Lake Lanier Fishing Reports

Water Temperature: 84 degrees

Lake Level: The lake level continues to be a great concern. The lake level is approximately 1056 and slowly falling. At this time, the boat ramps at Vanns Tavern, Charleston, War Hill, Balus Creek, East Bank, Tidwell, and a few others are open. As mentioned last month, I really expect the fishing this summer to be some of the best ever due to the lack of the normal boat traffic and it is shaping up that way so far. Even though the lake is low, the lake is safer than many people believe. It does pay to be cautious, but the lake is safer than most lakes across the nation at full pool.

Stripers: The most consistent fishing of the year for stripers is now here. The stripers are in very large schools all over the south end of the lake. Some of these schools will have several hundred stripers in them. Some popular areas include Vanns Tavern, Flat Creek, and Orr Creek. Be sure to stay in the main channel of these creeks. Most of the fish will be 30 to 50 feet deep over 80 to 100 feet of water. The best tactic to catch these fish is to downline herring straight under the boat. The downline is basically a Carolina rig used in bass fishing. You need a 1/0 or 2/0 Mustad octopus hook tied to a seven or eight foot 15lb. P-line fluorocarbon leader. Tie the leader to a 1 1/2oz. swivel sinker and you are ready to go. During the summer months, herring are the preferred bait to the stripers. It is very crucial to take good care of the herring during the summer months. A good quality bait tank is very important. If you do not have a quality bait tank be sure to take plenty of ice that does not have chlorine in it. If you do not have a bait tank trolling is also a good tactic. For trolling you will need a reel with lead core line. Lead core is a fabric type line with a lead center to help it get down to the appropriate depth. The lead line is color-coded and with every color you let out it will get your bait bucktail jig or lure down approximately four feet.

Bass: Currently, the topwater bite has continued to hold on with medium sized chrome and blue chug bugs and walk-the-dog baits like the Lucky Craft Pearl White Sammy 128. Typically, this bite will taper off as the water temperature increases. As the water temperature increases, the bass will move deeper and deeper out on the points and move to the brush. Once the bass move to the brush, the graph and GPS coordinates will become crucial to catching good numbers of fish. Once the bass move to the brush, live bait fishing with spottail minnows will become an excellent tactic especially if you have kids. Rig up a dropshot rig with a small light wire live bait hook on eight-pound flouroclear line. For details on the dropshot rig visit your local tackle shop. They will save you a ton of time and you will catch many more fish. Use a 7 or 8 ft radius 3/16” mesh net to catch the spottail minnows. The minnows will be on every sandy beach and boat ramp on the lake. Lure the minnows in with cracker crumbs or grits and throw the net. Be sure to practice throwing the net ahead of time in the yard. It is much easier to learn to throw the net at home on dry land. If you want to use artificials, use the drop shot rig with a 4-inch Zoom watermelon seed meathead worm or similar 4-inch green plastic worm.  Small shad colored worms are an excellent choice as well.

Water Temperature: 72 degrees and slowly rising

Lake Level: The lake level continues to be a great concern. The lake level is approximately 1057.7 and holding fairly steady. At this time, the boat ramps at Vanns Tavern, Charleston, War Hill, Balus Creek, East Bank, Tidwell, and a few others are open. I really expect the fishing this summer to be some of the best ever due to the lack of the normal boat traffic.

 Stripers: The stripers have almost finished spawning and the small schools of stripers are beginning to condense together into the large schools of several hundred at times. . With the schools condensing together, the striper fishing will get better and better. It will not be uncommon to hook several fish at one time. In June, the topwater bite will be on the way out and downlining will take over as the primary way to catch the stripers. Start on the north end and work your way south. The bulk of the fish are on the north end working their way south finishing up the spawning run up the rivers.  Some of the most common areas are Wahoo Creek, Ada Creek, and the mouth of the Chestatee River.  Look for the schools of stripers to be out on the points near deep water on a 20 to 30 foot bottom in the areas mentioned. The basic setup is a seven and a half foot medium-light action rod paired with a bait caster reel with fifteen-pound test. Tie a basic Carolina rig on the end using a one and a half ounce egg sinker for the weight. Be sure to use fluorocarbon as the leader due to the clear water on Lanier. P-line makes the most dependable fluorocarbon on the market. For the hook, tie on a 3/0 Mustad octopus hook. The octopus style hook is smaller in size than most conventional styles of hook allowing the bait to move more freely.

