Stop no. 2 on the 2019 Bassmaster Elite Seriess is Lake Lanier in Georgia. This place fishes a lot like Smith Lake in Alabama so that’s what I’ve been trying to relate it to. There are big spotted bass and super-clear water on the lower end, dirtier water on upper end, and also some largemouth. It’s a diverse fishery, and I’m excited about fishing it.
In peak times I’ve heard about limits of spots weighing in the mid-20s on this fishery so you know they live here. There are nearly 700 miles of shoreline here so there’s a lot of ground to cover. The primary forage is blueback herring so they always throw a kink in the way bass act.
There are lots of options as far as structure goes: brush piles, rock, docks, long points, marinas, you name it basically. There will be fish caught several different ways, I believe. I feel like the average size fish is bigger on the lower end, but you have that chance at a big largemouth on the upper end. It will be interesting to see which is the right program for the guys to make the Top 10 and be the winner in the end.
From my experience this is a derby where to be successful you have to fish your strengths so that’s what I’m going to do. I plan on starting in the dirtier water, and we’ll see where the tournament takes us from there. I will keep my eye on the weather each day and adjust as conditions change.
As far as equipment for an event like this I love an MHX NEPS 81MXF. It’s a 6-foot, 9-inch medium-action rod rigged with a 3/16-ounce shakey head and an X-Zone Muscle Back Fat Finesse worm. Any time I’m on a spotted bass lake I always have this setup handy.
I’m looking forward to it. Y’all stay tuned to Bassmaster LIVE and see how who can figure out the puzzle here.