Lake level: 1.45 over full pool
Clarity: Clear
Temperature: 80s
Bass: Bass fishing on Lanier has been good to excellent. The August blues of bass fishing seem to have skipped Lanier this year. Usually this time of year the fishing gets very tough as the temperature gets miserable but not this year.
The bass are still actively feeding and it is not uncommon to see schooling fish. One recent Monday was one of the magical days on Lanier when it seemed like fish were everywhere. I spoke with several other boats that also had an excellent day with reports of catching 30-plus fish for the day with some good size included. It was a day where they pretty much bit everything. The bite was driven by wind and the approaching tropical storm. Top water and weightless jerkshad did most of the damage. With the wind the Chug Bug, Gunfish and Whopper Plopper were the main baits for good top water action. All three of these baits will perform better with wind.
The fish are on main lake humps and long points in 15 to 30 feet of water. Brush on these areas is definitely a plus. One thing to be aware of is if you catch a fish from over the brush be aware that the entire school of fish there may follow your caught fish to the boat. If so, you may want to leave for a while and return. This gives the fish time to reposition.
A white pearl Jerkshad produced a lot of fish recently. Make a long cast and work this bait very quickly for 10 feet and stop it. Be ready for a bite on the fall. There were several days with no wind and just hot temperatures, this is when the dropshot paid off. Working the Fruity Worm Blue Lily or Morning Dawn on the dropshot with a two foot leader seemed to be the magic ticket.
Use your electronics to determine whether you need to drop this bait directly into the brush or if the fish are scattered around it. While the fishing is good please be aware of the temperatures. Be sure to drink plenty of fluids to not let the heat knock you out of a good day of fishing. The bass are chewing so Go catch ’em!
Report by: Phil Johnson, pjohnson15@hotmail.com,
770 366 8845.
Crappie: Crappie fishing is good. The hot bite zone is 10 to 15 feet deep.
Don’t be afraid to look at your shallow water spots you might like what you find. Just because someone told you crappie only bite in deep water in the summer they might not have told the fish. 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 this week the crappie just wanted a minnow 98 percent of the time.
If you have live scope or active imaging set the minnows just above the fish. Right now I am setting the minnows around 10’-15’ deep. For best results use an active minnow, not a dead minnow. Look under covered docks that are in 20 to 40 feet of water and near a main channel look for 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 jig colors and jig styles. The recent hot color is a solid white soft plastic. Jigs can be used for short casting, vertical jigging, trolling or dock shooting.
When dock shooting the biggest fish are usually the first to bite. Let your jig sink and give it time to get down to the fish and retrieve your jig slowly. I’m using ATX lure company’s plastics along with five-pound test high visibility yellow braid for my line (unless I am using a bobber) and a Piscifun reel on a Acc crappie Stix. I use Garmin Live Scope and the Navionics Boating app.
Report by:
Captain Josh Thornton, 770 530-6493.