Lake Lanier is down 3.7 feet, the creeks are slightly stained and the main lake is clear and 66 degrees…

Largemouth bass fishing is good and the fish are all moving to the shallows. The docks behind the Little Hall ramp and the points close by the ramp are seldom fished. There is some manmade brush right behind the ramp that the fish will relate to all year long. Look on the docks in and around the Wahoo Creek Bridge. All these docks, about 10, have sand and gravel as well as a few pieces of brush have some summer bass close by. There is a great crank bait bite on small Bill Norman Middle N’s in the pearl and lavender colors. Go to Wahoo Creek to the bridge, put the trolling motor in the water, and just start casting. Be sure to fish the rocks on the bridge as well and the back of Squirrel Creek. Also use the Fat Free Shad and the all white shallow and deep runner in the smaller sizes on clay banks will work like a champ. During mid day use the Stanley jigs in larger sizes in black and blue or all black. Be sure to add a Zoom salt pork trailer imitation and work the lure in and on the heavy cover. Work the lower lakes creeks and docks and pitch with a Texas rigged Culprit black shad worm. Use larger worms in dark colors and add the Jacks Juice garlic scent and a Venom rattle. Cast a small Zoom Baby Bush Hog in green pumpkin on a drop sot rig or a light Texas rig in and around the mid lake docks. Work the backs of these docks as well as the bank cover and the marina docks down lake. The upper rivers are slow and fish are tight in brush.

Spotted bass fishing has been great. The fish that are being caught are coming off of warming coves, just within the points and areas of the last deep water going up into coves. Just pick reef markers all day and the fish are there. As the warm weather pops out you can catch these spotted bass moving up into areas of warming water, such as areas out of the wind, that get the most sunlight, and a bottom contour of sand or pea gravel. The water is warming super fast daily and the fish are committing to shallows. Go to any major creek point and reef marker and start casing. If you like docks, spend the day in Flat Creek or Two Mile Creek and fish every dock you see. This is just plain easy. The fish that are being caught, are coming on Zoom Flukes, Zoom trick worms, Lucky Craft suspending Pointers and all white Mini Me ½ ounce spinner baits. Use any midsized crank baits that dive 6 to 10 feet in a natural shad color such as a 200 series Bandit, Rapala #7 Shad Rap, or a #9 floating Rapala all is chrome and blue, black and silvers and white. Strike Kings Bitsy flip in the black and blue, brown, or the green and brown color rigged with a brown, black, or green pumpkin chunk such as Zoom’s Super Chunk Jr. are excellent on docks. Spots are pretty active so take your pick on your favorite bait to throw. Try to focus on areas that will warm the quickest and that are staging areas for spotted bass to spawn at, areas out of the wind with stagnant water, and the back side of wind blown points.

Stripers are still the mystery fish during the day and the fast warming waters maybe to blame. It’s a tough day bite so go to very small baits or very large baits. Flat creek and Balus Creek as well as the River Forks areas are best. There are s few fish in the areas just below Wahoo Creek bridge down to the mouth of Little River. The night bite is on and a pink Bomber anywhere on the south end is hot. Randy Hancock caught a 25 pounder last week and a 30 pounder this week. Cast these big baits on 17 pound line and be sure to get as close to the banks as possible at night and keep moving until the fish attack. Early the Bald Ridge Creek and the marina areas have been good for sizes and numbers. Get the baits 60 feet back then put the planer board on and then go out 40 to 60 feet. Try to get the baits right up on the banks early every day and Flat Creek is your best bet. The outside boards are getting almost 80% of the hits. Both shiners and herring are very good just be sure to have fresh bait on for the best action.

Crappie are shallow on any wood, around large docks and bridges all over the lake. They are at 4 to 12 feet deep and they are biting all day and night. Live bait and grubs and tubes are all working but there are three hot colors: all chartreuse, green and all blue in the Bass Pro Shops Squirt tube on a 1/24 ounce jig head. Mix up the colors all day as the water and sunlight change. Down lake work around docks and bridges and watch the Lowrance depth finder for schools of fish

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