Lake Lanier Fishing Report – March 2023

Lanier: Level: 0.1 below 1071. Temp: 56-61 degrees. Clarity: The water clarity has been clear on the south end as usual, but with all the rain the backs of the creeks definitely have some stain.

Bass: Jimbo from Jimbo’s Lake Lanier Spotted Bass Guide Service reports, “Fishing during March can provide some interesting opportunities. The largemouth will be soon to spawn, and the spots will begin to stage in preparation for the spawn. The lake level is around full pool as we head out of February and the temperatures have been trending above normal so far this winter, which could mean an early spawn if this trend continues. The lengthening days as we progress forward will help to trigger the movement toward prespawn activities for both the spots and largemouth. If the weather remains warmer than normal, the faster these processes will develop. There are a few things to consider when fishing during this time of year. You will be fishing the prespawn in March, and maybe an advanced prespawn based on the weather, so let’s start with the end in mind and review the spawning habits of both the largemouth and spots. The largemouth in the lake will physically go on the bed with water temperatures of 56-58 degrees. The spotted bass will spawn a bit later when the water temperatures reach 62 degrees or above. Typically, the fish spawn in waves, rather than all at once. After the first wave of fish completes their spawning routine, there will be fish in all stages of the spawn (pre, spawn and post) for the next 30 to 45 days, depending on the weather conditions and water temperatures. Further, it is important to understand that many fish that spawn in waves as mentioned above do so during a favorable moon phase, given the noted water temperature requirements are met. The full and new moon phases often prompt fish to move into their spawning routine. Until those conditions are met, fish will be staging and feeding up in preparation for this process. So, where do we need to look? The largemouth in Lake Lanier tend to spawn shallower than do the spotted bass. The largemouth can be found bedding in creek pockets, often in the backs of these pockets, in a protected area. They will position themselves next to a piece of cover such as a blowdown tree or stump for security and are often in 3 feet of water or less. Look around docks in shallow water for these fish, as well as stumps and adjacent blowdowns. The spotted bass can frequently be found in similar areas but often prefer a hard bottom-type area, such as that a clay flat can provide. And again, the spots will typically spawn deeper than do the largemouth and can be found in 6 to 15 feet of water and even deeper. Unlike most largemouth, there are a contingency of the spotted bass that will spawn on the main lake. These fish can be found on or around humps, points and sandy saddles between islands on the main lake. These females are often some of the biggest fish in the lake. Until the time when the fish spawn in these areas, fish key features adjacent to these spawning areas. Secondary points and docks often provide great staging areas for these fish and become a prime target this time of year. The spots will be in the same types of places to spawn and will stage in similar areas, as well. Now that we have explored the location that fish can be found during the spawn, let’s examine some of the techniques and lures that can be used to catch these fish: Jerkbaits are a great choice as the water warms up though the 50s. Work these baits around docks, points and over humps. A Berkley Stunna is a good option. Experiment with cadence to find the right retrieve speed and pause cycle. The colder the water, the longer the pause. A Georgia Blade Shad Spin in the 1/4-oz. size is an excellent choice to work in shallow-creek ditches, as well as in and around secondary points and docks. Experiment with trailer size and type.  A Lanier Baits Jerk Shad is a good option for a trailer. A crankbait is an excellent choice to cover water in the backs of creeks and pockets, as well as around secondary points, docks and flats this time of year.  The Berkley Frittside crankbait or the Berkley Money Badger are good options to cover the varying depth ranges until you find the best one for the day’s conditions. They offer many good shad and crayfish patterns from which to choose. And as always, make sure to visit our local treasure, Hammonds Fishing, to pick up what you need. The worm and jig are always an option in the springtime. A Georgia Jig on rocky/clay secondary points and around docks is always a good choice for spots or largemouth. If the fish are ultra-finicky, don’t forget the old reliable Carolina rig to present your soft-plastics. Drag or drift this rig slowly over secondary points or spawning flats for some potentially awesome results. Also, when fishing a Georgia Blade jig head and worm combo, consider using a lighter jig head. I often choose a 1/8-oz. head or lighter to target spawning fish. I will often tip this with a 4-inch Berkley Hit Worm, as opposed to a traditional offering of 6 inches or more. I often work the baits slowly in this situation to trigger strikes. While the winter to spring/early spawn can be a challenging time of year to catch fish, it can be awesome if you remain versatile and open-minded in your approach. Use the tips and techniques noted above to guide your fishing during the spawn, and you will enjoy some great success. For more information and access to a weekly video fishing report, you can subscribe at jimboonlanier.com.”

