Level: Lake is full
Clarity: Main lake clear, creeks stained
Temperature: 70s
Bass: Bass fishing on Lanier is challenging right now. The combination of the weather changes and the bass being in post-spawn have created a fishing situation that takes some patience and work.
While it may be difficult for some, there are some good bags of fish being coming in. The top water bite has slowed a few weeks ago but should be increasing quickly with the warmer weather that we have coming up. As the temperature finally goes above 70 and the bass recovering from spawn this bite should explode.
Work a walking bait such as a Spook or Sammy on long points, reef poles and 15- to 25-foot deep brush. If the fish don’t want to come to the surface work a Sebile or Kitech over the same areas. Move up on the brush and utilize a drop shot to catch bass. On days that have wind work with a noise bait such as a small Whopper Plopper, Chug Bug or Pencil Popper.
It seems that chrome is working better on bright sunny days and bone or white is working better on cloudy days. When you move away from the brush a Carolina Rig worked on 20-foot deep humps will draw some strikes. A small green pumpkin lizard has been a very steady bait to use. When you are looking at dock fishing work the docks that are 15 feet deep or less with a shakey head. Right now you need to start the day with an open mind and work through the various patterns to see what they want that day. Lanier bass can change their mind hour to hour so be flexible. They are out there to catch but you may have to work a little Go Catch ‘Em!
Report by: Phil Johnson: pjohnson15@hotmail.com, 770-366-8845.
Crappie: Crappie fishing is good. Water temperatures are in the low 70s. The hot bite target zone is 10-15 foot deep. The crappie are on the docks and also can be found on open water brush piles and blow downs. I always put out a crappie minnow. If you have live scope or active imaging set the minnows just above the fish. Right now I am setting the minnows around 10 to 12 feet deep. For best results use a live minnow.
Look under docks that are in 20 to 40 feet of water near a main channel and have brush or structure use your electronic charts to locate these areas.
Remember crappie love the shade so cast into the shadows of a dock. Try different Jigs colors and jig styles jigs can be used for short casting, vertical jigging, trolling or dock shooting. When dock shooting the biggest fish are usually the first to hit. Let your jig sink and give it time to get down to the fish and retrieve your jig slowly. The most productive jig colors are chartreuse and green (blue grass) and the White with chartreuse tail (monkey milk). Recently I was 50 percent minnows and 50 percent jigs. I’m using ATX lure company’s plastics that can be purchased locally at Sherries Bait and BBQ or the Dam Store. I use the K9 5 pound test high visibility yellow braid for my line (unless I am using a bobber) and a Piscifun reel on an Acc crappie Stix. I use Garmin Live Scope and the Navionics Boating app.
Report by: Captain Josh Thornton, 770-530-6493.
