Club News

February 21 - Our February tournament will be held on February 25. Lines in at 6:30am and weigh-in at Oakwood Bait at 2:00pm.

February 17 - The Oakwood Striper Club meeting will be on Tuesday, February 21st at 6:30pm. We will meet at the United Community Bank on Mundy Mill Rd. Our guest speaker will be Shane Foster. Shane is a Tournament Striper fisherman. The topic will be "Gizzard Shad". Its an open forum (question and answer) on catching Shad as well as fishing techniques. It's a perfect topic for the upcoming Spring Shad bite. For those of you who haven't tuned in lately, the big fish have been showing up. A number of 30+ pounders have been landed in the last week. We are not far off from our traditional spring bite. Water temps are still around 52, thanks to the mild winter.

PS Our Tournament will be on February 25th.

The January 22 - Tournament brought driving rains and possible Tornados. Only 4 boats braved the conditions. 1st Place and Big Fish went to Leonel Castillo with a 30 1/4" Striper. Not far behind in 2nd Place was Dan and Brett with 29". From what I heard the boats that fished were off the water mid morning when the storms got violent. If the weather cooperates, the February Tournament should bring everybody out from their long rest.

January 12 - The Striper Club meeting is being held on Tuesday, January 17th at The United Community Bank. The topic of the evening will be about Umbrella Rigs. The dinner will be BBQ provided by Allen Silver. The tournament will take place the following Saturday, January, 21st.

December 18 - meeting will be this Tuesday, December 20th at the United Community Bank at 3785 Mundy Mill Rd in Oakwood. We will start eating around 6:30 and start the meeting around 7:00. Our speaker will be Henry Cowan. Its one of the best presentations you will see. It's mostly discussion and a slide show regarding Stripers turning on to small baits late in the winter.

PS. We had a great turnout for the tournament with 16 boats. A good number of big fish was caught. Let's put it this way, if you caught 2 - 10 lb Stripers, you would have come in 7th place.

December 17 - We had a great turnout for the December Tournament with 16 boats. The fishing all week has been great leading up to the event. Larry predicted it would take 74" to win. He wasn't too far off. Let's put it this way, if you had 70", you would have been in 3rd. A very windy day with 15mph NW winds. Lake temp is 56 on the south end and 50 up North.

1st place went to SMP with 73 ¼". Steve and John hit a double at noon on planerboards. After landing them and shooting some pics they wisely wrapped it up and went to weigh in early. They were fishing the Southend of the lake close to midlake.

2nd Place went to Dan and Brett with 70 ¼". They also had Bigfish with a 37 incher. They were also fishing south lake creek.

3rd Place went to Stars and Stripers with 63 ¼" Bob and his 8 yr old son Charlie fished in Flat Creek. They caught theirs on both planerboard and downline trout.

4th went to Striper Sniper with 63 ½". David also fished south. Higgy came in 5th with 63" also on the south end. Herring Impaired (Skiffy and Keith) came in 6th with 57 ¾". They fished in Flat and Balus. Castillo came in 7th with 31 ¼". Leonel and Larry were south aws well. Is it all sounding familiar yet? Everything was South of Browns Bridge. In fact, everyone that went north struggled. Either way there was some good numbers thrown up.

December 16 - A reminder that the Oakwood Striper Club Tournament is this Saturday, Dec. 17th from 7 until 2:00 PM. Fishing has been good this week both North and South on the lake. Bring your big baits, they have been working. Umbrella rigs have also been working. It looks to be a nice weather day, with highs in the low to mid 60's. Hope to see you on the water.

December 8 - The Oakwood Striper Club Tournament will be on December 17th from 7 am till 2 pm. Our meeting will be on December 20th at the United Community Bank (3785 Mundy Mill Rd). I will remind you all again next week. Our speaker will be Henry Cowan. Its one of the best presentations you will see.

PS Fishing has been good. A number of us have been catching quality size Stripers from 12 to 26 lbs. If you haven't been lately, you need to get out there. The courtesy dock at Balus creek has been moved courtesy of our Striper brothers at the Lanier Striper Club. They even installed a mulch path with stepping stones. Now there is really no excuses. Go fishing.

November 19 - It was a small turnout for the November Tournament. Between Hunting season, weather and fishing conditions, we managed to have 8 boats fish. 1st Place went to Striper Sniper with 63.5". Congrats to David. That's the way to break in the new boat. David also had Big Fish with a 34.5" Striper. He caught his fish on the southend in between OC and MC. 2nd Place went to Striper Rookie with 62". David was also fishing South. My guess was FB. 3rd went to SMP. John and Steve had 53.75". They also stayed South. Riverrat had 36.75" . As for the rest, better luck next month. Fishing conditions were somewhat tough with the tail end of a cold front blowing out. Straight East winds blew all day. The pressure was 30.35 until after lunch, when the sun came out the pressure did drop somewhat. Water temp was 59 to start and hit around 60 later in the day. Most of these Bays had large schools of Stripers, including BR, SC, BC, TM, OC, and MC. Sadly enough, the fish turned on heavy Sunday morning. Everyone that was out, got into them. It's just the difference of a day.

November 14 - Our Oakwood Striper Club meeting will be tomorrow night, Tuesday 11/15 at 6:30pm. We will be discussing Boating etiquette as well as going over the new fishing patterns. The tournament will be this Saturday.

October 29 - As some of you may or may not know, our good friend Allen Silver's wife Mary

has Cancer. Allen has been totally consumed with taken care of Mary, going

to the hospital, doctor's visits and so on. In fact he probably hasn't

gotten to go fishing once or twice in the last 6 months. Allen and Mary can

use our help. They are having a Charity Yard sale/ Bake Sale and BBQ next

Saturday, November 5th from 9am - 5 pm. It will be held at 4823 Winder Hwy,

Flowery Branch. It is just past Chestnut Mountain Church.