Bass: The topwater fishing for the spotted bass has been behind but is finally developing and we expect it to continue through most of the month. All sizes of spooks from the Houston Bleeding Shad Super Spook to the clear Spook Junior have been effective throughout the day. The Reaction Innovation Vixen has also been very effective. Be sure to walk-the-dog with the spooks and vixens across the points with access to deep water. As the water temperature increase the bass will move deeper and deeper out on the points and move to the brush. Once the bass move to the brush, the graph and GPS coordinates will become crucial to catching good numbers of fish. Once the bass move to the brush, live bait fishing with spot-tail minnows will become an excellent tactic especially if you have kids. Rig up a dropshot rig with a small light wire live bait hook. For details on the dropshot rig visit your local tackle shop. You will also need a 3/16 mesh cast net to catch the spottail minnows. Look for the spottails in shallow water near the boat ramps and shallow beaches.

Captain Clay’s Lake Lanier Fishing Report

April 2008

Water Temperature: 58 degrees

Lake Level: Approx. 1056

Stripers: Finally getting a little rain and a few more boat ramps have opened. Hard to get excited because of how far we are still behind. Last year at this time the lake level was 1068. As anyone can see, if the drought continues this summer, we will be in major trouble. Spring is finally starting to show up and the water temperature is rising fast. As a result, the larger stripers are heading up the rivers to try to spawn. The river system is to short for successful spawning but the stripers still make the attempt to spawn. Peak water temperature for spawning is 65 degrees. April is one of the best months to find the fish shallow. Free lines and planer boards are the ticket this time of year. A free line is simply a plain line with a hook a planer board is a directional devise that helps get the bait away from the boat. Let it out 100 feet behind the boat and slowly move down the bank line. Blueback herring is the best bait for the free line day in and day out on Lake Lanier. Most of your bites will be on the points. Bucktails are accounting for a good number of fish this spring so far. With much of the lake being stained from the rain, try to pick bucktails with some color like chartreuse. Chartreuse is a hard color to beat in stained water.

After dark the striper bite continues, the fish will be in ultra shallow water and provide some explosive strikes. The bait of choice is a 7/8oz. Long –A Bomber in various colors. The three key colors are pink, black, and baby striper. Cast the lure as shallow as possible on shallow flats and sand bars. Reel the lure very slow and the fish will do the rest. Same as in the daytime, the better fishing is up in the warmer creeks. Just be very careful and try to avoid the nights after the rain due to the floating debris.

Bass: During April, the spotted bass will be in various stages. A variety of techniques will catch the fish this month. Keep a rod rigged up with a 3/16oz. Spotsticker jig head with a zoom finesse worm in any color as long as it is green. Baby bass, key lime pie and green pumpkin are three of the best colors this time of year. Work the bait slowly across the bottom. If you feel any pressure set the hook or the fish may be gone. Another excellent technique in April is to throw a 1/8oz. round ball head jighead tipped with a 3 or 4-inch single tail grub in sand or chartreuse sparkle. Work the rocky clay banks and some days you will catch a limit of spotted bass. Try to use 8-pound test line on the jig head. With heavier line you will cut your number of bites. Once the sun gets up and the wind begins to pick up, get out the spinnerbaits. This will produce some better fish. Mini-me spinnerbaits are the most popular on Lake Lanier. Try a 1/2oz. Mini-me with double willow leaf nickel blades and a white skirt. Due to the amount of stained water be sure to keep some chartreuse spinnerbaits in the boat this year. Jerbaits are another choice and will also produce some big fish. The Rapala X-Rap jerkbaits have been doing well for weeks. Cast the bait out on the points and use a jerk- pause-jerk-jerk-pause retrieve. The fish will hit on the pause almost every time. Same as the spinnerbaits, the jerkbaits usually work better on the windier days so that the fish do not get as good a look at the bait. A little stain in the water helps as well.

