The Dogwoods are blooming and for you anglers out there, you should know what that means. If you don’t, it means it’s time to go fishin’! The Crappie are up shallow spawning, the Stripers are on their false spawn run, and the Bass are spawning. This is my favorite time of year to get those rods bent non-stop. If you go, make sure you bring extra bait you will need it!!
Lake Lanier is currently at 1071.35’ MSL. That is .35’ above full pool. We are seeing water temps mid lake in the mornings just a hair below 60 degrees in some areas and pushing up just shy of mid 60’s.
This report I’m going to focus on my primary style of fishing this time or year through May depending on water temp. Yes, the same old trolling deal with freelines and planer boards with live baits is the way this time of year. Cover water anywhere and wait for a rod to go off. You can troll creek backs, creek mouths, open water, the rivers, and the north or south end. There are scattered Stripers everywhere right now. When doing this you will notice a majority of your catches will come from clipping points in any of these areas. How about ditching the planers and the trolling…just fishing those points?? Ahh! Sometimes it’s too easy to get stuck on techniques some folks were taught and don’t really venture outside of that. There is nothing wrong with that at all and those methods do produce. However, it’s time to pitch those points and really hammer some fish like you wouldn’t believe. The past couple weeks we have been putting upwards of 30-50 fish in the boat by lunch and within a couple hours on the better days.
There are plenty of shallow points lake wide. Pick an area and focus on those. Those white “reef markers” should help you out. To get you started, you want to setup your boat on the windward side and always cast with the wind. You want your lines straight. You don’t want the wind blowing half moons into them dragging your bait. I throw into depth of 2’-12’ on average. To get you started, setup well off the point and work your way in. Don’t run the area over and push those fish! You will know when you hit the sweet spot. On 3000 class spin gear I’m using 15lb Power Pro braided main line and about a 3’ 12lb Seaguar fluorocarbon leader. Tip that with a number 1 or 2 light wire live bait circle hook. I hook my live Blueback Herring in different ways to dictate what I want it to do. In this case I belly hook the bait 2/3 of the way back. This will get them kicking hard and away to help trigger those bites. Lastly the biggest tip I can give you is bring a ton of bait! If you find the right points keep them fired up and feeding. You will have Bass/Striper thumb to show off in a couple hours. In these areas we find a mixed bag of species, including but not limited to Striper, Largemouth, and Spotted Bass. With Lake Lanier being arguably the best Spotted Bass fishery in the Nation they will yield a lot of the numbers. You better believe I will take full advantage of the peak time of the year to target them! However, a typical outing pitching will produce the same amount if not more Stripers as pulling planers. The upside, you are catching a lot of fish. The downside, I have to buy a LOT of bait. Haha! If you haven’t experienced this action packed style of fishing with me before this is the time to do it or go give it a try yourself! So whether you like busy rod bending action or you want to focus on singling out the Stripers only, I do both..and you just have to decide what strikes your fancy. The fishing is excellent and I hope to see you on the water soon.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Andrew Hammond