Lake Lanier Fishing Report April 9th - 14th
Lake Lanier Weekly Report
14 April 2023
Water Level: 0.98 feet ABOVE full pool.
Water Temp: Water temps were back on the roller coaster over the past 7 days. I saw as low as low 50s and as high as low 60s. Today in the River Forks area, the temps were hovering right around 61 on Garmin.
Water Clarity: Watercolor varies greatly across the lake right now. There is plenty of clear water on the South end and in the mouths of the creeks. As you move back in the creeks, the amount of stain increases. Additionally, once you get above Browns Bridge and River Forks, the stain becomes more noticeable as well.
I was on the water 6 of the last 7 days. Over that time, fishing has ranged from good to incredible. There are a lot of things that are working right. If you love to power fish, you can do that. If you are a finesse guy, you can keep a spinning rod in your hand all day as well. Either way, there is a very good opportunity for both numbers and size.
Over the past week, I fished as far north War Hill and as far South as Shoal creek. I also spent more time than usual on the East side of the main lake. Overall, the fishing seems to be better above Browns Bridge as it seems there is a better moving bait up that way.
There were two patterns that were the most productive this week: 1) Running the banks and docks with a soft jerk bait and pitch shot and 2) fishing long flat shallow points and shoals with a Cast OG, soft jerk bait, and Lanier Baits Hard Swimmer.
For the bank and dock bite, I have been skipping a Trixster custom baits Tricky shad up under cables and overhanging limbs along the bank. I am targeting anywhere there is a visible shade line. I am fishing this slower than what is typical for Lanier. Longer pauses and relatively light twitches. When I am not skipping the tricky shad, I am doing the “pitch shot” in the same areas with a 4in dead ringer or a 4in robo worm. I posted a video early this week on my Facebook page that goes into this in more detail on this technique. This pattern can produce great numbers of fish with some great size mixed in too. It is a great option if you are not wanting to burn a bunch of gas or have a smaller boat where you do not want to brave running the main lake. Pick an area, put the trolling motor down and fish.
The other pattern that ruled this week was running flat, shallow, clay points and shoals. This pattern was best from Old Federal north. I have highlighted 0-10ft on my Lake master and look for large areas of red. Some of these areas will have markers on them, others will not.
If there is wind, I am starting with the 20g Cast Fishing Co - USA OG. This is the bait that produced a 21.75lb bag in under 2hrs Easter afternoon. It was incredible. When the fish will not come up and eat the OG, I have been throwing a Lanier baits jerk shad, Mini-me spinner bait in lavender shad, and a Lanier Baits hard swimmer in the same areas. I am not staying in an area long unless I am getting bit. Once I get bit, I will fish the area back and forth for an HR or longer. Often you can find the sweet spot along the point where the fish are sitting and get one to fire every 15 min or so. Again, the retrieves for these baits have been slower than what is “normal” for Lanier. There was a day this week where I had to let the OG sit for 5-10 seconds before it would get bit, while on other days, they would hit it as soon as it was paused. The same applies for the Jerk shad, hard swimmer and spinner bait. A slow to medium speed was best. That being said, as the water starts to warm again, the most productive retrieve speed is likely to increase.
A key to finding the good areas for this bite is depth. If you cannot see the bottom, it generally will not be as productive as areas where you can see the bottom. The bites have mostly come along the line where you can see the bottom and where you can’t.
Some other baits that produced this week are the shaky head with a Trixster Tamale in sweet candy, a CAST 4.1 Prodigy rigged with a nail weight or on a Bucky Eye Lures J-Will head, and a CAST Down Under.
This is a great time of year for anyone to get out and enjoy the lake. I have not turned my two Lowrance graphs on all week other than to show a customer how I managed my waypoints. The only reason my Garmin has been turned on is for the water temp readings. It has been a great change of pace not to have to look at a screen. Additionally, once I have found a school of fish along a point, I am turning my Garmin to standby mode. These fish are shallow and the less noise coming from the boat the better.
Due to some unforeseen circumstances, this weekend has opened for booking, but I can only run up to a 4 or 6 hr trip for Saturday and Sunday. If you are interested, please let me know.
For the rest of April I have the 15th (4 or 6hr only), 16th (4 or 6hr only), 18, 24-27, and 30th available. Best of luck this week on the water, it is exciting out there. If you have any questions, please let me know.
Lastly, if you are looking for something even more current than these weekly reports, I have started a subscription service where I post a daily video recapping the day. I cover conditions, what part of the lake, what I caught fish on, and what presentation was used. Essentially, this is a digital library of all the information that I formally put into a fishing journal. I believe there are 10 or 11 videos for the month of April already posted and you will get access to the previous videos. You can find the videos at: jeffnail.uscreen.io
Jeff
770-715-9933
Jeffnailfishing@gmail.com
Jeffnail.uscreen.io
#hammondsfishingcenter #LanierBaits #TritonBoats #trixstercustombaits #advantageboatcenter #stcroixrods #castfishingco #gillfishing #Spotchoker