If anyone has anything that they would like to donate to the yard sale,

please contact Allen at 770-530-5893.

October 22 - We fished the October Tournament. It's the one we always worry about.

Surprising enough, as a whole we caught some fish and some pretty good ones

Ist Place went to Team Backwoods with 67". Congrats to Capt. Jeremy and

Brandon on their great performance. They caught their fish on medium trout

up the river. 2nd place went to Team SMP. Steve S and John M caught 50" on

the south end of the lake, fishing downlines. 3rd place and Big Fish went to

Brett and Grant with a single fish at 42" long. The fish was a solid 30

pounder. The check it stick wasn't long enough to measure the fish. The

actual measurement is 38" plus the length of a Marlboro light cigarette box.

Their fish came from a river on a herring. A total of 12 boats fished and 9

of them caught fish. Lots of stories floated around of the big ones that

got away. At least 3 of the teams had their chances of running away with 1st

place. The fish, the rocks and or the stumps prevailed. The rocks and stumps

also prevailed over some of our boats as well. Be very careful if anyone is

planning a trip in one of the rivers. Use caution and travel in the

October 19 - The Oakwood Striper Tournament is this Saturday from 7 am until 2 pm. Sign up at Oakwood Bait and Tackle. The Boat US program for the extra $100 for the winner has been suspended. The program will start back up in the spring. Thanks

October 10 - The Oakwood Striper Club tournament will be on October 22. It will follow our meeting on October 18th. We changed the date of the tournament to get it off of the full moon.

September 19 - A reminder that there will be NO MEETING on Tuesday.

The OSC had its Picnic on Sunday. Great food mixed with great weather and

great friends. A special thanks to Tim Farmer and Corey Payne for the

awesome BBQ. Thanks to all that helped, especially Phil and Dee Cagle, Bob

O and Larry A, Leonel, and Larry B.

The big winners for the 2010-2011 Points race are:

1st Place Jeff Blair and Tim Farmer of Team Lanier Striper Charters

2nd Place Don and James Brown of Team She Likes it Ruff

3rd Place Leonel Castillo of Team Castillo

Big Fish Don Brown of Team She Likes it Ruff (42" Striper)

October will be the beginning of the new season. Everyone is starting from

Zero. It's a good time to get a team put together. Come and join us fishing

in the October Tournament

September 11 - We are having the Oakwood Striper Club Picnic/Awards dinner next Sunday, Sept. 18th from 3 till 6pm at the Oakwood community center on Railroad and Allen St. (our meeting place) Bring your wives, kids and grandkids. It is a family event.

I NEED SOME HELP!!!

First, anyone that recently notified about paying dues, we need you to pay ASAP. Otherwise we will be short for the Picnic.

Second, I need some volunteers who can show up 1-2 hours early to help set up and or pick up food. I'm looking for 3-4 people.

Third, anyone who would like to bring a dish, I'm asking for only fruits and desserts. Ideas would be Cookies, Brownies, Cake, Watermelon, Grapes etc.

Please email me or call Bob or Larry so we don't have everyone bring the same thing.

Lastly, I need to borrow 2 coolers (48 quart or bigger). Also if anyone has any badminton rackets and or volleyball, let us know. There is a net in place. We may have to

Have the 1st and 2nd place teams square off on the volleyball court. LOL

PS The good news this year, if it rains we will have plenty of room inside. It always rains on our outings. Maybe this year will be different. Hope to see everyone there.

September 7 - We will be having the Oakwood Striper Club Tournament this Saturday,

September 10th. Lines in the water at 7:00am and weigh in will be at 3:00pm.

There are two choices for weigh in. The usual choice is to be at the

Oakwood Bait and Tackle store by 3:00pm. The other choice is on the water.

We will be weighing in at the Aqualand Gas Docks (right of the gas docks).

The Lanier Striper Club will be doing their weigh in as well at the same

location. We will be using the same "Number of the day" as the Lanier

Striper Club, in order to save time measuring the fish. Winners will still

need to go to the Oakwood Bait and Tackle store to collect their winnings.

However, there is no rush, if you weigh in at Aqualand and happen to win,

you can take your time, get on your trailer and stop by the store at

anytime. If any question call Bob at 404-557-5559 or Larry at 770-965-9400.

We hope to see ya all out there.

Water temps after the rains are 80 degrees Lake wide. Fish are still hugging a shallow bottom in schools. Big fish are still scattered deep.

Good Luck to all!

August 16 - The August Tournament had 11 boats. 7 boats caught fish. It was another Full Moon tournament. The majority of the fish caught were late in the day. 1st Place went to Don and James of "She Likes it Ruff" with 63 3/4". They caught their fish late (after 1:00) on a 100 deep bottom. 2nd Place went to John and Craig with 56 3/4". 3rd Place went to Team Castillo with 47 3/4" Again most fish were caught around 1:00 or later. Big Fish was no exception. Tim F of Lanier Striper Charters caught the 36" Big Fish around 1:15. He had just enough time to run back for the weigh in.

August 10 - Our Club Tournament will be this Saturday, August 13th. We are shooting for 6:30 AM to 2:00 PM. The fishing has been up and down lately. Some great days and some days that were a struggle. Early morning has been somewhat productive for a downline bite. Trolling leadcore has been the ticket otherwise. The downline bite over the channel picks up late morning into the afternoon. The battle for 2nd and 3rd place still seems to be an exciting race. Good luck to all that are in the hunt.

