05-29-2001, 05:35 PM
LANIER’S SHY STRIPERS<br>by Bill Vanderford<br><br> When it was discovered that someone who was trying to play God or biologist introduced blueback herring into Lake Lanier to help feed the striper population, most local guides and other striper fishermen were elated. Educated anglers and biologists, however, were quite skeptical about this or any other “self-stocking” program.<br> With a standing population of nearly 150 pounds of threadfin and gizzard shad per acre already residing in Lanier, plus millions of too small sunfish and spottail minnows, why did we need another baitfish? It seems that the standard answer from the small minds who stocked these larger minnows was that bigger bait produces huge stripers. They should have also considered what the impact of these 4 to 14 inch baitfish might have on the other fish in the lake and the techniques for catching stripers.<br> Unlike the other baitfish in Lake Lanier, blueback herring have big mouths and will eat newly hatched bass or other small fry. Also, these fish tend to live deeper most of the time and travel in smaller schools than the threadfin shad. Therefore, only time will tell what impact these herring will have on the future bass population in the lake, and their different habits have already changed how we fish for stripers in Lake Lanier.<br> Both guides and regular striper fishermen have complained this year about how scattered the stripers are and how few are seen breaking on the surface these days. In the past, thousands of stripers were often encountered while feeding wildly on massive schools of threadfin shad. This phenomenon is directly related to their change of diet. Remember, blueback herring travel in smaller schools and generally remain farther below the surface than shad, which equates to the stripers being less visible and more spread out in an area.<br> The most positive aspect associated with the introduction of blueback herring is that it will give all of the fish in Lanier a deeper-dwelling baitfish to eat during the long, hot summer months. This will take some of the pressure away from crappie and yellow perch and result in fatter predators going into the fall.<br> This is not the first time that people who think they know more than biologists have permanently altered a lake’s fishery. It happened to Georgia’s best smallmouth lake nearly twenty years ago. <br> Spotted bass were first detected in Lake Chatuge in 1983, when the small mouth bass population accounted for nearly 90% of the bass in that lake. They were apparently introduced by local anglers who brought them from Lake Lanier. This had a very detrimental effect on the smallmouth bass population, and within ten years, spotted bass had replaced smallmouth bass as the dominant black bass species in Chatuge. In fact, today, less than 2% of the bass in Lake Chatuge are smallmouth or largemouth bass.<br> Another prime example of illegal stocking happened in the Altamaha River in South Georgia. Throughout most of my life, the Altamaha was known to be one of the best redbreast sunfish fisheries in the nation, then someone decided to introduce flathead catfish. These big carnivorous cats grow to over 60 pounds and feed primarily on sunfish, and today, the Altamaha River is over-populated with flatheads. The once flourishing redbreast sunfish has practically disappeared, and the big cats are feeding on bass and other smaller fish.<br> What anglers should realize is that Georgia has some of the best biologists in the nation, and if changes are needed in a lake or river environment, these experts will make the right decisions. Once an exotic species of any kind is illegally introduced into any waterway, however, the nature and makeup of that body is changed forever. Therefore, despite any positive results that occur, the overall impact on a fishery is usually bad, so leave those decisions to the experts.<br>Bill Vanderford has won numerous awards for his writing and photography, and has been inducted into the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame as a Legendary Guide. He can be reached at 770-962-1241 or at his web site: www.fishinglanier.com<br><br><br>Living to Fish and Fishing to Live<br>Bill Vanderford<br>www.fishinglanier.com<br>770-962-1241