Lake Lanier Fishing Reports

Fishing continues to be great on Lanier for striped bass. Most days the weather has just been incredible. The water temperature is better than normal and fishing is definitely better than the last two years this time due to this great weather. The stripers are deep on the downline. Most of our fish are coming on medium trout 30 ft deep near the big pods of bait. Also we are catching a few stripers and spotted bass on spoons. Most of the fish ahve been 8 to 12 pounds but a few nice ones are mixed in here and there. Overall, fishing continues to be great.

Fishing has been consistently good on Lake Lanier the last couple of weeks. We are not running up huge number but we have been catching some nice fish each day. Also catching some huge spotted bass while we are striper fishing. Most of our fish are coming on free lines and planer boards. I would say the planer board has been very important. The planer boards are catching the bulk of the fish. The bait of choice very day has been live trout. Now that some colder weather has finally arrived look for the fish to push further up into the creeks. The good thing about this is that it keep us out of the wind. Little bit easier to stay warm. Last December was a big month for us so hopefully this year will be the same. Hope to see you out there,

Fishing has been pretty good on Lanier the last couple of weeks now that turnover is out of the way. On days when the wind is calm we are seeing a good bit of surface activity and we have been able to catch the stripers casting small baits. Once the wind picks up we have been fishing very deep downlines. as a matter of fact, yesterday we caught stripers on the surface at daylight and shortly after the sun came out and we began to catch the stripers 70 feet deep on the downlines. The good news has been the fish have stayed in the same areas day after day. Very few people will be on the lake this coming week. Everyone will be going the following week. Makes this a great week to be on the lake. Many people are asking us about the low lake levels. The low lake levels make no difference to us. The lake is safe and we will be out every day. Hope to see you out there,

The topwater bite is here on Lake Lanier. The stripers are beginning to school on top and some of the group are fairly large. We are catching most of the fish on seven inch redfins in the chicken scratch and chrome and blue colors. Windy bad weather days have been some of the best fishing so don’t let the weather keep you off the lake. The topwater bite should continue until about the second week of November. Then we will be using more live bait including rainbow trout as bait. This is also a good time to catch a big fish up the river but we have not been up that way as much. Most of the topwater fishing is on the dead opposite end of the lake down near the dam. Time to get out and enjoy Fall. See you out there.

Fishing continues to be pretty good here on Lanier. Water temperature continues to hang around 84 degrees which is keeping the fish deep but not as deep as expected. The water quality is better than normal due to the lack of rain and the stripers are on a 40 ft bottom. Most years they do not pull up to the 40 ft bottom until late September so maybe fall is going to come early. Over the next few weeks look for us to contiue fishng the downline. We have caught some big fish recently and plan to contiue to do so in the next two months. October especially is a big fish month.  The topwater  bite that may of you are waiting for will most likely begin around October 11 which is the full moon.  Try to book ahead if you plan to go around the full moon. The ones who have experienced the big days around the full moon if the weather falls right are already making plans. Some of the best days I have ever had on Lake Lanier came on the full moon in October.  The night bite on Lake Lanier called the long a bomber bite should also start the first week of October. Great way to spend the evening with a four hour night trip starting about an hour before dark to catch a little topwater as well. Come see us soon. Lets go catching not fishing.

Hard to believe two months have gone by since my last report. Been really busy chasing the fish on the lake with the good weather. Over the past few weeks we have been throwing topwater for the stripers and spotted bass. However with the unexpected hot May the topwater bite and quickly turned to the downline bite. The good news about the downline bite is that we normally catch better numbers of fish. Also we have less fronts which leads to more consistent fishing. Now is the time to get the kids out on the water. June, July, and August are our busiest months with good reason.

Right now the striped bass are pulling off the points out over the timber. The north end is still the most consistent location but places like Two Mile Creek, Four Mile Creek, and Six MIle are not bad choices either. Right now, the fish are 25 to 40 feet deep. We are dropping our downlines 25 to 30 feet deep over the top of the first timber off the points. Still some fish on the deep brush but I feel these are mostly small fish. They can be easily caught on umbrella rigs. Be sure to take as much bait as you possibly can hold safely in your tank. You will need them. Fresh bait is crucial this time of year. Depending on how long I am fishing, I am normally taking 5 to 8 dozen of baits. The bait of choice is blue back herring. we are using a 2/0 mustad octopus hook and twelve to 15 pound test on the line. Flourocarbon is very important.  See you out on the lake.

