Lake level: Full
Clarity: Clear in main lake, creeks stained
Temperature: 60s
Bass: Bass fishing on Lake Lanier is good. The early winter movement of the bass is on right now. The turnover is starting to finish up and water temperature is dropping. This combination has the fish moving in both directions, making multiple baits work. There is a shallow bite on rocky points and banks, especially during the first two hours of the day. A Rapala DT6 crankbait banged through the rocks will draw these shallow bites. Also, a worm on a three-sixteenth Spotsticker will work well in the same areas. Shallow docks are also a prime spot now for the worm or jig bite. As the sun gets higher it is time to check the deeper water areas. Standing timber and ditches are beginning to hold fish so a Georgia Blade half-ounce spoon is a great way to target the fish you see in these areas. The other key bait we have been using is the Spot Choker underspin worked very slowly through these areas. I’ve been using either a pearl white Fluke Junior or Super Fluke on this setup. I have been really impressed with the number of fish I can catch before I have to change Flukes on the Spot Choker. The key to catching the deeper fish is to utilize your electronics to find the shad and target the fish. The shad are not grouped everywhere right now so you will have to do some searching as they tend to move around.
We have also caught some good stripers with the spoon in the deeper water. Right now you can catch fish as deep as 50 feet. The drop shot in the deeper brush has also produced fish. The Blue Lily, Prism Shad and Morning Dawn have been the most consistent colors. I do recommend going to at least a quarter ounce to three eights ounce weight to get to these deep fish. It can be important to get the bait down quickly on the fish you see and it helps during windy conditions. As you can see there are fish from the dirt to 50 feet currently so be flexible to using different patterns and depths to find what is working best each day. They are biting so go catch ‘em!
Striper: Striper fishing is up and down. The fish are scattered lake-wide and can be found from the Dam to Clarks Bridge and from the main lake channel to the back of the creeks. There is a considerable amount of bait hanging out at the 40- to 50-foot level on the south end of the lake. Check the areas with the greatest concentration of bait and deploy the down rods. There are a good number of schooling fish moving on the north end of the lake which can be found primarily from the lake channel to mid-way back into the creeks. These fish are moving so spend time with the Lowrance finding them. Pull umbrella rigs and set them at 120 feet back and pull at 2.8 to 3.0 mph. Focus on a depth of 30 to 60 feet.
Report by: Lake Lanier fishing guide Phil Johnson, pjohnson15@hotmail.com, 770 366-8845.
Crappie: Crappie fishing is excellent! The jigs I had success with recently are the transparent white and orange and a green hair jig. Crappie can still be found on deep water brush. We have found large crappie at 20-25 feet deep on brush and we are getting large numbers but smaller fish on docks holding in 10 to 15 feet of water. Use your electronics to locate structure or bush piles. Crappie love the shade so cast into the shadows.
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.
Report by: Captain Josh Thornton, 770 530-6493.
