Lake Lanier Fishing Report – April 2022

Lanier: Level: 0.7 feet above 1071. Temp: 55-60 degrees. Clarity: Clear except for a little stain in the backs of the creeks.

Bass: Guide Jimbo from Jimbo’s Lake Lanier Spotted Bass Guide Service, “Fishing during the spawn can provide some interesting opportunities and many different choices. Bass focused on the spawn are often quite finicky and tough to catch at times. Bed fishing is very popular this time of year, especially for tournament anglers and certainly can provide some outstanding catches. In most instances, I prefer to leave the fish to their reproductive cycle and often shy away from bed fishing. In this report, I will focus on tips and techniques to catch fish during this period that offer an alternative to the bed fishing option, while considering the predictable behavior of bass focused on spawning. This year we are ahead of historical averages in terms of water temperature. The water level is and has been above full pool for much of March. Depending on weather trends for the remainder of March, the spawn in April could occur ahead of schedule. Most of the largemouth in the lake will physically go on the bed at water temperatures of 56 to 60 degrees. The spotted bass tend to 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 complete their spawning routine, there will be fish in all stages of the spawn 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 bedding routine. Make sure to cross reference the moon calendar with water data to understand when fish will likely begin their spawning rituals. 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 or stump for security and are often in 3 feet of water or less. The spotted bass can frequently be found in similar areas but often prefer a hard bottom-type area, such as a pebble rock/clay flat or sandy pocket. And again, the spots will typically spawn deeper than the largemouth and can generally be found in 6 to 12 feet of water and deeper. Unlike the 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, islands and sandy saddles between islands on the main lake. These females are often some of the biggest fish in the lake. So, if you are looking for a trophy spot in the springtime, your efforts may be better spent on the main lake as opposed to the creeks.  The creeks, however, will offer greater numbers of fish and more action than will the main lake in most cases. Spots and largemouth both will stage around and under docks near likely spawning areas.  Check those areas thoroughly. Now that we have explored the location that fish can be found during the spawn, I want to share some of the techniques and lures that can be used to catch these fish. Rather than focusing on specific bed fishing techniques, which are multi-faceted and often different with each pair of targeted fish on any given day, I am going to share some proven tactics that can be used to catch fish just before they actually lock down on the beds. Worms and jigs are proven fish catchers year-round, and the spawn is no different. These are great baits to skip and pitch around docks for those staging fish we discussed earlier in this report. Use a 3/16-oz. Georgia Blade Jig Head and tip it with a Berkley Hit Worm or Flat Worm. If the fish are ultra-finicky, don’t forget the Carolina rig to present your soft plastics. This presentation method is often ideal for finicky soon-to-be spawning bass. Drag or drift this rig slowly over secondary points or the ends of 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 these spawning fish. I will often tip this with a 4-inch worm as opposed to a traditional offering of 6 inches or more. A weightless fluke is a fun and productive bait to fish this time of year. Target the shallows, cover and docks with this rig. Twitch the bait and then allow it to sink slowly. This presentation will draw strikes from actively feeding and even some spawning fish as well, and you get to see the strikes! I like to use a Georgia Blade Shad Spin and downsize to a 1/4-oz. model with a small trailer and work the back third of creeks with this bait during the prespawn and just before the fish go on beds. It offers versatility in presentation and depth, a great combo. A traditional Georgia Blade spinnerbait can be a good choice, as well, especially if there is some wind present. Swimbaits offer great versatility as they can, based on the model, be fished at any depth you wish. This a great bait with which to catch a monster bass just before they spawn. Often, the females will be out just off of the spawning area in slightly deeper water, but they are not far from the beds. Throwing a big 6- or 8-inch swimbait and slow-rolling in these areas near spawning flats or around secondary points and docks can entice bites from very big fish. I recommend the Sweet Herring Swimbait for this tactic. Keep in mind this approach will not garner you many bites on any given day, but the fish you do catch will likely be monsters! Also, a Lanier Baits Swimmer on a jig head swam around rocky and clay points as well as in pockets can be a great option for both numbers and big fish, as well. While the spawn can produce some potentially challenging choices, focus on the immediate prespawn period with the tips and baits noted above for some outstanding results.  See you on the water. ”

