How to Fish the Toughest Lake in America with Adam
McClellan
How to Pick a Dock to Shoot and What Time to Shoot
Docks
 Editor's
Note: Adam McClellan of Cumming, Georgia, fishes the
toughest lake in America just outside Atlanta - Lake
Lanier. "The water clarity on Lake Lanier during
the summer months sometimes exceeds 7 feet," McClellan
says. Lanier is a major recreational lake with plenty
of water skiers, jet skiers, boaters and other outdoor
water recreation activities that can and does interfere
with fishing. This week, we'll see how McClellan not
only fishes this lake, but also successfully catches
fish. Adam and his father, Stokes McClellan, fish the
Southern Crappie Association tournaments, as well as
the Crappie USA tournaments.
Question: What time of day do you shoot docks?
McClellan: I've found that on Lake Lanier, the best
time to shoot docks is from daylight until about 10:00
am, and in the afternoon between 4:00 pm and nighttime.
This is the time I seem to catch the bigger fish.
Question: How many docks do you have to fish to find
and catch crappie on Lake Lanier? McClellan: I usually
fish 12 to 15 docks before I find the dock that's holding
crappie that day. The more time you spend on the water
fishing a lake, the more you learn which docks tend
to hold crappie. Once you know the docks that usually
hold crappie, you can go from the best docks to the
next-best docks and catch more crappie in a short period.
When I locate the piers and the docks that are holding
crappie, I usually can bet on those same ones to be
holding crappie every time I go to the lake to fish.
I don't know whether it's the shape of the pier, the
amount of cover under the pier or if there's a drop-off
near th at
dock that causes the crappie to be around one dock more
than the other. I've learned that the piers closest
to deep water tend to hold the most crappie, regardless
of the season. In other words, if you're fishing a dock
that comes to the edge of a creek channel, a river channel,
a drop-off or a point, it will usually hold crappie
more consistently than a flat-sitting dock.
Question: How many crappie will you usually take off
each dock?
McClellan: The day I caught 32 crappie off one dock
was highly-unusual.
If I locate a dock that's holding crappie, I generally
can catch 8 to 15 crappie off a single dock. Very-few
docks hold only one or two crapp ie.
The fish either are there, or they aren't.
Question: Once you've learned the lake, and you know
the docks that hold crappie, how many docks will you
usually fish in one morning?
McClellan: If you're traveling from good dock to good
dock, you can easily fish 12 of them and be able to
catch a limit of fish with this tactic.
Question: Most people don't fish Lake Lanier for crappie
because it's clear, deep and has too much boat traffic.
Why did you decide to fish the lake and use dock shooting
as your tactic?
McClellan: In the spring of 2006, I saw many crappie
anglers on the northern end of the lake, which usually
stays stained more than the southern end of the lake.
After May, most of the crappie anglers leave the lake.
I pretty much have the lake to myself other than a few
other crappie anglers. The crappie that I'm fishing
for during July, August and September have experienced
very-little fishing pressure.
Tomorrow: Where Does Shooting Docks Pay Off Besides
Lake Lanier?
|