Crappie: Crappie fishing will continue to be good during April. So far this spring, the crappie fishing has been better than normal. We have been catching some huge slabs in the cast nets while catching gizzard shad for striper fishing. The fish will be shallow as possible most of the time. Look first in the shallow water from two to four feet of water. Look for any brush and trees in the water even if it is a simple single stick up. Anchor near the brush and cast crappie minnows as close to the brush as possible. Use a size 6 or 4 light wire hook with an extra long shank. To be exact, use a 202ELR hook by Eagle Claw. If you are close enough to the brush use a weightless float. If you have kids with you, be sure to use the weighted floats. Most of the weighted floats will be orange or chartreuse and have a band of lead across the bottom. . The better fishing for the most part will be on the north end of the lake due to the stained water. If you fish the south end, try the back of Bald Ridge and Four Mile Creek. The stained water is very important to the crappie fishing on Lanier. The crappie are too spooky in the clear water. If you want to try brush in the clearer water try to fish early or late in the day. The lure of choice is any 1/32 ounce chartreuse and white jig. You really need the very lightweight jig for the slow fall. If you have a hard time getting them to bite try tipping the jig with a minnow. If the water is very stained go to a red and chartreuse jig. One last thing, be sure to use 4 pound test line for the crappie. The crappie are very line sensitive.

Water Temperature: 54 degrees and rising fast
Lake Level: Approx. 1056
Stripers: Finally getting a little rain and a few more boat ramps have opened. Hard to get excited because of how far we are still behind. Last year at this time the lake level was 1068. As anyone can see, if the drought continues this summer, we will be in major trouble. Spring is finally starting to show up and the water temperature is rising fast. As a result, the larger stripers are heading up the rivers to try to spawn. The river system is to short for successful spawning but the stripers still make the attempt to spawn. Peak water temperature for spawning is 65 degrees. April is one of the best months to find the fish shallow. Free lines and planer boards are the ticket this time of year. A free line is simply a plain line with a hook. Let it out 100 feet behind the boat and slowly move down the bank line. Blueback herring is the best bait for the free line day in and day out on Lake Lanier. Most of your bites will be on the points. Bucktails are accounting for a good number of fish this spring so far. With much of the lake being stained from the rain, try to pick bucktails with some color like chartreuse. Chartreuse is a hard color to beat in stained water. After dark the striper bite continues, the fish will be in ultra shallow water and provide some explosive strikes. The bait of choice is a 7/8oz. Long –A Bomber in various colors. The three key colors are pink, black, and baby striper. Cast the lure as shallow as possible on shallow flats and sand bars. Reel the lure very slow and the fish will do the rest. Same as in the daytime, the better fishing is up in the warmer creeks. Just be very careful and try to avoid the nights after the rain due to the floating debris.

Bass: During April, the spotted bass will be in various stages. A variety of techniques will catch the fish this month. Keep a rod rigged up with a 3/16oz. Spotsticker jig head with a zoom finesse worm in any color as long as it is green. Baby bass, key lime pie and green pumpkin are three of the best colors this time of year. Work the bait slowly across the bottom. If you feel any pressure set the hook or the fish may be gone. Another excellent technique in April is to throw a 1/8oz. round ball head jighead tipped with a 3 or 4-inch single tail grub in sand or chartreuse sparkle. Work the rocky clay banks and some days you will catch a limit of spotted bass. Try to use 8-pound test line on the jig head. With heavier line you will cut your number of bites. Once the sun gets up and the wind begins to pick up, get out the spinnerbaits. This will produce some better fish. Mini-me spinnerbaits are the most popular on Lake Lanier. Try a 1/2oz. Mini-me with double willow leaf nickel blades and a white skirt. Due to the amount of stained water be sure to keep some chartreuse spinnerbaits in the boat this year. Jerbaits are another choice and will also produce some big fish. The Rapala X-Rap jerkbaits have been doing well for weeks. Cast the bait out on the points and use a jerk- pause-jerk-jerk-pause retrieve. The fish will hit on the pause almost every time. Same as the spinnerbaits, the jerkbaits usually work better on the windier days so that the fish do not get as good a look at the bait. A little stain in the water helps as well.