August 10 - Our monthly Striper Club meeting will be next Tuesday, August 16th. Anthony Rabern of the DNR will be our speaker. It will be one of the most informative meetings. Come learn and understand the biology of our fishery. We will be meeting at the United Community Bank on Mundy Mill Rd, in Oakwood. Food will be served at 6:30. The meeting will get under way around 7:00 PM.

July 18 - Our meeting will be this Tuesday, July 19th at 6:30. Its at the usual place. Our speaker will be one of our own members again. Captain Tom Blackburn will be speaking about summer trolling techniques and patterns. It's a perfect time for it with our lead core/downrigger bite on fire now. Hope to see ya all there.

July 17 - The July Tournament turned out to be a wild ride right till the end. This was a double points tournament. It gave the chance for teams to catch up with a good finish, as well as slide back in the hole with a bad finish. With fish on fire all week it seemed like a waste having double points. However, a cold front moved in Friday, bringing ran and 20+ mph East winds. The water temp dropped from a steady 86-88 degrees, down to a chilly 81-82 degrees. It did enough damaged to break up the schooling fish and scatter across the lake. From what I understand, there were only a few fish boated by 11:00am. Evidently, the good bite started shortly thereafter. The majority of the fish were caught in the last hour of fishing. 1st Place and big fish went to Jeff B and Tim F of Lanier Striper Charters. They had 65 ¼ inches. They struggled until about 12:00, when they boated 8 back to back, including the 35" big fish. They fished on the West side of the lake. 2nd Place went to Leonel Castillo with 59 inches. He fished the 2 mile slot. It came with a whopper of a fish story. Leonel got into the fish. He fished alone. Leonel managed to catch a 25+lb fish. He got it in the net. While trying to lift the fish in the boat (in the net) the handle of the net broke. The fish, the net and his Shimano Tekota combo swam to the depths of Sidney Lanier. The 38" fish would have won the whole thing for Leonel. Instead he's out a landing net, an expensive Shimano combo and the winnings. But he's got a great story. 3rd Place went to Craig P and John M of SMP with 56 1/2 inches. All in all we had 10 boats catch fish out of 13 boats. The points race is also a wild race now. Stay tuned.

July 12 - The Oakwood Striper Club is having its monthly Tournament this Saturday. We are still discussing times. I have had a few already ask for 6:00AM to 2:00 PM. Sounds good to me. This tournament is a double points tournament. It will give a few teams the chance to move quickly up or down the ladder.

Fishing has been good. The downline bite has been consistant with good numbers. The trolling bite has also been good, Leadcore,U rigs and downriggers have been working.

June 19 - Come and join us on Tuesday, June 21st at 6:30 pm. We will be discussing downline/downrod fishing. Our very own Dan Duncan will be sharing information on how to fish from June through September. Rick Cleveland will still be teaching his beginner class for those of you who asked. We have some new information and new ideas to talk about. Hope to see everyone there.

June 19 - The Father's Day Weekend tournament was productive for all that fished. Every boat managed to catch fish. The fish were in their predictable areas. Most were caught in pockets 30-50' deep near the channel. 1st Place went to Dan and Brett with 58 1/4 inches. They caught a bunch through the day and even called in some fellow club members to enjoy in the bite. 2nd place went to Don Brown with 57 ½ inches. Don caught his early in the 1st hour. 3rd place went to Leonel with 54 ¼ inches. Leonel had some good fish and missed a few good opportunities of two solid fish (teens) taking him into the trees. Dan, Leonel, David H, and a few others all reported having some good fish get away. Big fish of the day was caught by Jeremy and Brandon. They managed to get a 31 incher to the boat. Their kicker wasn't as good. They still ended up in a very respectable 4th place. A very special thanks to Dan and Brett both on their win, but more importantly for their brotherhood. Sometimes its not about winning. Not only did they put me in the right place, but they also shared the crucial technique that was paying off. My hat is off to you guys. Thanks Bob.

June 14 - Our Oakwood Striper Club Tournament will be this Saturday, June 18th. I'm thinking of starting at 6:00AM. Fishing in the afternoon hasn't been productive. The early morning bite has been on fire. How about some feedback for those who will be attending. Maybe 6 - 1 ? Fishing has been improving. The downlinw/downrod bite has been the strongest. Fish are still being caught both North and South. Fish have been found anywhere from a 30 to 70' bottom. They are hanging near or in the trees.

Our meeting will be on Tuesday, June 21st. The Tuesday after the Tournament.

May 15 - The May Tournament showed the sizes going down but the numbers going up. We had a good day. It was a crazy weather pattern from the preceding week. Air temps rose into the 90s and water temps made it to 82 degrees around the lake. The downline bite was kick started with the warm weather. We had a tie for 1st place with 59.25". Bob and Larry from Team C & R won1st with the Big fish tiebreaker. They caught fish both North and South. They fished around Ada in trhe AM and switched it up to Old Federal and 6 Mile in the later of the day. It obviously paid off for them. 2nd place went to Dan and Brett with 59.25". They fished North. They caught their fish primarily on weighted planer boards. 3rd place went to Don B of "She Likes it Ruff". Don had 57". He also fished North. He caught most of his fish on flat lines 100' behind the boat. He did catch some on downlines as well. All in all, it was a productive day. There was 11 boats fishing and 9 boats caught fish. Most boats that caught fish were catching between 5 and 9 Stripers. The boats that gambled and fished up the rivers, struggled. There were fish caught on a variety of techniques including, free lines, planerboards, downlines, power reeling, pitching baits and umbrella rigs.

