Lake Lanier is down 11.3 feet and the lake is clear and 82 degrees…
Lake Lanier is down 11.3 feet and the lake is clear and 82 degrees…
Black bass is slow with the lake turning over and the best bet is to use worms and jigs on the trees and docks. Bass are biting Rat L Traps in medium sizes up the lake but be very careful lake wide. Concentrate on stumps on the points and run the baits really fast. Then use Texas rigged Culprit black shad worm and peg the sinker and swim this bait right by the heavy structure and then drop it right nest the stumps. Then try a larger u ail worm in dark colors and add the Real Craw scent. Cast to the same spot with several casts. The bass are already staging on the main lake and secondary creek points. Start the day with a slow moving bait and a Zoom pumpkinseed lizard on a short Carolina rig is fair. Then use a watermelon trick worm tight on cover after the sun warms the coves and docks. Mid lake in and around Gainesville Marina work every dock in every creek and skip a Zoom Super Fluke under the dock. Something will get these baits on the fall. Then try the Strike King 38 Special all white. Slow roll this lure on the banks and use a large willow leaf blade in all white. It’s best to keep the spinner bait as close to the wood and docks. Up lake work this same lure on thick bank cover. The blue pumpkin Culprit lizard on a Texas rig is very good on docks and points. Add a Venom glass rattle in the lizard. Anytime of the day use a green trick worm and cast around docks down lake and let it sink out of sight. A dark Enticer jig in black or browns and a brown Uncle Josh trailer will work on the docks and bass love jigs this time of the year.
Spotted bass fishing is barely fair and the deep old structures out on the main lake are the best areas. Try deep docks down lake. The water is off colored lake wide so being sure to use lures the sports can see, especially chartreuse and brown. The small Shad Raps in the #5 size in almost any color will get some action. The Rock island in the back of Big Creek has been good all week. The new small Zoom Super Fluke Jr. in pearl on a small #2 Mustard offset style hook on 6 pound test skipped or fished around docks is fair in clear water. A pearl Zoom Fat Albert is an easy alternative and fishes this bait on a 1/8 ounce lead head jig. Keep a Zara Spook ready in a shad pattern or chrome and try a few casts on shallow rocks during twilight. If the fish pop up, cast right into the swirls. Also have a 3/8 ounce Rooster Tail ready and something will eat it. We have caught some spots in very shallow water, less than 5 feet an hour before dark. We have caught them on Spooks in chrome and even got 4 fish on Long “A” Bomber in chrome and blue. We were striper fishing catching 3 to 4 pound spots on the large baits. And the fish were VERY shallow, less than five feet until dark.
Stripers seem to be feeding deep daily. Use trolling, power reeling and live bait. In the bigger bays in the lower lake creeks, down line blue backs on large two ounce egg sinkers as soon as the fish show up on the Lawrence. Spoons and power reeling buck tails are working over the fish and there are some fish being caught trolling almost any rig down lake. Just keep moving until the fish show up and then drop the baits right over the fish. There are some bigger fish in the mouth of Flat Creek but only a few are being caught. Use larger baits and the fish are more aggressive. Live bream and blue back in all sizes seem to be working too as well as larger gizzards. Depths are from 40 feet, and the fish see the sinkers, then to 60 feet and they cannot see the sinkers. Stay on 90 feet of water or deeper.
Crappie fishing is picking up. There are few crappies coming in up lake on bridges but the lower lake fish are still not active. A few more days of cool weather should get the fish on the bridges and under the bigger marina docks. The up lake bridges are the best location and live bait a 16 feet has been the best bait.
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