Lake Lanier Fishing Report January 30th - February 3rd, 2023
Weekly Report for 03 February 2023
Water Level: 0.19 feet above full pool
Water Temps: 49-53 in the afternoons. The next day or two will have the lowest water temps for the next week to ten days. With highs forecasted in the 60s for three+ days next week, I expect to see some overnight temps staying above 50 in some areas.
Overall, the water clarity continues to improve but still varies greatly depending on location. The good thing is the areas that are blown out / muddy are minimal compared to where they have been. With the rains we are getting, there is some staining in the backs of the creeks with the runoff, but this is settling out quickly and most areas remain fishable.
The fishing has remained steady, arguably even picking up a little from last week. I have had two days this week with 20+ fish, and on the slower numbers days, the quality has been very good as well.
While the schools are not as large or aggressive as they were earlier in the winter, there are still plenty of fish in ditches. In addition to ditches, roadbeds played a huge role this past week with some of my best numbers coming of them. I am finding roadbeds three different ways; Lake Master, C-Map, and side scan. There are roadbeds that show up on one chip, but not the other and there are roadbeds that show up on side scan/down scan that are not on either map. If you can find where one of these roadbeds crosses a ditch or follows a sunken ridgeline with ditches coming up on both sides of it, there is a good chance you will find fish.
The finesse swimbait bite is still going strong with both the Cast Fishing Co - USA Prodigy and Kietech producing well this week. The best color in the Prodigy is the chartreuse and some new colors started producing on the Kietech including “Sight Flash” and “Original Sexy Shad.” Big fish honors go to the Prodigy in Chartreuse, caught by Ryan Hanks Friday AM. Ryan was not happy that I took him north of the bridge, but it paid off with his best spotted bass in over two years. In addition to using a ball head a Spot Choker triggered some bites as well.
If you are having a hard time feeling bites throwing these swimbaits, consider rethinking your setup. A sensitive rod with a soft tip that quickly loads up is key. By holding the rod high, you can watch the bow in your line and the rod tip. Often these two things will give a bite away long before you ever feel the fish. Additionally, braid to a fluorocarbon leader helps ensure long casts which are key for efficiency. Make sure to leave your bail open until the bait hits the bottom to ensure that it is not swinging back towards the boat while it sinks.
A damaki rig also produced some fish vertically this week. I will let the cat out of the bag in a later post on the brand of the head, but I am really liking it so far. I tipped the head with a River Rock Custom Baits Savvy Shad in Upchuck w/pearl. For whatever reason, the spots loved it on Sunday.
Lastly, there is definitely a shakeyhead / jig bite going on as well. While the numbers may not be as good, some very good fish are being caught this way. I have not put much focus on this, as all my recent clients have wanted to focus on ditch fishing. With the warming temps next week, this bite should only get stronger, and the dock bite may even start to come into play by the end of next week.
Right now, one must cover water efficiently, there is little need to make multiple casts through the same piece of water if you don’t get bit or see something. Fan cast, move down the ditch and fan cast. When the sonar lights up or you get bit, stop and fish the area more thoroughly.
In February, I have the 6 – 9th, 11th, 14th, and 15th. I am booking for March which is starting to book up. If you are wanting a specific date, I’d recommend getting on calendar sooner than later.
As always, if you have any questions or suggestions for things you would like to see in these posts, please send me a note, I really appreciate the feedback and support. You can also find previous reports on my website.
For those of you still reading, I am going to give away a spool of 12lb CAST braid. To enter to win, comment on this post with your guess of how many fish came in my boat during the month of January. I will randomly choose a name from the correct guesses on Monday.
Best of luck to all on the water this week!
Jeff
770-715-9933
Jeffnailfishing@gmail.com
#TritonBoats #advantageboatcenter #hammondsfishingcenter #stcroixrods #castfishingco #gillfishing #LanierBaits #Spotchoker