May 11 - We will be having our Striper Club Tournament this Saturday, May 14th from 6:30 am to 2:00 PM.

Fishing has been good lately. Water temps are in the mid 70's. Fish are located on main lake points. They are hanging around 20-30 foot bottoms for the most part.

Inquire at Oakwood Bait by Saturday, if your interested..

April 21 - Well it finally happened. The April Tournament after being moved went down on April 23. Some will say it was a good choice. We were predicting a 70" catch to win. The weeks prior proved that 30 to 40 lb fish were on the run. Our predictions came true. If you like Westerns, it was kind of like "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly". LOL It was and early start for all 3 teams, The Good (Dan and Brett) aka Blondie, The Bad (Tim Farmer) aka Angel Eyes, and the Ugly (Leonel Castillo) aka Tucco. All 3 teams struck early. It would have appeared that Dan and Brett had the lead with Leonel hot on their tail. Reports of Leonel missing a 45Lb Striper had the other shaking. At one point, Leonel uped his game with a nice catch. Dan and Brett were believed to have had around 70-72 inches. Leonel came on strong and was reporting 73+ inches. Meanwhile, Tim Farmer was witnessed chasing a big fish on the big motor at mid day. The gunslingers all were hard at work.

But in the end, similar to the movie, The Good prevailed. Dan and Brett with another late day catch, won 1st place with a whopping 75". Tucco, I mean Leonel, was edged out with 73.75". He locked up 2nd place. As for Angel Eyes, Tim Farmer came in 3rd with 60 inches. The new genre of Striper Western has been created. Wah Wah Wahhhh. Big fish went to Dan and Brett with a 39" - 27.5 lb beauty. I guess its safe to say that Spring has finally showed up on Lake Lanier. We had 13 boats and 10 boats caught fish. Fish were coming off of Flats, humps, and points as predicted. Gizzard shad and Herring worked equally as well. Lake temps dropped from the day before. Main lake was about 63 to start. There was an early bite from 7 to about 8:30 and a later bite from 11:00 to 1. Fish were caught everywhere from Laurel Park, Ada, Sardis, River Forks, Latham, Johnson, Chestatee Bay and lets not forget Flat Creek. It was a job well done by all. Hopefully next month will be a repeat of big fish. We should get back to about 20 boats fishing now that the Easter holiday is behind us.

April 14 - By popular demand, we have moved the Tournament to next Saturday, April 23. The times will be the same, 6:30am to 2 pm. The combination of severe rain/hail and thunder storms from late Friday night into Saturday morning will more than likely turn the fish off. Not to mention 25 mph winds on Saturday would have made it an adventure on the water. Hope you can all make it next week.

April 14 - Reminder:

This Saturday, April 16th is the Oakwood Striper Club Tournament. Start time is 6:30 AM and finish is 2:00 PM. Weigh in at the store. Sign ups are at Oakwood B & T.

Fishing has greatly improved this last week. Water temps are around 63 on the main lake and high 60's in the backs of the creeks. I fished today. Stripers came on Blueback herring on flatlines, planerboards, splitshots and floats. Basically on or near the surface. Fishing is still more consistant on the southend. The North has been putting up some fish as well. Good reports from Sardis through Gainesville Creek. Fishing main lake points and humps have been productive. Some good reports of fish in the high 30's and low 40's have been reported in the last few weeks. Its trophy fishing season. I'm expecting to see a 30LB caliper fish win Big fish. Hopefully the weather is on our side.

Our meeting will be on Tuesday, April 19th at 6:30. It's a new quarter. Our club dues need to be paid. I'm still short from last quarter, mainly due to the fish fry. We weren't collecting dues that night. The meeting will be "Striper fishing 101" The discussion will mainly be rigging, leaders, planerboard fishing etc. It's a time where the seasoned fishermen get to add their info and help our brother beginners. Rick Cleveland will be our speaker. This is a must for anglers just starting out and for the ones who want to sharpen their skills. Last year we had a number of boats go out on a friendly fishing trip. Experienced captains took out beginners for an on water demonstration. Rick Cleveland headed this up and it was very informative for all that participated. I think every boat caught fish. We will be doing this again this year. I will need some experienced guys to donate their time and boat. The beginners will be responsible to cover all costs. The cost per guy should range between $20 and $40 per guy. See Bob Benson at the meeting if you would like to help. We will discuss it more at the meeting.

March 12 - The March Tournament came a couple of days after the 3 inches of rain that muddied the lake. Water temps were down a few degrees to 49-50 on average. Tough conditions again with a cold 34 degree start and high wind up to mid 20's. Some how people still managed to catch fish. We had 18 boats and 2 new teams jumped in. 1st place went to Jim Farmer and Team Castaway Baits. They had a total of 67 ¾ inches and they also won big fish with a very fat 36 ½", 25 lb Striper. Jim and the gang were fishing midlake, shallow in a pocket. He caught his fish on Blueback herring on flatlined planer boards. His big fish was in 2 feet of water. 2nd Place went to Team JT/TJ. Jerry Skelly and Tim Adrien also caught their Stripers pulling herring. They had 65 ¼". They fished similar to Team Castaway. They pulled shallow reef poles in a pocket, midlake. 3rd Place went to Team Higgy. Bill had 52 ½". They fished the same area as the 1st and 2nd place winners. Forth went to She Like it Ruff. The Brown boys caught a double with minutes to go. It was good enough for 47 ½" and it keeps them in the hunt for the points standings. Don got his 2 fish on umbrella rigs. Team Lanier Striper Charters came in 5th with 1 fish. They had 30 ¾ caught on a topwater lure. 6th went to Team Easy Company. Clydes 1st tournament with OSC worked out nice with a 30" fish. Bucktales took 7th with one 18" Striper. Not real big but 18 inches bigger than the rest of the pack caught. We had 18 boats. 7 boats caught fish. 11 boats tied for eighth.