Crappie: Crappie fishing will continue to be good during April. So far this spring, the crappie fishing has been better than normal. We have been catching some huge slabs in the cast nets while catching gizzard shad for striper fishing. The fish will be shallow as possible most of the time. Look first in the shallow water from two to four feet of water. Look for any brush and trees in the water even if it is a simple single stick up. Anchor near the brush and cast crappie minnows as close to the brush as possible. Use a size 6 or 4 light wire hook with an extra long shank. To be exact, use a 202ELR hook by Eagle Claw. If you are close enough to the brush use a weightless float. If you have kids with you, be sure to use the weighted floats. Most of the weighted floats will be orange or chartreuse and have a band of lead across the bottom. . The better fishing for the most part will be on the north end of the lake due to the stained water. If you fish the south end, try the back of Bald Ridge and Four Mile Creek. The stained water is very important to the crappie fishing on Lanier. The crappie are too spooky in the clear water. If you want to try brush in the clearer water try to fish early or late in the day. The lure of choice is any 1/32 ounce chartreuse and white jig. You really need the very lightweight jig for the slow fall. If you have a hard time getting them to bite try tipping the jig with a minnow. If the water is very stained go to a red and chartreuse jig. One last thing, be sure to use 4 pound test line for the crappie. The crappie are very line sensitive.

Water Temperature: 47 degrees
Lake Level: Approx. 1051

Stripers: With the lack of boaters on the lake, the striper fishing has been better than normal. The fish are more relaxed than normal. During the week, there are absolutely no boats on the lake. I feel like I am on a different lake. The lake level has come up a little but not as much as expected. We need rain desperately. A few ramps are open so be sure to ask your local tackle shop on the way. Overall, the lake is safer to travel than people believe. Primarily stay in the channel and do not take any shortcuts between islands. Back to the fishing, the baitfish have pulled up into the back of the creeks and the stripers are right with them. Same as last month, downlines 25 to 30 ft deep with small trout have been the best tactic. Use a shorter leader this time of year compared to the summer months. A four or five foot leader is sufficient this time of year. Use a 3/0 or 4/0 Mustad Octopus hook with the trout. If the seagulls are working the surface, switch to a free line with a larger eight to ten inch trout. On the larger trout switch the hook to a 5/0 Kahle hook and use a heavier leader. This is a good time to catch a big fish. February and March are the best months to catch a trophy striped bass. If you want to catch a trophy do not hesitate to pull a 12 to 14 inch bait. You will not catch many fish due to the smaller fish not being to swallow the big baits but it is worth it this time of year. If February continues to be ice cold, look for a good shad kill. Spoons will come back into play. Fish the bait vertically along the bottom in the creek channels.

Bass: The bass reports have been few in number, but most have said the fishing is better than normal for this time of year. First of all, remember the water is cold so fish slowly. Same as the stripers, the better fishing is up in the creeks. The shad are all up in the creeks. As mentioned in the striper report, it looks like we may get a shad kill. If this develops, spoons will be the bait of choice. Start out with a ½ oz. Flex-it spoon or Georgia Blade spoon. Start in the back of the creeks and work your way out. Work the bait along the bottom near the large pods of baitfish. Be sure to check any point thoroughly. Look for a twenty to thirty foot bottom for the most part. Do not be afraid to try out deeper if the bait is located out in deeper water. If the bass do not want to hit the spoon, try a Texas rig. Use the same shades of green for the worms as any other time of the year. Natural colored worms are also a good choice this time of year like the Zoom natural blue finesse worm. Work the Texas rig slowly along the bottom and go slow. Do not get the wrong idea; the Texas rig is a vertical presentation this time of year. Lastly, if the water starts to warm with some nice spring weather go to the jerkbaits or crankbaits. Look for lightly stained water but not muddy. Stained water warms faster than clear water.

