How to Fish the Toughest Lake in America with Adam
McClellan
Stripers on Deep Clear Lakes
 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: Don't you also catch stripers on Lake Lanier?
McClellan: Yes, I do. In the middle of the summer, like
right now, we use a deep-water trolling tactic for catching
stripers. Most people are fishing live bait down 35
to 50 feet. However, between mid- and late-spring and
in late summer, we troll umbrella rigs for stripers.
We use either braided line or lead core line on an umbrella
rig, which is a wire holder that will hold multiple
baits. This umbrella rig is usually weighted with 1
to 3 ounces of lead. Generally the wire holder will
support six to 12 jigs on each umbrella rig. I like
the shad-shaped grubs that Spike-It makes. I also like
the
Spike-It Boot-Tail Grubs when I'm trolling for stripers
at this time of year. We typically troll over points,
ledges or old river channels in water depths of 20 to
35 feet. The 4- and 6-inch shad-shaped Spike-It grubs
and the 4- and 6-inch Spike-It Boot-Tail Grubs are the
size we usually troll. The jigheads we use weigh 1/2-
to 1-ounce each with a large hook in them.
Question: How fast are you trolling, and what are you
using?
McClellan: We're trolling between 2- and 2.6-miles per
hour with a big motor, not a trolling motor, and we're
running just above idle speed.
Question: What do you do when you get more than one
striper?
McClellan: That situation happens frequently. Typically,
you won't catch more than two monster fish at the same
time. However, taking several 4- to 6-pound fish at
the same time isn't that unusual. When you have more
than one fish on an umbrella rig, expect it to take
awhile to pull in those stripers. Most of the time,
we're fishing braided line in the 30- to 50-pound test
range. We have a stout leader going from the main line
to the umbrella rig. We're using stiff-butted downrigger
rods like saltwater anglers use for king mackerel. They're
usually 8-1/2-feet long, and we usually put saltwater
reels on them. When Lake Lanier was impounded, it wasn't
cleared of trees before it was flooded. You'll often
see treetops in about 45 feet of water. Therefore, if
you allow a striper to run far, it will dive into those
treetops and break your line, which is why we use such
heavy tackle.
Question: In a day of trolling with umbrella rigs,
how many stripers do you usually catch?
McClellan: The number we take depends on the time of
year. However, if you're trolling multiple rods with
as many as four umbrella rigs, you can easily catch
10 to 15 stripers in one morning of trolling. A typical
striper caught on an umbrella rig will weigh 6 to 12
pounds. However, larger fish are frequently caught.
Question: What color jigs are you using?
McClellan: I prefer the brighter colors, which are chartreuse,
blue and silver. Sometimes we troll solid white colors.
Sometimes we put all white grubs off the right side
of the boat and colored grubs off the left side of the
boat. We let the stripers tell us which colors they
prefer on that particular day.
Question: What advice would you give anyone who's going
to Lake Lanier to fish for crappie or stripers?
McClellan: There are guides on Lake Lanier who follow
the schools of stripers around the lake all year long.
Conditions change depending on the season, and anglers
catch crappie and stripers all year long. My personal
advice is that if you want to come to Lake Lanier to
catch stripers, spend the money to hire a guide on one
of your first trips to the lake to learn the techniques
that produce in the areas that normally hold stripers.
Learning how to fish Lake Lanier by yourself isn’t
easy and may take a long time.
Question: When is the umbrella rig tactic best for
stripers?
McClellan: You can catch stripers using the umbrella
rig anytime except during the winter and the middle
of the summer. Umbrella rig-fishing for stripers should
be best in September and October.
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