Lake Lanier Fishing Report – August 2019

Lanier: Level: Few inches over full pool. Temp: Mid to upper 80s. Clarity: Varies throughout the main lake. Overall it’s clear, and the only stain is in the upper river arms.

Bass: Guide Rob Jordan reports, “The bite has been good overall. It does start to slow down in August, but the great thing about this time of year is the fish are set on where they’ll spend the next few months. The same patterns will produce from one end of the lake to the other, and don’t be surprised if the action is best in the afternoon. Look for fish around the drops in 20 to 25 feet of water. Steep points, rock banks and humps are where they’ll be. The two most consistent baits are a small swimbait and a drop shot. I’ll rig either a Z-Man Minnowz or DieZel Minnowz on a 1/4-oz. ball head or a 3/8-oz. underspin. This is a great choice around schooling fish but equally as effective when slowing down on the suspended fish 10 to 20 feet deep. Fish this on 10- to 12-lb. Seaguar fluorocarbon on a 6:3:1 reel. The drop shot is the most steady technique, either dropping or casting. Fish it on 6- to 8-lb. fluorocarbon with an open hook. Finesse worms or a small StreakZ 3.75 are my go-to’s. Greens, pinks or shad are the standard colors. I attach my leader to a 20-lb. braid main line for better hook-ups in deep water, and you can detect bites a lot easier in the brush. Look for the bite to remain steady until mid September. Topwater action usually starts to pick back up when we get the first cooler nights.”

Stripers: Guide Ron Mullins reports, “Most of the stripers have pushed down the lake and are in their normal summertime haunts. South end creek channels like Big, Shoal, Two, Four, Six Mile and Bald Ridge all have fish in them. In early August, there will still be some fish in main-lake pockets in 50 to 70 feet of water first thing in the morning. As the sun gets up, they will move out to the creek channels and the river channel in 90 to 120 feet of water. The best bet for catching these fish is a downline 30 to 80 feet down, over and in these fish. Make sure you have a lively bait on the hook at all times. The herring are finicky this time of year, so give them plenty of leader to swim on. We will be using 8 to 10 feet of 10-lb. fluorocarbon leader and a No. 1 octopus or octopus circle hook this month and changing baits out every five to seven minutes as well. You will go through plenty of herring this time of year to keep the best bait possible down there. The power reeling bite will also get better and better this month. A magnum Parker spoon or a 2-oz. Capt. Mack’s Super or Chipmunk jig with a 6-inch trailer or even one of your dead herring will be the best choices for power reeling. Drop down through the school, and start cranking it back up past the school, and hang on. This technique is a great way to keep a school of fish fired up, and be sure to hang on as they try to rip the rod out of your hands. It will be hot, so make sure you have some water with you when you get out there to catch ’em up.”