Stripers: Capt. Clay Cunningham reports, “The striper fishing this past month has been solid with some occasional schooling action as the stripers prepare for the spawn. The stripers will spawn over the course of the next few weeks. As a result, the fish will be on the move and eating. The key over the month of April will be points and flats as the stripers pull up into these areas to feed on shad and herring. Freelines and planer boards will be the key tactics this month. The bait of choice so far has been herring. That being said, some fish are coming on gizzard shad, as well. As a result, be sure to be prepared with a variety of hook sizes and line sizes tied on different rods. Keep two Shakespeare Striper rods with 15-lb. Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon and size 1 Gamakatsu Octopus hooks for the herring. Then have at least two rods with 15-lb. Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon and size 5/0 Gamakatsu Octopus hooks or larger for the gizzard shad. If they are mongo gizzards, maybe add a Gamakatsu Magic Eye Treble stinger hook. Talk to your local bait shop like Hammond’s or Oakwood Bait and Tackle for details on the stinger hook setup. Pull the bankline on the north end of the lake and in the creeks on the south end. Also put out planers boards. The Perfect Planer is most popular because it can be used with herring and gizzard shad. Toward the end of the month look for the topwater bite to appear, as well. This will be the highlight of the year for those who like to cast. We have already been catching some schooling fish on a 1/4-oz. jig head paired with a 3.3 Berkley Power Swimmer. Once the topwater bite starts, rig up a 7-foot medium-action rod with 12-lb. Trilene Big Game line and be prepared for the stripers to try to take it away from you. Be sure to take a variety of baits like the Berkley Surge Shad, the Sebile Magic Swimmer and the Berkley Highjacker. Every day a different one will be the ticket. See you on the water.”

Capt. Ron Mullins, of The Striper Experience, reports, “Spring striper fishing will be getting into full swing in April. The first part of the month is prime spawn time, and the big girls will be up in the river system and in the backs of free-flowing creeks like Flat, Gainesville, Wahoo, Little River, Lathem and Thompson. When they head to these areas, the buck stripers will be right there with them to do their thing. Flatlines, Captain Mack’s (CM) Perfect Planer Boards and stealth-trolled CM Mini Macks will be the go-to techniques all month long. We will be fishing four flatlines and two, 10-inch CM Perfect Planer Boards while we are up the river. The bigger board works excellent with big baits and lots of current. The flatlines will be two with 1/4-oz. of weight in front of the swivel, 4 feet of 15-lb. fluorocarbon, to a No. 2 to 4/0 Gamakatsu circle hook depending on bait size and be fished 30 to 40 feet behind the boat. The other two will just lack the weight and be fished 50 to 75 feet behind the boat. The planer board rods, with the same tackle setup as the unweighted flatline rods, will be 30 to 50 feet behind the boards that will be run 25 to 50 feet away from the boat. Bait choices will be herring, medium threadfin shad and large gizzard shad. As the month moves on, most of the females will move out of the river systems and will stage up at prominent points and flats close to the mouths of Little River, Ada Creek, Toto Creek and Bald Ridge, and the creek spawners will move halfway out of the creeks to the same areas to fatten up for the spring and the long summer grind. At this time we will put the 7-inch CM Perfect Planer Boards in front of four lines (two on each side) and spread our baits out over a wider area by running the first board on each side 75 feet away from the boat and then the second board about 30 feet away. The smaller boards work better with the smaller baits and will allow you to see the pesky spotted bass bites a lot easier as the board is lighter and more sensitive to light bites. The wider spread of four boards will allow you to cover a lot of different water depths as the outside board will be running close to the bank in 10 feet of water and the outside board on the opposite side of the boat will likely be in 80 plus feet of water. When we move out to this open water, we will increase the amount of line behind the boards from 60 to 120 feet and the flatlines will also increase to 75 to 150 feet back and will have a split-shot added. This is also when we will put the CM Mini Mack’s back in the water and resume stealth trolling. We will put the rigs down 20 to 35 feet and fish them at the front of the boat like a downline or even put them down and attach a 10-inch CM Perfect Planer board to get it away from the boat a bit. Let us always try to pursue God. Jesus doesn’t need us to do things for Him and be religious, but to be more like Him, hold nothing back from Him, and have a relationship with Him.”

Crappie: Capt. Josh Thornton reports, “On the northern end of Lake Lanier  where I spend most of my time, I am finding crappie in shallow water 5 to 15 feet deep. I am also catching them out of docks. Expect the crappie to be in a spawning pattern for the next couple weeks, so look shallow and toward the banks. One female can lay up to 60,000 eggs so let’s only keep what we intend to eat right away until the spawn is over, then we can go back to filling the freezer. If you are using jigs, I would recommend starting with a dark body and a chartreuse tail. Another color I had success with this week was solid pearl white. I am setting minnows 2 to 4 feet deep over schooling crappie. Crappie love the shade so cast into the shadows. When dock shooting, the biggest fish are usually the first to bite. I’m using Skippers Jig Moon Jigs. Use the promo code ‘heroes’ when ordering. I’m using ATX Lure Company plastics. I use 5-lb. test high-visibility yellow braid for my line (unless I am using a bobber) and a Piscifun reel on an ACC Crappie Stix. I use Garmin LiveScope and the Navionics Boating app. Find me on Facebook and like my pages @crappieonlanier and @fishingwitheverydayheroes.”

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