Lake Lanier Weekly Report December 12th - 16th, 2022

Lake Lanier Weekly report for 16 December 2022

• Water Level: 2.44 feet below full pool

• Water Temps: 53-58

The main lake is clear with visibility in the 8+ range on the south end. Up the rivers are stained and backs of some of the creeks are muddy.

For better or worse, fish are still scattered throughout the water column. This is not unexpected with the rising water levels and relatively mild water temps. The plus side of this is if you stick with your strength you should do ok. The down side to this, is I’m not having any 30/40/50 fish days yet. But, change appears to be on the horizon with freezing temps forecasted for next week.

The sustained cold and mostly clear weather pattern should group the fish up in the ditches. I’ve seen more fish there with each passing week.

A shakey head and Kietech on road beds were the most productive for me this past week. This pattern worked from the southern end of the lake up the Chestatee River. Casting parallel to the bed seemed to work better than across it. Some of the fish were shallow, while others were out in deeper water. Slow is the key for both baits.

On my shakey head, I threw a Trixster custom baits sweet baby candy tamale on a 3/16oz Davis HBT head.

For my Kietech, a 3/8oz guppy head with a #2 hook paired with a 2.8 Kietech.

A tip for the Kietech bite. If you feel a bite, but the rod does not load up, stop the retrieve and let the bait fall and sit on the bottom for a bit. If the bait is fouled up on the hook, the fish will often come back and eat it. If the fish is not on there when you start back the retrieve, odds are the bait is messed up.

Crankbaits, spoons, jigs, DS and Damaki rigs have all produced this week for people as well so do not rule them out if those are your confidence baits.

Over the next week, I’d expect the fish to become more grouped up in the ditches as the cold sets in. This can lead to some of the best fishing of the year for those who brave the cold and find the right ditch.

When looking for ditches with fish, I pick an area of the lake, say Young Deer, and fish / graph every ditch in the creek before moving to the next creek. This maximizes my fishing time, and cuts down on my frozen face time. Once you have found which ditches are holding fish, you can then run from productive ditch to productive ditch on game day.

I still have a few days available between now and the 27th if anyone wants to get out and brave the cold. I am also booking for dates after 6 January as well.

As always, if you have any questions, please let me know.

Best of luck to all on the water this week!

Jeff

770-715-9933

Jeffnailfishing@gmail.com