Lake Lanier Fishing Report – April 2009

Lanier: Level: 11.9 feet below full pool. Temp: Upper 50s to low 60s. Clarity: Clear down the lake a slight stain up the lake.

Spotted Bass: Excellent. Ryan Coleman reports, “As you would expect, April is here and the spotted bass are on fire. Look for fish on secondary points adjacent to hard-bottom spawning pockets and docks in very shallow water in the same areas. A lizard, jig or jerkbait will be your best bet. The main-lake fish are up and ready to eat as well. Look for these fish to spawn late in April or early in May on rock humps or long, shallow, flat, rocky points. As we roll into May, look for a great fluke and swimbait bite on the pathways from the spawning grounds to the main lake.”

Largemouths: Good. Billy Boothe reports, “The largemouth bite is improving. They’re pulling up in shallow pockets around ditches and staging under shallow docks. There will be a massive wave of fish shallow before the full moon April 9. Target shallow pockets with a green-pumpkin Senko till you come to a bed, then it’s time to sight fish. Target spawners with a white Mann’s Hardnose tube or a green-pumpkin Hardnose lizard. If you come to a skittish fish, just move on. If you come to a pocket that has a lot of males but no females, fish from the bed out to the middle of the pocket. The females will stage there before and after laying eggs. If you don’t like to fish beds, cast a bluegill Mann’s C-4 crankbait or a 7/16-oz. green-pumpkin/orange TABU jig around stumps and docks.

Stripers: Good. Shane Watson said there was an unusual bite on freelined herring over the channels over a 100-foot bottom. “That’s typically later when the water temps warm up, but we had seven incredible days in a row on that bite. A little cold front this weekend slowed that down, and this morning (March 23) we’re fishing back in the creeks. Look for rolling fish in the mornings, and the next few weeks is time for that big-fish bite.” Mike Maddalena reports from the upper lake, “The big-fish bite is in full swing. To target these fish you’re going to want big bait, from 10 to 18+ inches. The feeding big fish will be shallow, in 12 feet or less of water, with the peak feeding times being dawn and dusk. Cover as much water as possible. Four baits in the water is plenty. Pull them at least 1 mph. Fish the large flats in the creeks and the large flats and points close to the channel. During the middle of the day, the fish will hold in the same areas, just deeper. Where the points drop off in to the channel and the ledges and edges where the flats meet the river channel are their daytime holding areas. As we get into April, the fish will also move into the actual rivers for their annual spawning run.”