Lake Lanier Fishing Report April 29th - May 5th, 2023
Lake Lanier Weekly Report
5 May 2023
Water Level: 0.05 feet BELOW full pool.
Water Temp: After dipping back below the 60-degree mark, morning water temps appear to have stabilized in the low 60s on my Garmin. Water that has more stain is holding heat better than the clear water of the main lake so if you are looking for the warmest water, look above 53 or in the backs of the main lake creeks.
Water Clarity: Water remains similar to last week with clear conditions on the main lake and increasing stain as you go up the rivers and towards the backs of the creeks. The wind from this week has created some shallow water stain thought the lower end of the lake.
I was on the water 7 of the last 7 days. Fishing has been good to very good, but the weather has kept it from being memorable. Typical of Lanier, things have been inconsistent. With the weather changing almost daily, the fishing has followed suit. While I have had some very good days, I have had to work for the bites on others.
Two patterns worked best this week: chasing herring eaters and chasing spawning fish.
I caught my herring eaters on a Spotchoker underspin, Mini-me spinnerbait, Robo worm, and Lanier Baits hard swimmer. Areas I focused on are marinas, vertical concrete, clay points and blow throughs. I would throw the moving baits around all these areas looking for active fish. Depending on the day, one area would normally produce a better bite than the others. I would simply fish the areas until I found fish. Once I found a school, I could usually catch a few out of it before having to move.
The Spotchoker and spinner bait are being fished on a steady medium to slow retrieve 4-8 feet down. The fish have not wanted to come up in the water column much, but that could change any day right now. If they will not come up and you know the herring are there, get the bait lower in the water column. If you can find a school, and they stop eating one of the baits listed, switch to a different one. Several times this week, we would fire a school with one of these moving baits and keep them going with a different one.
When I come across vertical concrete or other structures that are holding herring, I will also switch my dead ringer out for a 6” straight tailed Robo worm on my pitch shot (I have a video of this technique posted as well). The light weight on this set up is key. The slower the fall, the more strikes I would get. This is not the time for the 3/8oz DS weight. I am fishing a 1/8th maybe a 3/16 if its breezy. I am doing two things with this bait. I am simply pitching the worm out and letting it pendulum back towards the boat or I am pitching it up next to the cover and allowing it to fall 20-30ft with my bail open. If the line stops sooner than it should, I know it’s a bite. If I do not get bit on the fall, I will hold the line taught for a few seconds before reeling it in and repeating the process.
For the spawning fish, I am pitching the 4in dead ringer around on the pitch shot rig. Rock has still been more productive than sand or even clay. I did pick a few up on the shallow sides of docks as well. I was severely limited this week with the wind on how much I could fish this, but it still managed to produce a good number of fish over the course of the week. It even produced a rainbow trout from under a deeper dock. This bite should continue to produce, particularly on the south end of the lake for at least two more weeks.
I do have two interesting observations from this week. Yesterday, I was in the back of a pocket in YD filming a video. In the back of this one pocket, there were 8-10 bass. A couple were guarding fry, a couple were on the bed, and a few were just aimlessly swimming around not appearing to be oriented towards anything. The sad thing is, none of these fish would eat. Additionally, one of the schools of herring eaters we found this week was comprised of both pre and post spawn bass. Some were in phenomenal shape and about to bust with eggs while others were all beat up. The “so what” of both of these observations is that we still have bass in all phases of the spawn.
For May, I have the 10, 12-14th, 22nd, 23 (pm) and 24th available. Please reach out if you are interested in getting out on the water. Last year, May was my best month for numbers with some great size mixed in as well. If you prefer to fish an afternoon/evening rather than a morning, that is available too. Just let me know that is what you prefer when booking.
Jeff
770-715-9933
Jeffnailfishing@gmail.com
Jeffnailfishing.net
Jeffnail.uscreen.io
#hammondsfishingcenter #LanierBaits #TritonBoats #trixstercustombaits #stcroixrods #castfishingco #gillfishing #Spotchoker