Crappie: Crappie fishing is already on the upswing. The fish are concentrated under the deep-water docks. The better fishing for the most part will be on the north end of the lake due to the stained water. The stained water is very important to the crappie fishing on Lanier. The crappie are too spooky in the clear water. The lure of choice is any 1/32 ounce chartreuse and white jig. You really need the very lightweight jig for the slow fall. If the water is more stained, go to a red and chartreuse jig. The fish will almost always be in the shade of the docks. The best docks will be the ones that hold brush. Look for rod holders and minnow buckets on the docks to help narrow your search and save you time. One last thing, be sure to use 4 pound test line for the crappie. The crappie are very line sensitive.

Water Temperature: 53 degrees
Lake Level: Approx. 1051

Stripers: Very few boaters on the lake for the obvious reason. The lake continues to drop below record lows. Hopefully, the lake will begin to rise any day. Only two ramps are open and they are marginal. For the few who have ventured onto the lake, they have been rewarded with some good fishing. The baitfish have pulled up into the back of the creeks and the stripers are right with them. Most days, downlines 25 to 30 ft deep with small trout have been the best tactic. Use a shorter leader this time of year compared to the summer months. A four or five foot leader is sufficient this time of year. Use a 3/0 or 4/0 Mustad Octopus hook with the trout. If the seagulls are working the surface, switch to a free line with a larger eight to ten inch trout. On the larger trout switch the hook to a 5/0 Kahle hook and use a heavier leader. This is a good time to catch a big fish. The striper in the picture came on an eight-inch trout under some diving birds. Spoons continue to catch a few fish but not as many as expected for this time of year. Bucktails are accounting for a few fish early and late in the day up shallow. Lastly, don’t be surprised when a magnum spot bites the striper bucktail. More than one bass tournament has been won this time of year throwing striper designed bucktails.

Bass: From what I have been hearing, the bass fishing has been fair to good. Most of the tournaments have been canceled due to the lack of ramps. As a result, I have been getting fewer reports about the bass. The spoon bite has not been as good as expected but that could change any day. Same as the stripers, the better fishing is up in the creeks. The water is cold so fish slowly. Jigs are always a favorite this time of year. Start with brown and green colored jigs. Tip the jigs with plastic twin tail trailers in the same green and brown colors. One of the most popular brown colors on Lanier is Cinnamon Pepper. If the water is really cold go to the pork trailers. Some nice bass have been shallow. Jerkbaits worked really really slow will pick up some of these fish. As mentioned earlier, bucktails used striper fishing will also pick up some nice bass this time of year. Start in the back of the creeks with the bait and reel these bucktails slowly with an occasional hop.

Water Temperature: 58 degrees

Lake Level: Approx. 1052 & Falling

Stripers:   As everyone knows the lake levels are at record lows on Lake Lanier right now. Looking back to last years records we are around ten feet lower than last year. Almost all of the boat ramps are closed. At this time, Tidwell and Shoal Creek ramps continue to be open. Overall, the lake is safe to travel just be sure to stay in the channel. The low lake levels are really hurting all the local boat dealers, tackle shops, and other businesses connected to the lake. As expected, the cooling water temperatures have the stripers feeding for the winter. The fish are making a move to the north end of the lake but not as strong as last year. On the south end, the fish are in the mouth of the creeks.  As it continues to get colder the fish will move farther back into the creeks. A variety of techniques will be required to catch the fish on a consistent basis this time of year.  Be sure to keep a 1/4oz. or 3/8oz. white   bucktail tied on for any fish on the surface. On the bucktail use a 4 inch white pearl Zoom fluke jr. Early and late in the evening, do not hesitate to cast to the bank and slowly retrieve the bait with a short hop action on 12 lb. test clear Sufix line.  A few fish continue to be caught on Redfins but this will taper off as the water temperature drops. Concerning live bait, trout and blue back herring will need to be pulled on free lines with a 5 foot 15 pound fluorocarbon leader. So far this winter, the trout have been catching a few more fish than the herring. The fish caught on trout have been better size as well. Use a Mustad 5/0  kahle hook on the trout or a Mustad 5/0 octopus hook. On the herring use a Mustad 2/0 octopus hook. Free lines consist of nothing more than a hook. Drop the bait 100 to 150 feet behind the boat and slowly move along with the trolling motor. Planer boards   are catching fish as well. Yellow Bird continues to make some of the best planer boards on the market. Clip the board twenty to thirty feet in front of the hook and drift the board out from the boat another 70 feet. Be sure to keep the down lines in the boat you used in the summer months. Sometimes the fish may move deeper depending on the weather. Look for the large pods of baitfish and drop right above them. As I mentioned last year, there is a growing population of anglers on the lake who strictly fly fish for stripers and they do very well this time of year.  Also, there is a growing population of fishermen fishing from kayaks on the lake and they do very well.

