Lake Lanier Fishing Report February 6th - 10th, 2023
Weekly Report for 10 February 2023
Water Level: 0.28 feet below full pool
Water Temps: 49-53 with some areas being higher in the afternoons. I was seeing 51+ degree water on both Garmin and Lowrance this afternoon. With regards to water temp, remember that shallow water will warm and cool faster than deep water and stained water will warm faster than clear water. The more sunlight, the warmer the water gets, especially as we move through the month. During the month of February, North Georgia receives an additional 1hr of sunlight a day between the 1st and the 28th. That is not insignificant.
Overall, the water clarity continues to vary greatly depending on location. With the frequent rains that we have been getting, the areas in the backs of creek arms with water flowing in are staying stained while the main lake is remaining clear. I have not found any muddy water this week, but with the current forecast, that will likely change by the end of the weekend.
Feast or Famine. That is how I would describe the fishing this week. That goes for both size and numbers. Some days were a grind, while others such as today, were lights out. Yesterday I could not catch a fish over 2lbs, today we had a 5.65 that anchored a 20lb best five. From the feedback I received from a local Game Warden, he is seeing similar things. Guys are doing very well or struggling. Good ole Lake Lanier at its finest.
As far as locations for this week, two areas were the most productive.
- Rock banks: these areas generally needed sun on them to get bit, have deep water nearby and be sloped at 45deg or steeper. Secondary rock points along diches or shorter pockets were also productive.
- Ditches with depressions or roadbeds that cross them or similar ledges within the ditch.
Both of these areas produced from the dam up above the 53 Bridge(s). There are still plenty of fish in the ditches, but with the warming water and longer days, many are starting to pull up onto rock, secondary points and the shallower parts of some of the ditches. The best area varies from day to day. Right now, it is a good idea to check both and rotate between them until you find what the fish are doing on that particular day. If there is one thing that I have learned about transition times on Lanier, it’s you can’t expect to do the same thing two days in a row. Something is going to be a little different. For the roadbeds, fish parallel to them and perpendicular to them. The fish will tell you which one they prefer on a given day.
On to baits. There has been a shake up in the most productive baits for this week. For the first time in 2023, the shaky head ruled the deck until today when the finesse swimbait took back over. Thinner worms seemed to work better for me than the thicker senko style worms. This week I used the ¼ oz head over the 3/16. This allowed me to maintain contact with the bottom a little easier as I fished the sloped banks and in the ditches. Watermelon Candy and Green Pumpkin Green were the two best colors for me. For presentation, drag pause, drag pause. It is nothing special. The fish are still lethargic and not in the mood for a fast moving worm. It is just not natural at this time of year.
There was a change in the swimbait color as well. Tennessee Shad out produced the other colors today. It was a nice change of pace as my Electric Shad stock has taken a hit recently. The presentation is SLOW…. I reel the bait fast enough to keep it moving but slow enough where it never loses contact with the bottom. If it does loose contact, I stop my retrieve and let the bait settle back down. Furthermore, if I think I have had a bite, and my rod does not load up, I immediately stop reeling and allow the bait to just sit on the bottom. So long as the bait is not fouled on the hook, there is a good chance the fish will come back and eat it.
As I have mentioned before, a key component to the finesse swimbait bite is the system which they are thrown on. For my rod, I use a St. Croix Legend Tournament 6’8’ MXF. This rod has a very soft tip but will load up quickly. This allows me to detect the slightest bite yet still have enough backbone to set the hook in 40+ FOW. I have thrown these baits on every spinning rod I own, and I keep coming back to this one for this application. It is just that good.
In February, I have the 14th, and 15th available. I am currently booking for March as well. If you are interested in a trip, please let me know.
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.
Best of luck to all on the water this week!
Jeff
770-715-9933
Jeffnailfishing@gmail.com
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