought to you by Shane Watson Guide Service and Hammond's Fishing Center. Good Fishing and We Appreciate Your Business.

Lake Lanier Court Case Decision Disappoints Atlanta

Tuesday, 21 July 2009 19:52

Lake Lanier Water The judge presiding over the Jacksonville, Florida court case involving Lake Lanier has reached his verdict. His conclusion is that Atlanta will no longer be allowed to use water from Lake Lanier unless Georgia, Alabama and Florida don't settle their dispute within three years.

The three states have been arguing over the water in Lake Lanier for decades. In the court case Alabama and Florida argued that Lake Lanier was never built as for supplying water to neighboring cities and only Congress has the authority to allow such usage. U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson agreed.

If the matter isn't settled within three years, the court will roll back the releases to mid-1970s levels, meaning only Gainesville and Buford would be allowed to withdraw water from the lake. That will be good news for Lake Lanier as less there will be less strain on its resources, but potentiall devestating for Atlanta which would have to look elsewhere for water.

Judge Magnuson's verdict was that:

"The court is sympathetic to the plight of the Corps, which is faced with competing and legitimate claims to a finite resource. Neither the Corps nor the court can make more water ... However the Corpsí failure to seek congressional authorization for the changes it has wrought in the operation of Buford Dam and Lake Lanier is an abuse of discretion and contrary to the clear intent of the Water Supply Act."

Here's a recap of what the three states want to do with Lake Lanier's water:

Florida: keep enough water flowing through the Chattahoochee River system to maintain marine life at the river\'s mouth.
Alabama: supplying a power plant along the river with sufficient water for cooling.
Georgia: feeding Atlanta's growing water needs.

Near Drowning at Lower Overlook Park on Lake Lanier

Sunday, 19 July 2009 17:33

Lower Overlook on Lake Lanier There was a near-drowning on Saturday afternoon at Lower Overlook Park on Lake Lanier.

Around 2 p.m., a 4-year-old girl was been playing near the waters edge when she slipped and fell into the lake and under the water.

Fortunately other people in the park were able to find and pull her safety. When paramedics arrived they found an off-duty nurse performing CPR on the young girl and rescue crews were able to get a pulse back en route to Northside Forsyth Hospital in Cumming.

Update: Unfortunately the girl passed away on Monday evening, two days after the accident.