April is almost here and the stripers are getting ready to spawn.  The water temperature is finally climbing into the high fifties and some big fish are showing up. As always for this time of year, we are not catching big numbers of fish but we are making up for it in size. Now is the best time of the year to catch a  big fish. We are pulling some really big baits that are over a pound in size so this is one reason we are not catching as many of the small fish.  Hard for a eight pound fish to swallow a  pound and a half gizzard shad. Also this is due to location of the fish.  Most of the smaller fish stay on the south end of the lake. They do not have the spawning urge to head north into the rivers. The larger fish do and this is why we tend to fish more on the north end of the lake. For the numbers, we are also catching some spotted bass that range from 2 to 5 pounds. Friday we boated one spotted bass that weighted 6 pounds. Overall, fishing this time of year is really busy for us. The weather is great, less boats on the water, and it is a great time to catcha trophy. Hope to see you soon. Thanks Clay C

March 29 2011

All kinds of things going on the lake right now with the rapidly changing weather. During the daylight hours, the striper fishing has been a little tougher due to some of the fish feeding at night.  As a result, some of trips have been during the day and some at night. During the day, we have been using freelines with herring trolled behind the boat.  This is also the best time of the year to catch a big fish so don’t be surprised to see us put out a bait that is over a pound. While we are trolling the live bait we are also casting bucktails for the fish that are right up on the banks. Most days we are catching more fish on the bucktail than live bait. This is not surprising this time of year. Overall, we are still not catching big numbers of stripers during the daytime. If you don’t have but two people in your group the night bite is not a bad idea. Some nights if the weather is right you can run up some good numbers in a short period of time.
On another note, we are catching a lot of crappie.  The next few weeks are the best time of the year to take young kids fishing. I am going to be running some short 2 hour trips during the weekdays after lunch except Thursday. This is the best way to introduce the little ones to fishing. Spring break is coming quick and it is one of the busiest weeks of the year for us so please try to call ahead as much as possible. We look forward to seeing you out there. Be sure to check out the video I did the other evening. Kids Fishing

The last couple of weeks the striper fishing has been tough on Lake Lanier. The fish are up feeding some early in the morning but they have been very difficult to catch even on small bait and small bucktails. Some of the pods of baitfish are absolutely massive. The good news is the weather is finally going to make a turn for the better early next week. Looks like we are going to get a good stretch of weather in the mid-fifties which will warm the shallow water and the fish will make a strong push to the back of the creeks. Once this happens fishing will improve greatly for the stripers. I am really excited about the forecast next week. Some big fish should start showing up soon. February and March are always the best two months of the year for a big fish. Don’t be surprised if you see us pulling some really big gizzard shad like the one in the following video we filmed a couple years ago at this same time of year: Striper Video Starting next week we should also be catching some fish on bucktails in the same areas as we are pulling the big baits. We also just got back from a trip to Tenn. We did not catch many but we did catch some nice fish like the one in the photo.

On another note the crappie fishing is also on the upswing. If you want a mess of fish to eat now is the time to go fishing. The crappie are up under the deep water docks and when you find them you will catch a bunch. If you plan on bringing kids for crappie fishing plan on bringing them the first two weeks of April. The crappie will be much shallower and easier for the kids to catch. If you have never been crappie fishing, this is the best way to introduce a kid to fishing. The action is faster paced and perfect for kids. Personally, I look forward each year to Spring Break because I spend the whole week taking kids fishing. However, please book as early as possible. The first two weeks of April are a couple of the busiest weeks of the year for us. See you on the water.

The new year is really starting out great. The stripers are out on the points and humps. for the most part, the stripers are 20 to 30 feet deep on the points. The best pattern to catch the fish has been the umbrella rig. The good thing is you usually know when you are going to get a bite and it is not uncommon to catch two fish or more at the same time just like in the photo. The north end and the south end have been about equal. As I am writing this report, we have just received 2 inches or more of warm rain which will really warm up the back of the creeks. The resulting stain will also warm the water with the first sunny day. Depending on the weather, we hope to see the bait and fish pull on up into the back of the creeks. Don’t be surprised if the big fish time of the year shows up early. February and March typically the best two months of the year to catch a trophy striper on Lake Lanier. December was colder than normal and if January is warmer than normal look for the big fish bite to be early. We will be pulling some big gizzards very soon. Ready to catch the big one.