Crappie Fishing

The crappie fishing has been great so far this year. we are fishing on the north end of the lake for the most part. The best jig this year has been a 1/24oz. Yellow/Yellow/White Hal-Fly. A close second has been the 1/32oz. White/Chartreuse popeye jig. The fish have been under the shade of the docks but now that the water temperature is getting into the low 60s, be sure to check any shallow brush. Minnows under a small weighted float work great around the shallow brush. Once you find one there will be more. This is easy fishing and a great way to start the kids out how to learn to fish.

April 14 09

Fishing is finally beginning to settle down. The lake level has come up tremendously over the past few weeks. Almost all of the boat ramps are now open for the first time in years. With all the weather we have not been able to get out on the lake as much as normal and the fishing for the stripers has been tough. With good sunny weather expected this week, the fishing should takae off any day with the rising water temperatures. Looks like we have survived the worst and it should be good fishing from here on out. Crappie fishing has also been good. Be sure to take some small crappie jigs and minnows and fish shallow.

Trophy Lake Lanier Stripers

As always for this time of year the tropy stripers are starting to show up. On friday February 13 we boated a 35lb striper. Due to the spring spawn coming up, the big female stripers are on the move and they are hungry. Do not be afraid to pull very large baits this time of year. Lake Lanier still has some very large stripers. The lake record is 46 pounds.

Bucktails

Had a great day out on the lake yesterday. Witht eh approaching weather the stripers decided to eat. We picked up fish on a little bit of everything. We caught fish on bucktails, freelines, planer boards, and umbrella rigs. Looks like spring may finally be on its way. The water temperature is starting to get close to fifty degrees. Once the water temperature hits fifty-five degrees look for the bomber bite to pick up at night. The pink Long-A is hard to beat. Cast the lure up shallow and slowly reel it back to the boat. Most of yur bites will be in two to five feet of water. Spring is also the best time of year for a big fish. It is not umcommon for us to use 12 inch shad in the springtime for bait. Be sure to use heavier tackle for the big baits. The saying that big baits equal big fish is definitely true. See you out on the lake.

January 2009 Lake Lanier Fishing Report

After a cold couple of weeks, the fishing is improving on Lanier. The striped bass are pulling up shallow and bucktails are now accounting for a good number of the fish. Some days the a shallow downline will be the better choice. The north end of the lake continues to be the best area for fishing.

Lake Lanier Fishing Report November 2008

The striped bass are still schooling on top on the southend of the lake. We are catching the fish best on small 1/4oz. bucktails tipped with a white fluke casting into the schooling fish. We are using a steady retrieve with an occassional hop for the bucktail. If the fish are aggressive, they will also continue to take the chrome Sebile Maigic Swimmer. We are also catching the stripers on free lines with fairly large trout pulled about eighty feet behind the boat. The trout we are using for bait average about 7 inches. We are also catching a few small fish on herring in the same manner. For a more detailed report go to http://www.catchingnotfishing.com/lakelanierfishingreports/

July 2008

Stripers: The striper fishing on Lake Lanier is as good as it gets right now. . 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. Good luck out on the pond.