Lake Lanier Fishing Report January 23rd - 27th, 2023
Weekly report for 27 January 2023
Water Level: 0.01 feet below full pool
Water Temps: 48-52 in the afternoons. Temps are in the mid to upper 40s first thing in the AM and then quickly rising as the sun comes up. With the days getting longer, and a relatively mild 10-day forecast, I am not sure if we will get to the sustained mid 40s needed for a shad kill this year. With each passing day, those odds decrease.
Water clarity is all over the map. From clear on the main lake to muddy in the backs of some of the creeks and up the rivers. A man can fish whatever color water he is comfortable in right now and have an abundant of choices of where to do so.
I will describe the fishing the past week as steady. Not great, not poor, steady. That applies to both numbers and size. I think I had 3 days this week where we had 12 fish in a ½ day trip with 15-17lbs each day. Steady fishing.
If it’s not broken, don’t fix it. There is no better way to sum up my bait selections this week. Finesse swimbait fishing…. Right now, I know that if I keep that in my hand and efficiently fish, I will get bit and have a very good chance of putting some good fish in the boat. As with pervious weeks, there are three variations of the finesse swimbait that I am using right now: 2.8 Kietech on a 3/8ozn 1/0 - Dirty Jigs Tackle Guppy head, 3in chartreuse Cast Fishing Co - USA Prodigy on a 3/8oz tungsten Queen Tackle ball head, and the new 3/8oz Spot Choker in chartreuse tipped with a 3in chartreuse Prodigy.
What has changed day to day is the location. I caught fish from 15 to 50+ ft this week. From Chestatee Bay down to Bald Ridge. I hit some different places, and some different water. This did two things; it showed me this technique is still working across the lake, and it built confidence in my clients that they could pull into a region of the lake and duplicate what we are doing. Again, the key to location is being efficient. When I pick an area of the lake to fish, I am going to stay there most of the day. I will bounce from ditch to ditch to ditch within the area, burning very little gas, and keeping my bait wet.
When I find fish, I pay attention to the topography of where I found them and look for the same thing or similar things in the next ditch and that will be where I start. Pinch points, channel swings, the steepest slope in the area, bowls, depressions, etc. I use my map more than my forward facing sonar right now to locate fish.
With the possible exception of the very first location, I generally fish the ditches from deep to shallow. I do not run the big motor over top of the fish first. Rather, I look at my map, find likely places, stop short and use the TM to get me within casting distance. I fish for 10/15 min and if I don’t see anything I like or catch a fish, I move and repeat the process.
Speaking of casting. Long casts are critical with this technique. The longer the cast, the longer the bait is on the bottom and the more water you can cover. There is no better line for casting distance than the CAST braid. None. I think nearly 3 out of 4 clients who see the distance I am getting on my casts order some of the braid. The stuff is seriously that good. If you have any questions about it, please let me know and I will be happy to answer them. I was told today that Ryan now has pre-order option for the braid on his website. Good for all his customers, bad for my CC statement.
For February, I have the 4th through 9th, 12th, 14th, 15th, 16th(am only) available. My March days are booking up, I filled 4 days yesterday alone.
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.
Best of luck to all on the water this week!
Jeff
770-715-9933
Jeffnailfishing@gmail.com
#TritonBoats #advantageboatcenter #hammondsfishingcenter #LanierBaits #trixstercustombaits #stcroixrods #castfishingco #gillfishing
