Also See:
Lake Hartwell Fishing Report from Captain Mack
Lake Lanier Fishing Report from Captain Mack
Lake Guntersville Weekly Fishing Report from Captain Mike Gerry
Lake Country Fishing – fishing reports on Lakes Sinclair and Oconee, and more. (subscription required)
Texas Parks and Wildlife Weekly Freshwater Fishing Reports
Texas Parks and Wildlife Weekly Saltwater Reports
Jeff Nail’s Lake Lanier Bass Fishing Report
Lake Lanier Weekly Fishing Report
April 26, 2024
Water Level: The lake level has risen slightly over the past week to .54 feet ABOVE full pool.
Water Temp: Temps mellowed out a little bit with the cold fronts. I am seeing 64-67 on Garmin.
Water Clarity: The lake is clearing up with the main lake being clear and the rivers above hwy. 369 starting to look more like summer clarity than winter/early spring.
I have been on Lanier for 7 of the past 7 days and the fishing has been good to very good depending on the day. It has been a roll of the dice on which category any given day will be.
We are still fishing shallow by Lanier standards. I don’t think we boated a fish that came out of more than 15ft of water all week. For moving baits, the Mini-Me spinner bait was the most consistent. It played a notable role throughout the week. We stuck with the same retireve I discussed last week. A steady, slchmedium speed retrieve was still best. As with last week, we targeted rock and clay banks with the Mini-Me. Interestingly, this bait/ pattern produced spots, LM and even stripers this week.
It is April and the next presentation should not come as much of a surprise to many readers who have followed along over the past couple of years. The “Pitch Shot” is back in play and we are loving every minute of it. This technique is phenomenal for both numbers and size this time of year.
We have targeted shallow structure with the Pitch Shot this week. While most finesse soft plastics will work, this time of year, it is all about the 4in Zoom Dead Ringer. There is something about this profile that is absolute killer. As the name implies, we are pitching this around and not fishing it all the way to the boat. It is all about putting the bait in as many likely places as possible as quickly and efficiently as possible. This is a technique where anglers can drop the trolling motor and just go fish as they would with a shaky head, however, you are going to cover a lot more water.
Due to the overall number of bites that can occur, this technique is also great for teaching what a worm and more specifically a DS bite feels like. My equipment for this presentation is listed below and here is a link to a short video I made last year on the presentation: https://jeffnail.uscreen.io/programs/pitch-shot-40ee5a
Rod – St. Croix Legend Extreme and Legend X 6’10” MLXF
Reel – 2500/3000 series Shimano Stradic or SEVIIN GX
Line – CAST fishing 12lb Braid with a 8lb Sunline Sniper leader
Hook – 1/0 or 2/0 Owner Down Shot
Sinker – 1/8 or 1/16oz tungsten
The daily videos I publish cover these techniques in greater detail and all other techniques that were effective over this past week. In these videos, I cover the conditions, part of the lake, and how I caught fish (or did not) for most days that I am on the water. All subscribers will have access to all historical videos as well (245 videos). You can sign up and view videos at https://jeffnail.uscreen.io
For the new few weeks, I have the following dates available: April 30, May 1-3, 11-14, 16, 17, 19-22. If you are interested in a trip, please reach out and I will get you on the calendar.
Jeff
770-715-9933
#stcroixrods#castfishingco#trixstercustombaits#gillfishing#Spotchoker#seviinreels#dugoutbaitandtackle#hammondsfishingcenter#LanierBaits#dugoutbaitandtackle#talkintackle