Bass: December is a fun month to fish for bass on Lake Lanier. The weather is usually not that bad. Some mornings will be cold but the peace and quiet make up for it. Very very few people are out on the lake right now. Spoons and jigs will be the two key baits you have to have on the boat. Just like the stripers, the better bass fishing will be up in the creeks due to the location of all the baitfish. The spoon bite is already falling into place and will be best as the water temperature gets around fifty-five degrees. A .6 white foil flex-it spoon is the number one spoon on Lanier. Another good spoon is the Georgia Blade spoon.  At times you will need a ½ oz. white foil flex-it spoon as well. A good rule of thumb is that the deeper you are fishing the heavier spoon you will need. Look for the fish on the electronics, but do not be limited to fishing only when you see fish. Fish any point that makes a narrow spot in the creek channels. Sometimes the fish are tight to the bottom. Drop the spoon right on top of the fish’s head or right off the bottom. . Work the spoon by raising your rod tip and lowering it slowly so the spoon flutters back to the bottom. Most of your bites will be on the fall. Where there is one, there will be many more. Variations of brown and green jigs will also be important to keep in the boat. The jig also is known to produce more quality fish. A ¼ oz. or 3/8 oz.  brown jig tipped with a cinnamon pepper twin tail grub is the number one bass jig. Local companies like Georgia Blade and Hornet Lures, make an excellent jig for this type of fishing. Yamamoto and Zoom bait companies make the most popular twin tail grubs. 

Captain Clay’s Lake Lanier Fishing Report

November 2007

Water Temperature: 72 degrees

LakeLanier Water Level: Approx. 1056.27 and Falling

Stripers: Fishing has been great on the lake for stripers despite the lake levels. The hardest part is finding a boat ramp that is open. At this time, several ramps are open on each side of the lake. The last public ramp to close will be Tidwell Ramp on the western side of the lake. It will close I believe when the lake drops to 1051. The fish are just starting to school on top. In years past, the years with lower lake levels were the best topwater bite and I expect the same this year especially with the lack of boats on the lake. If you can get out on the water, this is the time to go on Lanier. I doubt you will ever get a time again with the lack of boat traffic on a consistent basis. Keep the topwater baits tied on and look for schooling fish. Some of these schools of stripers will have several hundred fish in them and be visible for several hundreds of yards away. Some of the best days will be the days with a good amount of cloud cover. Start your search on the south end of the lake near the dam and work your way north. Two of the diehard favorite topwater baits on Lanier are the chrome and blue 7 inch Redfin and the Houston Bleeding Shad Super Spook. The Redfin should v-wake across the surface with a steady retrieve. The Spook requires a twitch type retrieve that causes the bait to zig-zag across the surface called walking the dog. If the fish become very finicky and do not want to take a surface plug try a smaller lure like a 1/4oz. bucktail and light line. When the stripers become finicky they are feeding on smaller baitfish called threadfin shad.

Bass: November is usually a very good month for the bass on Lanier. The bass have been taking topwater baits this past month very well and this will hold into part of November depending on the weather and water temperature. Once the water cools, spoons and jigs will be the two key baits you have to have on the boat. A .6 white foil flex-it spoon and a Georgia Blade spoon are the number one spoons on Lanier. At times you will need a ½ oz. white foil flex-it spoon as well. A good rule of thumb is that the deeper you are fishing the heavier spoon you will need. Look for the fish on the electronics. Drop the spoon right on top of the fish’s head. Work the spoon by raising your rod tip and lowering it slowly so the spoon flutters back to the bottom. Most of your bites will be on the fall. Variations of brown and green jigs will also be important to keep in the boat. A ¼ oz. brown jig tipped with a cinnamon pepper twin tail grub is the number one bass jig. Local companies like Georgia Blade make an excellent jig for this type of fishing. You want to tip the jig with a twin tail grub trailer. If the weather is windy, keep the spinnerbaits and jerkbaits on hand. A ½ oz white mini-me spinnerbait with white blades and a ghost minnow Lucky Craft Flash Minnow jerkbait are a couple of the favorites. Swimbaits which are the rage across the nation will pick up a good number of bass as well. One of the current favorites is the Triple Trout. Be careful on the lake and good fishing.

