Captain Macks' Lake Lanier Fishing Report

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Lake Lanier Fishing Report from Captain Mack

April has been a good month for anglers targeting
Lanier’s Gamefish! We will see if we can
duplicate that as we enter into the month of May?
May is also historically a very good month on
Lanier, and often offers some very good post
spawn topwater activity for the Stripers and Bass.

The weather looks good going into the first week
of Month! The extended forecast indicates warm
temps, fairly light winds and minimal rain chances
through the week. The lake level Friday afternoon
was 1071.51, down a very slight .05 feet from last
week. That will leave us .51 feet over full pool.
The lake temp is around 68 degrees.

Striper Fishing

Striper fishing is very good! Free lines and
planers remain the preferred pattern, with a few
down line fish mixed in. Fishing structures such as points and humps have been producing well.
Remember, the fish may be really tight to the structure, or very loosely oriented and holding on
the periphery. Expect more fish to be up tight to the banks or structure early, especially so if you
are fishing a baitfish spawn. Remember, those spawning baitfish could be on shallow, onshore
areas, or near structures over open water areas. Herring, Shad, and Shiners are all good bait
choices, and it looks like Herring availability is improving! Fish the Herring 30 to 60 feet behind
the boards, 25 to 40 on the Gizzards. Place the free lines 70 to 100 feet back and adding a split,
may be a plus, particularly later during the day.

Pitching live Herring is also a very good pattern, perhaps the best overall. You will need to fill the
well up, as this method will use big numbers of bait. For starters, a Herring is generally only
good for two or three pitches, once the bait becomes weakened and compromised it is
drastically less effective, Change them out often to maximize the bite! You will also get a lot of
bites from Hungry Spotted bass, and counting the Bass (and Channel Cats) 40 to 50 fish days
are not uncommon with this method! Don’t spend a lot of time on a given place. If you pitch a
bait up there and fish are present, they will be quick to bite. If you stop getting hooked up, move
on to the next area.

And speaking of pitching Herring, add green lights to the list of structures you will need to pitch
to. This bite is also very good as is typically at this point in the spring. Nothing fancy here, just
toss a bait up to the light, and basically hang on. We’ll talk more about technique next week!

Bass Fishing

Bass fishing continues to be very good! There are fish on several patterns, but with big numbers
of fish in shallow water in some phase of the spawn, the shallow water patterns will be difficult to
beat for the numbers. Some of the bigger fish are relating more to some shallow offshore
structures, and some are related to deeper offshore structure where the are Herring Spawning.
The largest part of the bait fish spawn occurs early, day break and into the first couple of hours
into the morning. although it will sometimes last into the day. The Threadfin Shad are generally
more active early, just an hour or two after sunrise. Keep in mind that after the actual spawning
activity wanes, the Herring are still in the area, as are the Fish. How do you find them? You’ll be
able to physically see them with your eyes, and of course with the sonar, especially the fish in
open water areas. Possibly the best method to locate the spawning baitfish? Watch the Blue
Herons, they have a pretty good handle on this situation.

In addition to targeting the Spawning Baitfish, there are plenty of Spotted bass in water 4 to 12
feet deep scattered out on the banks. Remember, the Spots are spawning as well. If I had to
pick a favorite structure, a rocky bank with a fairly steep gradient has been money, but you will
also catch fish over sandy pockets, flats and points. There are many baits and patterns that will
catch fish right now, but one that has been very good is the spinnerbait. The Bass are
responding well to the spinnerbaits, and they are also baits that allow very high saturation. With
so many fish scattered out on the banks, that high saturation has great benefits.

Remember to
fish the spinnerbait back into, not over, at least an 8 to 12 foot. bottom. Spotted bass will spawn
deep, and keeping the spinnerbait shallow during the retrieve may discourage some of the
deeper fish from chasing down the bait.
Some other techniques to try: Scoping around the shallow baitfish concentrations has been
effective, small soft swim baits on the lead head have been to the go to. Check out some of the
dock lights if you are out after dark or predawn. I think many anglers think of Stripers when they
think of lights, but the Bass are also attracted to the lights! The same baits I mentioned in the
Striper section will apply, start out with a moving bait and follow that up with a worm or jig on the
bottom. Top waters are producing some nice catches, with smaller more subtle baits on the
banks being very effective. The bigger top waters, Spook, Haints, and OG’s to name a couple,
will get the bite!

Good Fishing!!
Capt Mack

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Captain Macks’ Lake Lanier Fishing Report