Lake level: Down 5.83 feet
Temperature: 40s
Clarity: Mostly stained
BASS: Bass fishing on Lake Lanier is good. The bass haven’t changed a lot in the last several days and with the lower water temperature they should stay fairly consistent for the winter.
Three main techniques have been steadily producing good bags of fish. There are three different ranges to check right now with the less than 25 feet being the first. Use a quarter ounce Shakey Head with a Tamale green Trickster worm or a Fork Tail Zoom worm in green pumpkin on the sunny rocky points or shallower docks and walkways.
This time of year, there can be some big largemouth living around the shallow docks in the backs of the coves so check those early. As the bass pull out of the backs of coves in the mornings target the 25- to 40-foot areas in the ditches with a three eights Spot Choker with a one aught hook and a two eight Keitech in Electric Shad or Tennessee Shad colors. Work this bait very slowly along the sides and middle of the ditch and watch the FFS for fish to target.
The half ounce Georgia Blade spoon has been producing solid fish in the 40- to 60-foot range and around any balls of shad. Use a direct drop on the deeper bass and try to stay directly over them. Often there will be only see one or two fish moving but once you hook one your screen lights up with others coming off the bottom. Watch for the suspended bass in the top of the structure and adjust the depth of the spoon to catch them. It’s just a three-step process each day to find the depth that the bass are active so bundle up and Go Catch ‘Em! Stay Warm!
Report by: Phil Johnson; pjohnson15@hotmail.com, 770 366-8845.
STRIPERS: Stripers are still biting all over the place, most people are fishing north of Brown’s Bridge but most of the creeks have fish inside. Using the electronics and the birds to find the fish and put a spread out using a variety of baits blue backs, trout, gizzard shad and shiners will work so put them in front of the fish.
I’ve heard that anglers may need to be creative if they’re bait shy. Try putting the hook in the different areas of the bait, belly or dorsal fin or even the tail, and remember to have a top water plug ready if they come up close to the boat.
Report by: Buck Cannon, 404-510-1778.
CRAPPIE: Crappie fishing is good the water temperatures are in the upper 40s and the lake is still down. Crappie are suspended in open water at 5 to 8 feet deep in open water and main creek channels and on deep water docks. Minnows are working well and the jig color of choice is d2d by ATX lures’ 1.25 inch flat tail green color. For your best fishing experience consider using the following equipment: a one piece ACC Crappie Stix rod and reel paired with 4- or 6-pound test K9 line with a Atx lure company jig. Further optimize your efforts with a Garmin LiveScope.
Report by: Captain Josh Thornton, 770 530-6493.