February 22 - The February Tournament turned out to be tough as expected. With the cold 43 degree water temps and the Shad kill, we knew it would be a tough one. 1st place and the big fish went to Don and James Brown of the "She Likes it Ruff". They had 1 fish that was 34 ½ inches long. The fish ate a Crappie minnow on a small #4 hook. Don was fishing in the far back of a southern creek. 2nd place went to Buck Canon and Don F on the " Bucktales". They had 1 fish that was 33 ½ inches long. 3rd place went to Tean Hooked Up, with Corey and Hunter Payne. They caught a 27" Striper also on a shiner, also in the back of a creek. 4th place was a ten way tie! We all had interesting stories to tell without the presence of any fish. The good news is the March is just around the bend. The temps will be on the rise, which in turn will get these fish back in gear.

February 9 - We have an Oakwood Striper Club Tournament this Saturday. By popular demand the start time is 7:00 AM and the weigh in is at 2:00 PM at the store.

Water temps are still hanging around 43 lake wide. Fishing hasn't been exactly burning up lately. However, some fisherman are managing to catch a few fish here and there. At one point these fish will have to turn on. We have an interesting points race already this year. With tough conditions, anybody and everybody has an equal chance. By the way, weather as of now looks OK for Saturday with a start around 30 degrees and warming up to low 50's. Fish and game forecast shows the early morning bite is best. Hopefully tonight's snow is the last of the season and we can get on with our Spring. Does anyone remember what a planer board looks like?

January 22 - The January Tournament started things off with a bang this year. A

record 19 boats showed up to brave the cold and wind. Theoretically, there

could be as many as 25-27 teams this year. Fishing was slow as predicted.

Water temps were at 43 on the south end and 41-42 on the north end. The

majority of the boats fished south. It seemed like they were all in the very

back of Flat Creek in the morning. That heavy boat pressure possibly spooked

the fish out of the creek. The afternoon bite on the main humps never took

off. The wind picked up and made conditions unfavorable.

1st place went to Don and James Brown of the "She likes it ruff". They

had 66". They had Big fish with a 42" 28lb beauty. It was caught 1st thing

in the morning on a medium shiner in a south end creek. They added a kicker

later in the day.

2nd place went to Leonel of Team Castillo. Leonel had 61". He put his

new Lowrance HDS 10 to work. Leonel fished Flat Creek. He caught his fish

with an Umbrella rig over a shallow point (15')

3rd Place went to Steve Sullivan and Craig Pippin, with the help of Bill

Carson. They had 57". They had the high hook of the day with a reported 16

stripers. All the fish came off Umbrella Rigs in the mouth of Flat Creek,

mostly between FC3 and FC5. They overcame boat problems with a broken

throttle. A little duct tape and epoxy got them to keep the boat in idle all

Very few fish were caught on live bait. The majority were on Umbrella

rigs. Fish were still on main lake humps in the mouths of the creeks. They

were holding tight to the brush piles. It seemed that you had to hit them on

the head to make them bite. One fish was reported to have a red and orange

belly from lying in the mud. Half of the field caught fish.

January 21 - The Tournament will be this Saturday, January 22, Lines in at 6:30 AM and the weigh in at 5:00 PM at the Oakwood Tackle Store. You can fish anytime during this slot. You can start later and finish earlier. Just bring your pictures into the store anytime before 5:00PM. For example, you may want to fish from 7 till 2 or possibly or 10 till 5. Some of you will be out there the whole time. Either way, good luck, be safe and enjoy.

January 17 - Don't forget the January Tournament is this Saturday, January 22!!! Some of the more lucky ones are getting HUGE FISH! Larry got a 36lb 42"+ Striper on Friday so if he can do it, each of you should be able to do at least as well!!

Tight Lines and good luck.

December 18 - The December Tournament found 14 boats in every creek on the lake. The weather all week was cold and nasty. Saturday turned out to be tolerable. We had a few new teams jump into the race and we missed a few teams due to hunting, Christmas, vacations, family and etc. It was a strong turnout either way.

1st place went to Stars and Stripers with 71.5". Bob fished in a Northern Creek with large trout on planer boards. He pulled them on shallow water flats at high speed. 2nd Place went to Lanier Striper Charters with 67". Jeff caught his also in a Northern Creek. He caught his on Urigs. Jeff had big fish of the day with a 20lb. 371/4" Striper. 3rd place was won by She Likes it Ruff with 63" Don caught his fish on trout in a Southern creek. Team Castillo was a ¼" behind with a 4th place finish. Leonel caught his in a Northern creek, also on trout. All in toll 9 boats caught fish. The other 5 hopefully enjoyed their time on the water. We had boats fishing in Baldridge, Shoal, 6 Mile, 4 Mile, Orr, Flat, Chestatee Bay and Creeks beyond up North. There was a number of reports of fish in the 40' bottom. Tons of bait In all creeks. Most fish were caught on flatlines and or Urigs. For whatever reason, they didn't seem to bite the downlines.

