Lake Lanier Fishing Report March 5th - 10th
Lake Lanier Weekly Fishing Report
10 March 2023
Water Level: 0.35 feet BELOW full pool.
Water Temp: Upper 50s to low 60s. The cooler nights we had last weekend slowed down the increase in water temps. Morning temps are about 55 on the Garmin and 58 on Lowrance. By the afternoon, I am seeing 59 on Garmin in some areas. These temperatures should remain steady for the next day or so then it is likely they will drop a tad with the forecast for next week. Three days with lows in low 30s and highs in the low to mid 50s will have an impact.
Water Clarity: 6+ feet on the main lake to less than a foot in the backs of some of the creeks and up the rivers. The water clarity in the backs of the creeks has improved somewhat from last week. You can still find water that is about any color you like to fish, but the heavily stained water is getting harder to find. If we do get over an inch of rain as predicted for Sunday, look for a lot more stain early in the week.
I have been on the water 7 of the last 7 days and have had some really good days during that time. Two of those days were 35+ fish days and we had nearly 20 today. It has been a really fun week to say the least.
The two big numbers days (with some good size mixed in too) have come when I have found a big school of bass that has bait pushed up onto a flat in the very back of a creek arm. When I find this, it has been an absolute blast. One day it happened in the morning, on the other day, it was in the evening. I have even heard rumors of a guy finding it mid-afternoon. So, it is something to keep an eye out for all day.
Two baits have been the biggest producers when I have found this. The Diamond baits 3 and 4.5in A-Rigs and a 2.8 on a 1/8oz guppy head. On Sunday, I threw the A-rig while my client threw the kietech. I believe we stayed in one place for over 3hrs. Wednesday, it was all kietech. I was in a little shallower water and the A-rig was just a little much, the bass wanted a more finesse approach. At one point, I had 6 bass on 6 casts into a dock slip.
I am looking for bait flickering on the surface. Sometimes, you will see the fish busting bait, but not always. What you will see is tons of bait right under the surface or on your graph. If you can find this, the bass will not be far behind. If they are not there then, there is a very good chance they will be there very soon. This is exactly what I found on Wednesday. Tons of bait but very few bites at first and then the bass showed up about 30min into me casting around. The key is to keep your eyes and ears open. Look for bait flickering on the surface or the sound of bass busting bait. The key is to ease over to within casting distance. Remember this is usually occurring in less than 10ft of water, in many cases less than 5. Long casts are important and greatly increase the chances of hooking up.
The other technique that worked well this week is a shaky head on secondary rock or clay points. Sometimes the fish were shallower, while others they were still in 20+ FOW. A 5in finesse worm in the green pumpkin or watermelon family of colors worked best. One really did not seem to out produce the others. When the sun was up high, shade lines on docks leading in to spawning pockets came in to play as well. This dock bite was not that strong when the clouds were out.
In addition to the shaky head, I have started pitching the Drop Shot (DS) around a little bit and its starting to produce as well. This bite will only continue to improve as the spawn progresses and will be outperforming the shaky head here before long.
In addition to the above, I have found a decent LM bite up very shallow on a Chatterbait. This has been up one of the river arms in the very backs of pockets. I’m throwing a 3/8oz shad patterned JackHammer with a 4.25in Trixster custom baits Tricky shad on the back of it. A slow, mostly steady retrieve has been best. This is not a numbers technique, but it can produce some nice LM right now.
Lastly, when the next warming trend gets here, it will be about time to break out the fluke. I caught my first fluke fish of the year this week. A LM that went 5lbs. Again, I have down sized to the 4.25in bait to try to match the smaller bait that so many of these fish are eating right now.
It is getting really good out on the ole pond! I still have some dates open for March, contact me for availability. I am also booking for April as well which should be pretty good fishing!
I want to thank everyone for the support, it is greatly appreciated.
Jeff
770-715-9933
Jeffnailfishing@gmail.com
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