Lake Lanier Fishing Report February 20th - 24th, 2023
I have been enjoying sunsets like this, helping the neighbor with cows, cutting firewood for next year and just working around the farm for the past week. As a result, I don’t have a true “report” this week.
Spring is right around the corner and with that, comes major changes in the fishing. Gone are the slow days of crawling a bait on the bottom with sluggish fish. The fish become more active, fight harder, and easier to catch for many.
The shaky head will be a staple for many in the coming months. It is not fancy, but it will consistently put good size and numbers in the boat over the next few months. If there is one technique that every angler on Lanier needs to be comfortable with, it’s a shaky head.
My shaky head set up is as follows. I have been using this same rod and reel combo for over 12 years now and I don’t see any reason to change.
Rod: St. Croix Legend Extreme 7’0” MF spinning rod
Reel: Shimano 3000 series Stradic
Line: P-Line backing, 130 Meters of CAST X12 Braid in 12lb, and 24-48in 8lb Sunline fluorocarbon leader
Shakey Head: 3/16 oz Davis HBT Shaky head; I will go to a 1/8 on occasion if the fish are very shallow. I will also go to a ¼ oz if the fish are deeper than 25ft or so.
Worm: A Trixster Custom Bait’s Tamale in sweet baby candy was my go to worm last spring and I expect it will be again this spring. If you are prefer a smaller profile, Lanier Baits offers some great offerings as well. Including their Blue Lilly which has gained almost a cult like following.
Retrieve: with a shaky head, I am going to focus on two things; docks and humps. For the docks, I am going to target poles, ladders, floats under walkways, and corners. I will make my cast to the target, fish the bait for 10 feet or so then hit my next target. When you cast, it is important to leave the bail of your reel open. Otherwise, the worm will swing back to the boat and you will miss your target area. This is critical when fishing deeper docks. Drag….pause…..drag……pause. Maybe toss in some shakes, but there is no reason to over do it. For humps, I am going to look for rocky bottoms, scattered brush and deep-water nearby. Again, I will fish the bait slowly though the areas where I think the fish are and then make another cast.
Hook Sets: I do not cross their eyes when fishing a shaky head. I know many of you do, and that is a viable option as well. Since I am using a light braid and leader, I simple reel into the fish and pull up with a steady swing into the fish. I don’t break many off on hook sets and I rarely don’t get a hook in a fish who has the bend of the hook in his mouth. If you are the type of guy who likes to cross their eyes, I would go up to the 20lb CAST braid.
Another technique that will come into play very soon is power fishing the Drop Shot. This is one of my favorite ways to catch fish in the spring and it is something that I will do all day when the conditions get right.
Rod: St. Croix Legend X 6’10” MXF spinning rod
Reel: Shimano 3000 series Stradic
Line: P-Line backing, 130 Meters of CAST X12 Braid in 12lb, and 24-48in 6-8lb Sunline fluorocarbon leader
Hook: Owner down shot in 1/0
Worm: 4in zoom dead ringer, Lanier Baits runt, or Robo worm.
Retrieve/ Presentation: I fish this fast and shallow. I will put the trolling motor down and just run the bank fishing anything that looks fishy. I will pitch the worm out, fish it a few feet reel it in and repeat. I have been known to go all the way around some of the larger islands on Lanier, spending all morning doing so. When this bite is on, there is no reason to run all over the place. What is important is keeping the bait in the water in likely places. There is not a lot of working the bait. You are hitting key targets, working the bait for a couple of feet and recasting. Once you figure out how the fish are positioned on a given day, it is literally pitch it out, let it hit the bottom, shake and reel in and repeat.
Rigging: The only difference between how I rig this for spring fishing and for fishing deep is the length of my leader. I am going to go with a 6-8in leader in the spring. I am also going to drop down to a 1/8oz ARK tungsten weight. This technique works very well on many of the area LM lakes as well. It is not to be underrated.
Lastly, I will cover the finesse swimbait for spring fishing. Yes, the ole Prodigy and Keitech will still be staples on my boat into April. While the bait may be the same as used in the winter, the locations and to some extent the retrieves will very. This is a great technique to use during the transition as you can cover a lot of water and easily adapt based on what the fish are doing.
Rod: St. Croix Legend Tournament 6’8” MXF spinning rod
Reel: Shimano 2500 series reel
Line: P-Line backing, 130 Meters of CAST X12 Braid in 12lb, and 24-48in 8lb Sunline fluorocarbon leader
Jig Head/ Hook: 3/16oz or 1/8oz guppy head with a 1/0 hook for the Kietech. For the Prodigy, I am going to rig it up with a 1/0 light wire octopus hook and stick a small tungsten nail weight in the slot where the rattle goes. (Ryan Hanks did a great video on this rig recently). I will also rig this bait on the DS rig stated above but with a 1/0 straight shank, light wire worm hook.
Location/ Retrieve: I am going to fish these baits around docks, blow throughs, clay points, and other areas where fish are actively feeding in relatively shallow water. Instead of fishing these baits on the bottom all the time, I will be fishing it back mid water column. I use a slow steady retrieve and just reel into the fish when I feel a bite. As with the winter bite, if I feel something and the rod does not load up, I will kill the retrieve and let the bait sink to the bottom before starting the retrieve back up. I can cover a lot of water using this technique and can easily adjust to fishing much slower if needed, such as after a cold-front passes through.
If you are interested in seeing how I fish these different rigs in person this spring, give me a call and let’s get out on the water. Some of the best fishing of the year is right around the corner for both size and numbers of fish.
If you have any questions about any of these techniques, please let me know and I will be happy to answer them.
Best of luck on the water this weekend! I will be back on the water this coming week with my normal report next Friday. I still have dates available in March, give me a call and lets go fish.
Jeff
Jeffnailfishing@gmail.com
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