November 20 - The November Tournament turned out to be fairly tough. 13 boats fished. Most fish were caught early. Stars and Stripers won 1st Place with 61". Bob caught his fish on medium trout in the Vanns Tavern area of 2 Mile creek. 2nd Place went to Striper Sniper with 45.5". David was fishing in the Laurel Park to Clarks Bridge. 3rd went to River rat with 45". Big fish and 4th place went to Lanier Striper charters with 35". C& R was in 5th with 30". 8 boats tied for 6th. Next month we will be having the Tournament on December 18th. It is the Saturday before the meeting. Otherwise the TX would fall on Christmas day. Also it gets us off the full moon.

November 6 - Below is an attempt at a Logo for the Club. Also will have a copy at Oakwood Bait and will have a copy at the next meeting so that we can determine if this is what the members want.

October 20 - Just a reminder for this weekends Season Opener Tournament. Hang on to you

hats. Due to the turnover and tough conditions, we have made this a

tournament for everyone in mind. Lines in the water Friday 7:00PM and weigh

in is at Oakwood Bait and Tackle at 4:30 PM Saturday. It's a 2 day fish when

you want jamboree. Check in with Larry at Oakwood Bait and Tackle He will

be closing Friday night at 7:00PM. Call and get your number if you plan on

being out there at night.

As mentioned in the meeting, for anyone going at night, please make sure

your boat has working lights. Bring an extra flashlight. Wear a lifejacket

while under way. Be safe, have fun, catch some fish.

September 26 - We had the Club Picnic and Awards Dinner this weekend. Heavy rain kept us from running around in the grass. We did however sit and eat a great selection of food and desserts made by many that came. . Numerous lies and or fish stories were passed along. A special thanks to Tom Bart and Tim Farmer for their donations and hard work.

The September ( season ender) tournament was a good one. We had 12 boats fish. I believe 10 of 12 caught fish. Team Sea Hunt tied for 1st. They are new comers. This was their 1st tournament. Beginners luck has been running wild this year. They caught their fish trolling leadcore in the mouth of Baldridge. 2nd place went to Striper Sniper. David and Ashley have been on a tea lately. They would have had 1st, but lost because Team Sea Hunt had a bigger fish in the tie breaker. David fished in the Saddle Dike area. Caught his on live bait as well as Trolling. 3rd place went to "She Likes it Ruff". Don caught his on bait in the Shoal Creek cut through. Big fish went to Team Castillo, with a 35" beauty. Leonel caught his on bait, but had a hard time matching it up with another quality fish. He did boat another but it was around 18".

The Year end Points race for 1st, 2nd and 3rd went to the wire. It was anyone's game. Stars and Stripers finished in 1st Place for the year. She Likes it Ruff passed Team Dan and Dan on Saturday to capture 2nd place. Team Dan and Dan edged out Sea King for 3rd Place. If it was a horse race, woe would have needed the photo finish.

As I told many of you. It was consistency that won. The average catch was 58" year round. If you fish 9 of 12 tournaments and you can catch 2 fish in each tournament, you have a good shot to be in the top. Congrats to the top teams.

October starts the new Fiscal year of the Tournament Trail. Get a partner. Come out and give it a try. There are some boaters looking for partners. Ask at the next meeting if you are interested. Thanks for a great Fishing Year.

August 22 - The August Tournament turned out to be a wild ride. Heavy rain the night before mixed in with heavy down pours and lighting for the 1st 4 hours made fishing difficult. Still through all of this, people still managed to catch fish. We had a great turnout of 14 boats with the sloppy conditions.

1st place went to Striper Sniper with 65". David also had Big Fish with a 34" beauty. David and his wife fished live bait in Flowery Branch as well as Two Mile Creek. 2nd place went to Lanier Striper Charters with 62 ¼ ". Jeff B and Tim F got into them later in the day downlining in Shoal Creek. Jeffs little son kept thing together for them.

3rd place went to Fish On with 60.5" Allen S started fishing after the storms left. About 10:00 AM. He boated 8 Stripers. His method was pulling leadcore lines 8 colors back with a 1 Oz. Bucktail tipped with a live Herring. He fished at Lake Marker 17-19. As for the rest of the pack the numbers were remarkably good considering the weather. Most boats caught fish. 3 boats of 14 skunked. Fish were caught in Mud Creek, Two Mile, Big, Shoal, 6 Mile and Orr. Live bait fishing was done over a 65' bottom, hanging baits down 30-35'. The fish were slow to hit live bait until the Sun popped out late in the day.

July 24 - The July Tournament was a hot one as expected. We had 12 boats facing 96 degree Air temps. 11 boats of 12 caught 2 or more Stripers. A great tournament was had by all. The numbers were close with the exception of the winner. 1st Place went to Team Procraft with 62". They also had big fish at 32.5". Congrats to the winners. This was their 1st Tournament fished. 2nd Place went to She Likes it Ruff with 56". 3rd went to Stars and Stripers with 55.25". From there, we had 3 boats tied with 55". Mostly everyone caught their fish using Herring on downlines at 30'. Most were fishing South Lake pockets over 40-60' deep. The winners were in Flowery Branch, 2nd place was in Orr Creek, 3rd was in Flat Creek. Fish were also caught in Chestatee Bay, 2 Mile, 6 Mile and Shoal Creek. So as you can see, the Stripers are well distributed around the Lake. Pick your favorite creek and search hard.

