Lake Lanier is over full pool at 1,071.57 feet above sea level, or .57 above full pool of 1,071.
Lake surface temperatures have risen into the mid to upper 50’s.
The lake below Browns Bridge is clear on the main lake and stained in the backs of the creeks.
The upper lake creeks and rivers range from clear to very stained.
The Chattahoochee River below Buford Dam is clear.
Check generation schedules before heading out to the river below Buford Dam at 770-945-1466.
Bass fishing has improved with the warming water temperatures and rates very good.
The bass are deep, shallow and everywhere in between.
This is a great time to get out and try different methods.
If the bass are present in the area you are fishing, they should be willing to bite.
Get out and go fishing and you should catch them.
Junk fishing is in order this week.
The term junk fishing simply refers to when an angler can throw 10 different lures and get bites on some of all of them.
Experiment and let the fish tell you which lures work best.
Pay close attention to your electronics so that you also know what depths are holding the most fish.
If you have the new forward-scan technology, you can even scan the area to see exactly where the fish are located in the area you fishing.
There is always a brief feeding activity period early in the day, so make sure to get on the water by daybreak.
A variety of lures are producing bites.
Working a SPRO McStick 110 or a Little John DD around main lake and secondary points is producing some bigger spotted and largemouth bass before the sun rises.
Casting a Georgia Blade Spinner Bait is also a good way to take advantage of the early-morning bite.
These same lures are working all day long in the right areas.
Add a Gamakatsu Trailer Hook to your spinnerbaits to increase your chances of getting the fish that strike into the boat.
As the sun rises higher above the horizon, there has been a good dock bite for Lake Lanier’s spotted bass.
We are catching good numbers of keeper bass from shallow docks by skipping or casting a Lanier Baits Fruity Worm on a 1/8-ounce Gamaktasu Alien Head.
The majority of the bass are the smaller prespawn males but you can catch large numbers of these fish, so it’s a bunch of fun.
If you can’t get out early, no worries!
The bass are biting all day long.
Fish are cold-blooded creatures.
As the sun warms the water, they will get more active.
If you are catching a bunch of smaller bass. then use your electronics to scan slightly deeper water.
You may find the larger female bass that are following the males into the shallows.
The larger females tend to wait out a little deeper and they will stay there until water temperatures reach the low 60’s, at which point many of these females will move up shallower looking for a mate.
There are also some larger prespawn females that can be caught around the same docks where you catch the smaller males.
The dark floats on most of Lake Lanier’s docks heat up quickly.
This attracts the bigger female bass to suspend just under the floats.
Cast a moving lure like a jerk bait, A-Rig or shallow-running crank bait.
Allow these lures to run down along the sides of the docks to trigger these bass into biting.
The nighttime bass bait bite is really heating up.
Get out after work and fish from sun down until midnight.
Target lighted boat docks, primary and secondary points and rocky banks leading into coves.
Cast a Georgia Blade Premium Night Spinnerbait or a SPRO Fat Papa 70 to the banks and reel them with a slow-and-steady retrieve.
Striper fishing is good.
These fish are going through their spawning patterns as they try (unsuccessfully) to reproduce in the creeks and rivers.
Stripers are stocked by the Department Of Natural Resources.
They do not naturally reproduce on Lake Lanier.
A variety of techniques are producing stripers.
Pick your favorite method, but be wiling to switch up as the fish dictate.
Some of the stripers are still out on main lake and some are moving into the creeks and rivers.
The stripers can be found shallow early in the day.
Look in the creeks, rivers or coves that have running water flowing into them.
Keep an eye out for loons, heron and kingfishers, as they will give away areas that hold baitfish.
If you don’t mark bait or fish on your electronics, be willing to move until you find the fish.
Live baits are working well.
Make sure you stock up on plenty of herring, shad or large shiners before starting your day.
Fish your baits on flat lines and planner boards.
The stripers can be very shallow.
Make sure to keep the trolling motor moving, while you pull bait and cover water.
If the fish are present, it should not take long before you get a bite.
You can also try casting a Redfin, SPRO Bucktail or even try fly-fishing with a small steamer or Clowser Minnow out on the points and humps leading into the creeks.
Make a few casts and move on until you find the fish.
They will let you know when they are in the area.
Other methods like trolling Umbrella Rigs and fishing flat and down lines out around the creek mouths will also produce some stripers.
After dark, cast SPRO McSticks or Bomber Long A’s around dock lights, in the creeks and also around the Dam.
Crappie fishing is also picking up.
A majority of Lake Lanier’s crappie are relating to wood.
Lay down trees, brush piles and especially docks with brush are all great places to target.
The majority of the crappie are moving shallower, so if you found them at 20 feet last week, start looking in the 10-15 foot zones this week.
Try fishing a variety of jigs and live minnows.
Move if you don’t get a bite in the first 15 minutes.
If you do catch one, stay in the area as there should be many more close by.
You can email Eric Aldrich at esaldrich@yahoo.com with comments or questions.
Credit: Source link
