Lake Lanier Fishing Report

Capt. Mike Maddalena
January 22, 2015
Lake Lanier - Freshwater Fishing Report

Striper fishing has been good and should continue through the month as the lake water temperature stabilizes in the mid 40's. The lake is currently one foot below full pool and should remain within a few feet below full pool for the month. Lake Lanier is healthy with a large population of bait fish. All of this should equal a good bite throughout February. The key tools for winter time fishing are the Double B's (birds and bait). Check out the creeks for bait and keep your eyes on the water in search of actively feeding Sea Gulls and Loons. Keep in mind that the shallow water flats on the sunny side of the creeks will heat up during the day and attract bait fish. Pulling baits on these "sunny" flats can be very productive. The "go to" technique during the winter months is pulling live bait on free lines and planner boards. Herring, Gizzard Shad and small Trout are all good baits but do not hesitate to downsize to medium shiners if you see signs the fish are feeding on small Thread Fin Shad. Set your trolling motor speed between .3 to 1.0 mile per hour. Vary the distance of your baits behind the boat/boards and the weight on your free lines to cover a variety of water depths. We use split shots to weight some of our free lines. When you find the best distance, weight and speed replicate those settings to the majority of your lines. Also, try to keep someone on the front deck casting a Captain Mack's 1/2 ounce buck tail jig with a fluke.
One of the questions we often get asked is "when is the best time to go Striper fishing". Being guides we always respond with "anytime you can":) The reality is this is true! There are many conditions that affect the fish biting or not biting and you cannot rely on any one condition. Lake conditions both temperature and dissolved oxygen content, moon phase and barometric pressure are the factors most often discussed. We have posted an article explaining the effects of barometric pressure on our web site. The following is the link to the article. http://www.bigfishonguide.com/2011/07/using-barometric-pressure-and-the-thermocline-for-striper-fishing/

Target Species:

Striped Bass, Striper

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