Lake Lanier Fishing Report – September 2024

Lanier: Level: 1.9 feet below 1071. Temp: 81-86 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Guide Jimbo Mathley, with Jimbo’s Lake Lanier Spotted Bass Guide Service, reports, “A traditional September on Lake Lanier offers anglers many choices of approach. This September on Lake Lanier should be no different. The lake has been around full pool most of the year, and we may go into September down 3 feet, barring a major storm hitting our area. The water temperatures have been normal to lower than normal for late summer, so the traditional late-summer patterns should be in play. Often during these kinds of conditions, you can find fish very deep, as well as very shallow, and some in between. Let’s look at the options for fishing Lanier this September and how to approach catching bass in this key transitional month in these different locations. Understand that the primary concern of both gamefish and baitfish are oxygen and food source, in that order. During a normal September, the comfort zone of both the baitfish and spotted bass become multi-faceted. In September, we often find spotted bass in three different types of locations: 1) Very deep (30 to 40 feet) off the ends of humps and points, relating to timber lines; 2) Very shallow in the backs of creeks and creek arms in major tributaries around the lake or shallow on rocky bluff walls; 3) Suspended in the mouths of major creeks around brush in 25 to 40 feet of water, as well as deeper pockets near the main lake. Now that we understand where we can find them, let’s look at some of the tools we can use to catch them in each of the above situations. A drop shot is a great tool to target deep fish. This presentation can be made vertically into cover or it can be cast toward the target and slowly retrieved. I like the Lanier Baits drop-shot worms. Light line is a must. I prefer 6- to 8-lb. test Seaguar AbrazX. Light line helps provide a more natural presentation and will garner more strikes. Georgia Blade spoons can be a great option this time of year. Both their smaller spoons and their Flutter Spoons can be very effective. Experiment with the presentation once you have located the fish. Some sort of rip/pause or fast reel/pause cadence should do the trick with the Flutter Spoon. When using the smaller spoon, a lift/drop combo can be effective. Their mood and the presentation required to catch them will vary daily with conditions.  Look around timber lines and treetops near the mouths of creeks on the ends of long running, slow-tapering points. While Lanier is not necessarily known as a buzzbait lake, this can be a very effective tool in both shallow-water situations discussed above. Make your retrieve an erratic one and present around cover where possible in addition to steep, rocky banks early in the morning. I like the Georgia Blade choices for a buzzbait – check out all the options at Hammond’s Fishing. A Georgia Blade spinnerbait is an old favorite that can be deadly around flooded shoreline cover, shallow docks and blowdown trees, as well as shallow on steeper rocky banks. Try the offerings from Georgia Blade. They offer a nice variance of bait sizes and blade types to fit any situation. When fishing a crankbait shallow in the fall, opt for a shallow- to medium-diving plug and work the same areas as you would the spinnerbait. Try the Berkley Bad Shad and Frittside crankbaits. When the water starts to cool, the topwater action can be awesome. Look around man-made brush on offshore structure, such as humps and points, for fish that are hanging out. Topwater baits, such as a Berkley Cane Walker and Drift Walker, can be excellent to catch these fish. A jerkbait is another great tool for targeting suspending fish. Choose a bait that suspends at the depth the fish are holding and experiment with your retrieve cadence until you zero in on what the fish are looking for on any given day. Try the Berkley Stunna for your jerkbait. Finally, a spy bait is a popular choice for targeting suspended fish. It is a great option when the fish are not hitting your topwater or jerkbait presentations, or in low-wind conditions. Cast this bait out, count it down to 10, and then begin a very slow retrieve. This technique is the epitome of finesse fishing. Slow and methodical is the key.  I like the Duo Realis offerings in the G-Fix 80 size, which you can purchase at Hammond’s Fishing or through Lanier Baits.”

