Lake Lanier Fishing Report April 15th - 21st, 2023
Lake Lanier Weekly Report
21 April 2023
Water Level: 0.52 feet ABOVE full pool.
Water Temp: Water temps have risen to the low 60s in the mornings topping out in the mid 60s in the afternoons. These temps should hold steady and maybe drop a little with the cold front this weekend. I don’t expect the dip in temps to move the fish, they should still be in the same areas.
Water Clarity: Watercolor still varies. The combination of rain, wind, and above full pool water levels are keeping some stain in the shallows, up the rivers and in the backs of the creeks. There is a lot of clear water in protected creek arms and pockets down on the south end.
I was on the water 6 of the last 7 days. Over that time, fishing slowed a little from last week, but it remains good to very good. It can vary from day to day in the same areas. For me, the fishing was still better above Browns Bridge this week as the herring spawn is much more pronounced up that way. There are bass in all three stages of the spawn right now. Have no fear, there are still plenty of bass that have not spawned especially on the south end of the lake.
The best pattern above the bridge this week was to chase the herring spawn bite as long as possible. I am targeting flat clay/ rock points with an assortment of moving baits. As the case with the past couple of weeks, the key is to fish where you can see the bottom. If you can’t see the bottom in the area, the number of bites is greatly reduced. If possible, position the boat down wind and throw into the wind, across the shallow water and work your baits with the wind. Mini-Me spinnerbaits and soft jerkbaits (a FZNH20 Jerk Shad and Pearl 5” Tricky shad) have been the most productive. I am throwing the lavender shad spinner bait with white blades in the AM and switching to the silver blades once the sun is up. When the fish will not come up in the water column to hit these baits, a 1/4 or 3/8oz spot choker underspin tipped with a 2.8 or 3.3 produced. The 4.1 Prodigy on a sneaky rig produced a few fish during the week as well. I am fishing the Spotchoker in the bottom 1/3rd of the water column keeping it off the bottom, but trying to parallel the bottom down as the water gets deeper.
Of note, there are some good schools of striper in these same areas. Just something to keep in mind when making bait selections.
The second pattern that is working above the bridge is marina walls. There are some post spawn fish that have found their way to marina walls and are feeding on herring. We caught these fish with a spinner bait, soft jerk bait, and Spotchoker. Keep the bait close to the wall and fish it parallel to the wall. For the spinner bait and Spotchoker, allow the bait to get lower in the water column than the bottom of the wall itself.
Below the bridge, the pitch shot was the most productive this week. We targeted shade lines caused by rocks, docks, trees, dock anchors, etc. We would fish the target for a few feet, reel in and pitch to the next target. This produced good numbers with some solid fish mixed in. If you find the right stretch of bank, a 20+ fish run in an hour or two is very possible. I am pitching a 4in Zoom dead ringer on a 1/0 Owner down shot hook with a 1/8 tungsten drop shot weight. I am using 7lb sunline for my leader material with a 8-10in between the hook and the weight. The lighter weight and line allow for a more natural fall and presentation thus more bites. A shaky head produced some fish in the same areas, but it was not near as productive as the pitch shot.
For the rest of April, I have the 24th 25th and 30th. For May, I have the 1-4th,7-8th, 10-14th, 22nd-24th. Keep in mind, the full moon is May 5th which can lead to good fishing.
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 am usually out on the water 6 days a week. 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. There are 18 videos for the month of April posted. 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