June 19 - The June Tournament was held today. Another Saturday on the Pond. With the exception of heat, it was a nice day. Fishing was somewhat tough. Smaller fish dominated. The transition is happening. Fish are in schools and on the move. First Place and Big fish went to Stars and Stripers with 53". Big fish was a 10 lb 27.75" fish. Bob fished a little in Flat Creek and also Marker 31,38, and 39. He caught his fish downlining 22' over a 35-40' bottom. It was the return of his Partner Charlie Benson. Good to seem him back out there. 2nd Place was a dead even tie between Dan and Dan and Castillo with 50". Leonel fished around Gainesville Marina and caught good numbers of fish. He was using flatlines with splitshot. Dan and Dan(Vic), fished around Chestatee Bay, they caught theirs downlining. She Likes it Ruff came in 4th with 49". Don should have had 2nd place to himself, but he chose not to take pictures at the end of the day. His fish Shrunk an inch a piece. I guess our Voodoo spell worked. Don fished in Big Creek early and then moved around to Chestatee Bay and Old Federal and who knows where else. He looked good sporting his new 200 HP Evinrude ETEC. As for the rest, there were some small fish caught. Just a few skunks. A total of 11 Boats joined. Definitely on the lighter side of normall. Who knows, maybe vacations and the heat drove them away. As usual, a fun day was had by all.

May 6 - The May 18th meeting will be held at our usual spot at the Community Center in Oakwood on Railroad Street. Meeting will start at 6:30. This month we will probably have Pizza, taking a break from the well received Fish Fry last month. Our speaker will be Doug Youngblood. For those of you that don't know of Doug, he is an accomplished Fishing Guide on the Lake. The main topic will be downline fishing as well as Dougs personal thumping methods. Its perfect time considering the lake temp has reached mid 70s. Fish in the next month will be moving out to deeper water.

April 25 - The April Tournament turned out to be a wild ride for 11 boats. Heavy rain and thunderstorms made it a bit more interesting. Many people waited at the boat ramps for the 1st hour waiting for the heavy thunder/lightning storms to break up. A handful of people started on time and took their chances. Fishing was either great or dead depending on where you were. Team Dan& Dan came in 1st with 66" and also had big fish with a 35"/ 21 lb beauty. They fished from Sardis to Gainesville Creek. They boated 8 or 9 Stripers, most were 30" or better. They caught their fish on Herring. 2nd Place went to Stars and Stripers with 63.5". I fished on the Chestatee side in Johnson creek. I caught 7 Stripers. Most were caught on freshly caught " Huge" Herring. I pulled the same flat and point the whole day with flatlines. Most of my bites and Dan & Dan's bites came when the rain and or lightning was at its worst. 3rd Place went to Woody at Four Seasons Fishing. Woody also had a great day with 52". He fished in the Sardis area. He also caught numerous Stripers. Team Higgy took 4th with 52" Bill caught a nice 34" Striper in Little River. He stayed there the whole day and caught numerous small Stripers to go with it. Sea King had 5th Place. Don and Rick C fished around Lula in the River. They had 48". They ran out of bait fairly early into the morning. I believe they caught 12-13 Stripers in the 6lb range. Also a number of Spots and Catfish. Over 20 fish altogether. What a day! River Rat came in 6th Place with 30.5" John B and David D fished up in Johnson and Latham. They also caught a small Striper that they didn't measure. Team TJ followed in 7th Place. Tim A fished with Allen S up the River. They caught 1 29.5" Striper. As for the rest, I believe some caught fish, However they didn't show up to the weigh in due to the storms. All in all a great day despite the weather conditions. We saw 20-30 mph winds, lightning, downpours, Sun with dead flat conditions. You name it, we saw it today.

April 21 - The Fish fry meeting went great as expected. We had about 60 people enjoying the fresh cooked fillets as well as the conversation. There were many fish stories told.

A special thanks is in order for the guys behind the scenes. We thank Rick C, Allen S, Don B, Woody E, Billy S and Leonel C for their extra help cooking and cleaning.

We are all looking forward to the continuance of a great fishing season.

Thanks again to everyone.

April 4 - Happy Easter everyone! Just a long distance reminder. Oakwood Striper Club is having a fish fry at the April 20th meeting. We will start at 6:30 at the Community center in Oakwood (Railroad street,next to Police station. There will be no guest speaker. We plan on making it a social event.

We need your help! If anyone gets out fishing in the next few weeks, we would appreciate if you can fillet some fish and freeze it. We are looking for Crappie mostly. Walleye and Yellow Perch would also be great. If you don't have room in your freezer, we have plenty of freezer space at the Oakwood Bait Store.

Also, if anyone would like to bring a dish or help in cooking, drop me a line.

March 20 Tournament Results - Things are starting to pick up. Water temps reached 50 or better around the lake. More fish were caught in the March Tournament then previous months. Most fish were caught in the 1st hour or two. 1st Place went to Jerry Skelly and Tim Adrien on Team with 69.5 inches. They also won Big Fish with a 35 incher. 2nd Place went to Jeff Blair and Tim Farmer on Team Lanier Striper Charters with 66". 3rd belonged to Leonel Castillo with 62". Leonel caught his at the mouth of Balus. 4th went to Mr. Consistency of late. Don and James Brown of She Likes It Ruff got 61.75 inches. They lost 3rd by 1/4 of an inch. They caught their fish in Mud Creek. Dons home away from home. Striper Tales took 5th with 53.25". Striper Sniper had 6th with 51.5". David got his late in the day in Balus. 7th went to Baklash with 51". I believe they caught them in Little River. Striper Nailer finished 8th with a single 34.75" fish. Then came Sea King with a single 30.75" fish caught in Flat. As for the other 7 Teams, better luck next time.

A special congratulations goes out to Dan Sakini of the Lanier Striper Club. Dan pulled in a 42.5 lb Monster Striper in Flat Creek. Witnessed by Stars and Stripers and Sea King. He caught the Striper on a fresh Threadfin shad on a #6 hook using 12lb test. That is Ultralighting at its best. The good news is that he wasn't in the tournament.

