Water Temperature: 72 degrees & rising
Lake Level: Approx. 1068.09
Stripers: Look for the stripers to be out on the points until the water temperature rises into the mid seventies. Once the water temperature rises to the mid-seventies the stripers will put out to the deeper water. It is usually late June before this happens. The better fishing will be on the north end of the lake for the most part until the water quality begins to be an issue. This is not to say there will not be any stripers on the points on the south end of the lake. They will just be harder to find unless you spend a good deal of time on the water. The fish will get deeper with each passing day. The downline bite is starting a little early this year. With the down line, use a 1-1/2oz. swivel sinker and a four-foot leader and fish the baits straight down just off the bottom on the points. On the leader, be sure to use fluorocarbon line to increase your number of bites. Most of the time I use 15-pound test line. Herring will be the bait of choice on the down line. Be sure to take plenty of bait. A lively bait is crucial. A few stripers are still being caught on topwater but it is decreasing each passing day. The best topwater baits are Cotton Cordell Redfins and Heddon Super Spooks. If the water is calm, use the Super Spook or Lucky Craft Sammy. Use the walk-the-dog technique with these two baits. If the water is choppy, use the redfin. The best retrieve with the Redfin is to reel slowly and let the bait v-wake across the surface. I have caught more fish on the Redfin this year than any year I can remember. Large Storm Chug Bugs will work as well. On the sunny days be sure to use the chrome colored baits and on cloudy days use shad colored baits.
Bass: June can be a fun month on Lanier for the bass. Keep several topwater baits tied on and let the explosive strikes begin. Year after year, the Storm Chug Bug is a very productive lure. Rip the lure across the surface with short pauses. The chrome and blue and bleeding pearl are the best two colors to use on Lanier. Use the pearl Chug Bugs early in the morning and the blue chrome chug bugs during times of bright sunlight. Other dependable top water lures include Lucky Craft Sammies (Ghost Minnow& Aurora Black), Heddon Baby Torpedoes (Natural Frog), and Mirrolure Top Dogs. Zoom white pearl Super Flukes are an excellent choice as well. Nose hook the bait on a 2/0 red octopus hook just like you would a live bait. Be sure to use a swivel 8 to 10 inches above the hook. Twitch the bait so that it darts in a zigzag motion. Use this rigging method when casting on points and over brush. If fishing heavier cover, be sure to use a 5/0 wide gap hook and rig it weedless. Don’t be surprised to find some nice bass very shallow on a 3/16 oz. texas rig this month as well depending on the weather. Green pumpkin as usual will be hard to beat on the texas rig. If the bass are deeper on the points, drop a dropshot rig down to the fish. Variations of different hooks to use on the dropshot rig are readily becoming available. In a nutshell, the hook is placed 12 to 18 inches above the sinker and fished vertically under the boat. Some good plastics to try include Zoom meatheads and Roboworm 4 inch sculpins in natural baitfish patterns. For the finer points of the dropshot rig, visit your local tackle stores like Lake Lanier Fishing & Outdoors. This will save you tons of trial and error.
Crappie: During June, most of the crappie fishing will continue to be at night using lights under the bridges. Three of the best bridges are Wilkie Bridge, Six Mile Creek Bridge, and Wahoo Creek Bridge. Any type of light or lantern will work but the Hydroglow fish light is the best. The light is neon green and approximately 4 feet long.