Lake Lanier Fishing Report March 26th - 31st
Lake Lanier Weekly Report
31 March 2023
Water Level: 0.36 feet ABOVE full pool.
Water Temp: The roller coaster of a ride for water temps continued this week with a couple of nights in the upper 30s. As of 6pm today, the main lake was 61 on my Garmin. This AM, I was seeing 58 on Garmin. There is a lot of variances in temps right now and if you can find water that is a degree or two warmer there is a good chance fish will not be far off. This is the time of year when small changes in water temps can have significant impacts on the quality of fishing.
Water Clarity: 8+ feet on the main lake with a good stain in the backs of some of the larger creeks and up the rivers. With the predicted rain for Friday night, the backs of the major creeks will again stain up rapidly Saturday.
The fishing on the lake is good to very good depending on the time of day and the section of bank one decides to fish. I had some very good numbers this week, but I also would hit stretches where the bite just sucked.
What I found this week is the more time I spent “bouncing looking for the hot spot” the worse my fishing was. Rather, if I just picked an area and fished, I would generally do much better.
Early in the week, the fishing seemed to be better above the bridge but as the week progressed, I did better South of the bridge. The lake is getting a lot of pressure right now, so looking for areas that may be overlooked by most anglers can lead to some fast action.
Again, two baits ruled the catching this week. A shaky head and a finesse swimbait. These two baits accounted for ~90% of the fish that came in the boat this week. For the shaky head, the color of the worm varied from day to day on what was best. One day was a Z-man TRD in Green Pumpkin Goby, one day was a zoom finesse worm in watermelon candy, one day was a Trixster Tamale in sweet baby candy. I rigged these worms on a 3/16 head and fished them around docks and clay and rocky points. As a sign of things to come, I caught more fish this week on the shallow 1/2 of docks rather than the deeper 1/2.
It is no secret that shade lines on docks can be the ticket this time of year. Something else to consider is that large rock creates the same shade lines under the water. Find some of these areas, and there is a good chance there are some bass in the area. A change in depth nearby was better than the flats this week.
For the finesse swimbait, I am throwing it on a 1/8oz head and throwing it around docks and around blow downs. No hookset is needed, when the bass hit this, they eat it. I had one day this week where this technique dominated while other days it was not a producer. A slow to medium retrieve keeping the bait between 1/3 and 1/2 up in the water column was needed.
Some other baits that produced this week are below.
The mega bass 110 produced some fish in the wind on Sunday, but most of the fish were slapping at the bait and not fully eating it. The fish that I did catch were hooked on the outside of the mouth.
A wacky rigged Senko also produced some bites around docks this week. I am sure you can run this and catch a good number of fish with some good ones mixed in. I broke very good fish off on this rig yesterday. It is effective, it is just not my favorite way to catch them right now.
Lastly, the soft jerk bait such as the Trixster tricky shad and Lanier Baits jerk shad are starting to come into play. I have started fishing these baits in the backs of pockets and behind docks. I had a lot of followers this week doing this, it’s only a matter of time until this bite blows wide open.
We have a full moon coming up this week, with that moon, there should be a large wave of fish up shallow doing their thing. There will likely be a second wave later in the month on the new moon as well. Once the water starts hanging around the mid 60s look for the herring spawn bite to kick in. I have already started seeing herring following some baits back to the boat while fishing some areas where they typically spawn.
The next month to 6 weeks is one of the best times to be had on the Lake. Bad days are still possible, and yes, they are frustrating, but this is one of the few times of the year where the odds are in the favor of the angler and not the fish. Stay focused and maintain confidence, the fish will come.
For April I have the 7,10,12,18,20,21,24-28, and 30th available. As the days lengthen, when my schedule allows, I will run evening trips as well during the week 4-8 or 5-9 type frame depending on safe light.
Best of luck this week on the water, it is getting exciting out there. If you have any questions, please let me know.
Jeff
770-715-9933
Jeffnailfishing@gmail.com
#hammondsfishingcenter #LanierBaits #TritonBoats #trixstercustombaits #advantageboatcenter #stcroixrods #castfishingco #gillfishing #Spotchoker