The Oakwood Striper Club will meet on Tuesday 3/16 at 6:30 at United Community Bank at 3785 Mundy Mill Road, in Oakwood. The speaker will be Johnny Walker "Cut Bait Aficionado". We will be serving Pizza for Dinner. It will be an informative meeting. We will also be talking about the changes in the fishing conditions/weather conditions to come. For example, The Night time Bomber/topwater bite has started.

Directions from 400:

400 to hwy 369 (Browns Bridge Rd) Head towards Gainesville, turn right onto McEver Rd. Travel about 2 miles.

Turn Left onto Mundy Mill Rd (53) at CVS.

Pass Walmart - Turn Right at United Community Bank (Next to Pizza Hut)

Directions from 985:

985 to Exit 16 (Mundy Mill Rd /53)

Exit towards Lake Lanier.

Turn Left at United Community Bank (Between KFC and Pizza Hut)

Directions from McEver Rd (Buford)

Follow McEver Rd North. Pass West Hall High School and Middle School.

Turn Right onto Mundy Mill Rd (53) at CVS.

Pass Walmart - Turn Right at United Community Bank (Next to Pizza Hut)

If any questions call Bob Benson at 404-557-5559

February 20 Tournament Results - The February Tournament turned out to be beautiful day, with sunny 60 degree weather. The nice weather brought everybody out. We had a record 17 boats fish. The sizes of the catch were better than average. First Place and Big Fish went to Tim Adrien and Jerry Skelly, with 65 ¾". There big fish was 34 ¾". They pulled Herring on flat lines in the very back of Flat Creek. Second place went to Bob Benson with 65". He caught his on baby herring, also in the very back of Flat Creek. Third place went to Brett Wendel and David Duncan with 62 3/4". They caught theirs early on a variety of baits (Trout, Herrring and Shiners) fishing with flat and down lines. They fish a hump in the back of Flat Creek. Fourth place went to Down Brown with 60 ¾". Don caught his in the very back of Mud Creek on baby herring, pulled on flat lines. Fifth place went to Lee Justice and Ted Roberts with 52 ¼". They caught theirs in the back of Flat Creek on Flat lined herring. Sixth Place went to Don Hall,Greg Rooks and Rick Cleveland with 48 ½". Persistence paid off for these guys. They caught their fish late in the day pulling Urigs in Balus Creek. In Seventh Place was Jeff Blair and Tim Farmer with 1 fish at 34 ¼". If your going to catch only one, that's the one to get. (15-20 Lbs). They also fished in the very back of Flat Creek. Eighth place was shared by 10 boats. Your day is coming guys. Just ask Don Brown, who had 3 months of Skunk, and then turned it around to have 3 successful tournaments in a row. Way to hang in there Don.

February 20 Tournament - Just a reminder, we are fishing from 7 to 3 on Saturday. Weather looks to be good. Highs for the day will be around 62. I heard we will have a good turn

out. We could have more than 15 boats. Hope to see ya all out there. If anyone wants to fish, check in with John at the Oakwood Bait and Tackle. If anyone needs help or a report, please call me Friday afternoon or Friday night.

The topic for the 2/16/10 meeting is "FISHING CUT BAIT" or CUT BAIT 101. Our Guest Speaker is Johnny Walker of Team Striper Nailer. Johnny is one of the most reputable "Cut Bait" Fisherman in the Southeast. Its time for all of us to learn more about this under utilized technique. Also 1st Quarter dues are due. If you didn't pay last month, its time. Hope to see ya all there.

The January 2010 tournament turns out to be another tough month. It seems like every time we schedule a tournament, the weather, the lake or something turns sour. This time we will blame it on the weather. Conditions were tough with 20 mph winds. The heavy 2" rain the day before muddied up the creeks. The umbrella rig pattern that was working slowed down dramatically.

14 Boats tried their luck in the tournament. An incredible turnout for bleak conditions. Most boats were in eyes view of each other. Most were in Balus Creek, with a few others in Flat Creek.

It was an exciting turn of events. One fish would win the tournament. It made it a very level playing field.

1st Place and Big Fish went to David "Rooster" Hunnicutt and his wife. Rooster managed to persevere and catch a 32.5 inch Striper on a downline trout.. To make things more sweet, Rooster just joined the club at the last meeting. What a great start to hopefully a long and lucrative Tournament career.

2nd Place went to Team Buck Tales. Buck Canon and Rick Cleveland caught a 32 inch Striper on an Umbrella Rig. A nice size fish for a Urig. Buck will be attending next months seminar on how to stretch

your fish by ½ an inch.

3rd Place went to Stars and Stripers. Bob Benson and Tom Blackburn caught a 29" Striper on a Herring behind a planer board. They were with the rest of the pack in Balus Creek.

4th Place went to Tim Adrien. Tim fished with partner Jerry Skelly in the back of Flat Creek. They caught a 28" Striper on a Trout.

5th Place was held down by Team Castillo. Lionel tried out his new 24' Sea Hunt and caught a 27" Striper on a downline Herring in Balus. Congrats on the fish and the new boat as well.

As for the rest, it was a 9 way tie for 6th place. Sorry about that. Hopefully we will get a tournament in the future where everybody catches fish. Either way that's why we fish.

December 19 Tournament - Fished with Capt Jim Palestrini in the Oakwood tournament today. We had a tough go of it with multiple bites on flat lined trout. We were almost out of time when we boated our only fish of the day. Bottomed out the 30# bogas to the "E" I am calling it 32#.........Brett

Just a reminder, the next meeting will be held on Tuesday January 20 at the Oakwood Club House, next to the Police Station.

This months Tournament will be held on