Captain Clay’s Lake Lanier Fishing Report

October 2007

Water Temperature: 89 degrees

Lake Level: Approx. 1062.5 and Falling

Stripers: This summer the weather has been extremely hot and the striper fishing has been the same. This has been the best summer for numbers in six or seven years. Look for the summer downline fishing to continue to be strong until the middle of September. Once the fall weather begins to arrive in late September look for the fishing to be a little more unpredictable. For the most part, the days before fronts will be good and the days after fronts will be more difficult. Some of the best fishing days of my life have been in early October and some of my worst have been in early October. I am hoping for a better than normal topwater bite this October for several reasons. Fishing has been better than normal all year due to a great year class of fish in the 8 to 10lb range, which is also the size to most likely to school on top. Also, we have had a hotter than normal summer so maybe fall will come early. Same as the last two months, the fish are grouped up into very large schools. The better fishing will continue to be on the south end of the lake mostly in sight of the dam. Do not put out bait until you see some fish on the graph. This time of year good electronics are crucial. Any of the Lowrance products are a great. Be sure to turn off the Fish I.D. on your graph. For the most part, the fish will be 30 to 40 feet deep over 60 to 100 feet of water. Some of the better fish will be as deep as 100 feet. If using live bait, drop your bait just above the schools of fish. Use a 7ft leader of 15lb Sunline fluorocarbon and a 2/0 Mustad octopus hook. Tie the 15lb leader under a 2 oz. swivel sinker. If trolling, use the 27lb. lead core. Overall, the trolling bite has been fair so far this year. Lead core is a color coated weighted line used to get a lure to a deeper depth. Use a 2oz. white chipmonk jig tipped with a 6 inch chartreuse trailer or a live herring. Tipping the jigs with live herring has been the best day in and day out. Pulling white swimbaits and 600 Series Cisco Kids have been producing some bigger fish as well. Put the jig out 8 to 9 colors and troll at 2.5 to 3 mph. In September you usually have to go 9 colors to get the bait deep enough. Lastly, with the high water temperature remember to get the fish back in the water as soon as possible. The hot surface water holds very little oxygen. Drop the fish head first into the water. If the fish is out of the water for more than 30 seconds it will most likely die.

Bass: Not much good to report on the spotted bass. From what I have been hearing the hot days have been making the spotted bass a little slower than normal for this time of year. The larger spotted bass on the lake are heading to the edges of the deeper structure. Once again, electronics are crucial to finding the brush piles and standing timber. The most productive technique will be to use live spottail minnows on a dropshot rig. The dropshot rig consists of a size 2 or 4 light wire mosquito hook rigged 18 to 24 inches above a clip-on type sinker. The spottail minnows can sometimes be purchased at the tackle store but most of the time you will have to catch them yourself. Use a 7 or 8 ft radius 3/16” mesh net to catch the spottail minnows. The minnows will be on every sandy beach and boat ramp on the lake. Lure the minnows in with cracker crumbs or grits. If you want to use artificials, use the drop shot rig with a 4-inch Aaron’s magic Roboworm or similar 4-inch green plastic worm. Do not overlook a .6 white foil Flex-it spoon for these spots on the deeper brush this time of year. Just be careful and try to drop the spoon to the edges of the brush. You can also replace the factory treble hook with a light wire treble so you can straighten out the hooks when you snag the brush. In late September when the fall fronts begin to arrive be sure to keep the spinnerbaits and jerkbaits in the boat. Cast the spinnerbaits to any point with deep water. Variations of white spinnerbaits are the standby on Lanier due to the clear water. Some days can be killer for big spots. With the lake levels dropping, expect to catch some fish on top water as well. The reason being the brush will be closer to the surface. The bigger baits like Super Spooks (nickel color) and Sammy 128s (salty chrome color) will pull the fish up out of the deeper brush. For some reason, nickel has been the better color this year overall. Once again, the people who know where the deep brush is located will be the most successful.

