Lake Lanier Fishing Report June 10th - 16th, 2023

Lake Lanier Weekly Report

16 June 2023

Water Level: 2.22 feet BELOW full pool.

Water Temp: Water temps on the South end are between 75 and 80 depending on graph (Garmin reads ~4 degrees cooler than Lowrance) and time of day.

Water Clarity: As has been the case for the past few weeks, the water is clear on the main lake with an increasing amount stain as you go back in the major creeks and up the rivers, especially above 369. Stained to muddy water can exist in shallow water on the weekends due to heavy boat traffic. Offshore watercolor will remain stable.

I was on the water each day for the past week. As common with Lanier fishing, the one thing that is consistent is the lake is fishing inconsistently right now. What I mean by that is you may go out and have a great day then two or three days of tough fishing to follow. As common in the summer, it is all about the right place at the right time. And to be at the right place at the right time you either must sit on one spot until they turn on or hit as many spots as possible over the course of your trip.

There is a lot of schooling activity early in the mornings on points and humps. These fish are chasing small (2-3in) threadfin shad so matching your bait to that is important. The key to catching these fish is to make accurate casts into the surfacing fish. I think it is best to just sit or drift in a likely area and wait for the fish to show you where they are at. You have a very short window to get the bait infront of the fish and the best way to capitalize on that is to not cast until the fish show themselves. These fish are difficult to call up as they are entirely focused on all the live bait.

After the sun breaks the treetops, the soft jerk bait was the most productive this week. The Lanier baits jerk shad in Blue Ghost was the best producer when fronts were pushing through and the Trixster Baits Tricky Shad in pearl was the best when the sun was out. A fast constant twitching retrieve was best. These baits produced the most action but some days the hook up ratio was better than others. The key was to just keep throwing it.

I have been focusing on points and humps on the South end of the lake in 20-30 FOW. However, there are some fish shallower than that early. Additionally, when it was very cloudy the fish were not as related to the brush as they are when the sun is out. The “so what” is if you don’t have FFS, it is best to fan cast around the brush, not just over top of it when its cloudy. If you have FFS, use it to scan around before making the first cast.

The jig and DS fished in the same areas have produced fish as well. I use this technique when I am not in the mood to stand up every 5 min as I hop from spot to spot. If I just want to fish, I will pick the point or hump apart starting with a soft jerk bait or top water then the jig or DS. While it is not as exciting as TW, it can be very productive. For colors, the PB&J jig and morning dawn family of worms for the DS such as the 6” Aarons Morning Dawn by Roboworm.

For June, I have the 17-26th, 30th. I am only running ½ day trips on the weekends. Additionally, if you prefer an afternoon to dark trip, that is available as well. Please reach out if you are interested in getting out on the water.

Daily updates are available at: https://Jeffnail.uscreen.io

Jeff

770-715-9933

Jeffnailfishing@gmail.com

Jeffnailfishing.net

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