Stripers: Capt. Clay Cunningham, of Catching Not Fishing Lake Lanier Fishing Guides, reports, “Striper fishing on Lake Lanier has been solid the whole month of August. September looks to be much the same. As long as the weather stays hot, look for the stripers to stay deep on the south end of the lake. With the right electronics, like the Humminbird Solix Series, you can see the fish feeding through the schools of bait and biting your herring on the hook. To catch these fish deep, you need a Carolina-type rig using a Captain Mack’s Swivel Sinker, a 6-foot piece of Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon leader material and a 1/0 Gamakatsu Octopus hook. Hook the herring right between the nostrils and drop it right above the schools of stripers on your electronics. If you do not want to use live bait, lead core is also still catching some big fish. We are seeing more big fish this summer than the previous five years. Lead core is a weighted line you pull behind the boat. It is color coded to help you dictate your depth. On the end of the lead core line, tie a 30- to 50-foot piece of 20-lb. Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon tipped with a Berkley Fusion white bucktail, or a Captain Mack’s white Chipmunk Jig. You need a wide selection of these bucktails from 1 to 2 ounces. Some days they will key on a particular jig or color. Tip the bucktail with a 4-inch chartreuse Captain Mack’s Shad Body as a starting point. Every bait store around the lake has these bucktails and Shad Bodies. Be sure to purchase several colors of the Shad Bodies, as well. Some days a certain color will outperform other colors due to numerous factors, like cloud cover. I’m curious to see how productive the lead core bite is this September. As mentioned, the lead core is catching some big fish, but it feels like the lead core bite is tapering off earlier than expected. Lastly, late September the weather will begin to cool off. Be sure to have several rods loaded with topwater baits and swimbaits for any early topwater. We are already seeing some stripers on the surface. In 24 years guiding, this is the earliest we have seen them surfacing on a daily basis. Baits like a Berkley Cane Walker and a Berkley Magic Swimmer are essentials. These fish will school on the surface into October and November. Be ready for the fun.” 

Capt. Ron Mullins, with The Striper Experience, reports, “From the way the lake is setting up this summer, be prepared for an early turnover again this year, so keep your eyes open for some early topwater, but the more consistent September striper fishing will be to get out there and pull lead core. Lead core is a braided line that has a lead center, making the line heavy so that you can get a jig or spoon down to the depths that the stripers will be at. This can also be done with Cannon downriggers. The 8- to 10-lb. ball will get that lure down to a targeted depth even easier and with much less line out.  This year the 1 1/2-oz. Striper Tackle Super Spin Shad in white/white on sunny days and chartreuse with chartreuse/crystal on the cloudier days have been the go-to jigs all summer. One of our Striper Tackle pro staff guys is dipping the white shad trailer in a bit of chartreuse Spike-It Dip-N-Glo for a bit of both colors.  The Fat Hawg Spoon in nickel/silver flash or pearl has been very good on lead core, as well. The Captain Mack’s Mini Mack with blades will continue to catch fish as a trolled lure in September, too. All three of these baits should be pulled behind the boat at 2.5-3 mph and seven to nine colors back, depending on the depth that you are marking fish on your Humminbird graph. You can troll them 50 to 75 feet behind the Cannon downrigger ball, too. Each color represents approximately 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 feet of depth when pulling on lead core and 3 to 5 feet of additional depth below the downrigger ball. The stripers will be scattered over the trees and in the middle of creek channels, like Big, Six Mile, Two Mile, Young Deer, Bald Ridge and Shoal in 60 to 130 feet of water from the mouth to halfway back in the creek. They will also be on the river channel from 100 to 150 feet later in the day. The bait bite will still be good and the only changes from August will be to concentrate in 90 to 140 feet of water and to increase leader length to 9 to 11 feet of 10-lb. fluorocarbon leader. The herring are not living well on the hook below 30 feet, so take lots of bait if you are going to only rely on bait to catch fish. The world invites a few, making the rest feel unworthy. Jesus invites the whole world, making everyone worthy. He did not come to this world to be with the high-brow religious people. He came and ministered to the worst of the worst. In Luke 7:36-50, we see Jesus at a dinner party where a most likely prostitute comes and washes his feet and then the religious person, in indignation, asks how can He be the Messiah if He is letting this person touch him. Jesus then explains to the man that she has done all these things for Him and that the man has done none of these things to show his love and respect. Your past doesn’t prevent you from being invited to God’s party. Your faith, like the lady’s, will allow your sins to be forgiven.”

Crappie: Capt. Josh Thornton reports, “Crappie fishing is good. You can find crappie suspended 10 to 15 feet deep over a 20- to 40-foot bottom. Try using crappie minnows set at 10 feet deep and a variety of hair jigs and plastic jigs with a slow retrieval. The gear I recommend for crappie fishing is an ACC Crappie Stix one-piece rod and reel with 4- to 6-lb. test K9 line, along with Garmin Livescope and Power-Pole. For more information and tips, please visit my websites www.crappieonlanier.com and www.fishingwitheverydayheroes.org.”

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