Water Temperature: 89 degrees

Lake Level: Approx. 1062.5 and Falling

Stripers:   This summer the weather has been extremely hot and the striper fishing has been the same. This has been the best summer for numbers in six or seven years. Look for the summer downline fishing to continue to be strong until the middle of September. Once the fall weather begins to arrive in late September look for the fishing to be a little more unpredictable. For the most part, the days before fronts will be good and the days after fronts will be more difficult. Some of the best fishing days of my life have been in early October and some of my worst have been in early October.  I am hoping for a better than normal topwater bite this October for several reasons. Fishing has been better than normal all year due to a great year class of fish in the 8 to 10lb range, which is also the size to most likely to school on top. Also, we have had a hotter than normal summer so maybe fall will come early. Same as the last two months, the fish are grouped up into very large schools. The better fishing will continue to be on the south end of the lake mostly in sight of the dam. Do not put out bait until you see some fish on the graph. This time of year good electronics are crucial. Any of the Lowrance products are a great. Be sure to turn off the Fish I.D. on your graph. For the most part, the fish will be 30 to 40 feet deep over 60 to 100 feet of water. Some of the better fish will be as deep as 100 feet. If using live bait, drop your bait just above the schools of fish.  Use a 7ft leader of 15lb Sunline fluorocarbon and a 2/0 Mustad octopus hook. Tie the 15lb leader under a 2 oz. swivel sinker. If trolling, use the 27lb. lead core. Overall, the trolling bite has been fair so far this year.  Lead core is a color coated weighted line used to get a lure to a deeper depth.  Use a 2oz. white chipmonk jig tipped with a 6 inch chartreuse trailer or a live herring.  Tipping the jigs with live herring has been the best day in and day out. Pulling white swimbaits and 600 Series Cisco Kids have been producing some bigger fish as well. Put the jig out 8 to 9 colors and troll at 2.5 to 3 mph.  In September you usually have to go 9 colors to get the bait deep enough.    Lastly, with the high water temperature remember to get the fish back in the water as soon as possible.  The hot surface water holds very little oxygen.  Drop the fish head first into the water. If the fish is out of the water for more than 30 seconds it will most likely die.

Bass:  Not much good to report on the spotted bass. From what I have been hearing the hot days have been making the spotted bass a little slower than normal for this time of year. The larger spotted bass on the lake are heading to the edges of the deeper structure. Once again, electronics are crucial to finding the brush piles and standing timber. The most productive technique will be to use live spottail minnows on a dropshot rig. The dropshot rig consists of a size 2 or 4 light wire mosquito hook rigged 18 to 24 inches above a clip-on type sinker.  The spottail minnows can sometimes be purchased at the tackle store but most of the time you will have to catch them yourself. Use a 7 or 8 ft radius 3/16” mesh net to catch the spottail minnows. The minnows will be on every sandy beach and boat ramp on the lake. Lure the minnows in with cracker crumbs or grits. If you want to use artificials, use the drop shot rig with a 4-inch Aaron’s magic Roboworm or similar 4-inch green plastic worm. Do not overlook a .6 white foil Flex-it spoon for these spots on the deeper brush this time of year.  Just be careful and try to drop the spoon to the edges of the brush. You can also replace the factory treble hook with a light wire treble so you can straighten out the hooks when you snag the brush.  In late September when the fall fronts begin to arrive be sure to keep the spinnerbaits and jerkbaits in the boat. Cast the spinnerbaits to any point with deep water. Variations of white spinnerbaits are the standby on Lanier due to the clear water. Some days can be killer for big spots. With the lake levels dropping, expect to catch some fish on top water as well. The reason being the brush will be closer to the surface. The bigger baits like Super Spooks (nickel color) and Sammy 128s (salty chrome color) will pull the fish up out of the deeper brush.  For some reason, nickel has been the better color this year overall. Once again, the people who know where the deep brush is located will be the most successful.