Stripers: Capt. Clay Cunningham, of Catching Not Fishing Lake Lanier Fishing Guides, reports, “The water temperature on Lanier is finally moving up into the mid 50s, and the stripers are moving up, as well. The water clarity has been clear on the south end as usual, but with all the rain, the backs of the creeks definitely have some stain. The stripers have moved shallow. Freelines are now the primary tactic. Rig up a Penn Fathom 15 Linecounter reel with 15-lb. Trilene Big Game line, a Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon leader, a Spro 80-lb. Power Swivel and a Gamakatsu 1/0 Octopus hook tipped with the herring. This setup is the Lanier staple. The Penn Fathom Linecounter really helps your success rate as you are able to know exactly how far back your baits are behind the boat. Start at 120 feet and make changes as necessary. A small split-shot or an additional 30 feet of line can make a huge difference from day to day. Pull the freelines at 1 mph across humps and points and in some cases over open water. For the past couple weeks, it has been half open water and half on the banks. Just hard to say which will be best this spring. If the fish move to the banks, keep a Penn Battalion 7-foot, medium-light spinning rod paired with a Penn Clash spinning reel with light line on the deck. Tie on a Captain Mack 1/4-oz. bucktail in white or chartreuse. Some days the bucktail outperforms live bait. Another option is casting Mini Macks or slow trolling Mini Macks with the trolling motor. You can troll the Mini Macks on the same Penn Fathom Linecounters you use for live bait. As you are trolling live bait, drop a couple Mini Macks close in behind the boat like a transom bait, and you will boat some extra fish. The fish are getting bigger like old times, so look for some better fish to show up soon. Really looking forward to this spring.” 

Lake Lanier Page: Archived Articles, News & Fishing Reports

Stripers: Capt. Ron Mullins, of The Striper Experience, reports, “March fishing is all over the place. Literally, you will be able to catch stripers in the backs of all the major creeks from the dam all the way up both arms to Yellow on the Tee and Wahoo on the Hooch. Stripers will also begin working their way up into the river systems to begin their spawn with the high 50-degree water. In both of these areas, your best bait choices will be bigger baits (8- to 12-inch gizzard shad or trout) pulled up in shallow water behind your Captain Mack’s Perfect Planer Boards. Run these baits right up on the bank in 5 feet of water toward the backs of the creeks on clay banks. Up the river arms pull a couple of bigger baits, as well as a couple herring, through big bends in the river arms where there are deep holes on the outside of the corners. Take a look at last month’s report at GON.com to see how to rig your 3/0 Gamakatsu circle hook with a treble stinger for those bigger gizzards and how far back you need to pull those baits behind your Perfect Planer Board. The main lake, open-water bite has also begun to fire up if you want to get away from all the crowds. These fish are spread out from the River Forks area up to Laurel Park on the Hooch and War Hill on the Tee. This bite is one of my favorites throughout the year. It is relaxed fishing and can be done with any level of fisherman. The key to this bite is lots of rods in the water and covering a big swath of water. Two, 7-inch Perfect Planers with small herring, trout or shiners placed 30 to 70 feet behind the boards on each side of the boat and two flatlines behind the boat would be the minimum number of rods that we will put out for the next month. The outside set of boards will run without any weight on the main line. The inside boards will have 1/8- to 1/4-oz. worm sinkers on the main line in front of the swivel where you then have 4 feet of Tatsu fluorocarbon leader running down to a No. 2 or No. 4 Gamakatsu Circle hook. Lots of folks will run split-shots on the weighted lines, but these will crimp your line, making a weak spot on the line and inevitably will get knocked off when your planer board rides down to the swivel when you catch a fish. You will also be better off running downlines with herring or small trout off both sides of the boat’s front rodholders and a 10-inch Perfect Planer off each side of the boat with a Captain Mack’s Mini Mack below them. If you are looking for a little more flash on your Mini Mack, get yourself some Striper Tackle 3/8-oz. Pro Spin heads. All four of these rods should be down 20 to 30 feet to pick up an extra bite or two from those fish that are hanging out a little deeper. That’s right…. 10 rods should be your standard setup this month. These fish are roaming around in 80 to 110 feet of open water on the river channels at the junctions of the major creek channels. They are spread out in the water column from 2 to 35 feet, and this spread will give you the best opportunity to get a bait in front of these fish as they roam around looking to gorge themselves on small bait as they get ready to spawn.  Today’s world is hard to deal with all the evil that surrounds us. Paul told us, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:21. It’s hard to do the right thing and be good, but when we do, then we can overcome.

Crappie: Capt. Josh Thornton reports, “The crappie are moving shallow. Start looking in the mouths of major creeks where the crappie are staging. They will continue to move to the backs of the creeks over the next few weeks. I like looking for rock walls and standing timber or blowdowns in the shallow waters to cast to. Trolling is also picking up in large shallow bays or coves. We have been getting good fish from trolling mostly over a pound. The trolling should stay constantly good for the next month. The jigs that are producing the best for me are the black and chartreuse combination or anything with a chartreuse combination. Crappie love the shade, so cast into the shadows or shaded areas of dock. When dock shooting, the biggest fish are usually the first to bite. I use ATX Lure Company plastic jigs on Lip Thrashin Lures jig heads. I use 5-lb. test, high-visibility yellow K9 braid for my line unless I am using a bobber, then it’s the K9 6-lb. high-visibility line. I use Garmin Livescope and the Navionics Boating app. Find me on Facebook and like my pages @crappieonlanier and @fishingwitheverydayheroes.”