Lake Lanier Fishing Report December 2014

Lanier: Level: 3.9 feet, which is up a bit after recent rains. Temp: Mid 50s. Clarity: Clear on the main lake and lightly stained in the creeks and rivers.

Bass: Guide Ryan Coleman reports, “There are a good many fish still up shallow and holding in the backs of the creeks. They are in 10 to 25 feet of water in little ditches and creek channels and are feeding best early. I am catching them on bottom baits like jigs and worms, but also on crankbaits in the ditches and UnderSpins with fluke trailers. The spotted bass will be heading deep (35 to 55 feet) and will be relating to the deep standing timber in Lanier very soon. Look for edges around this timber in the backs of creeks and feeders or off the edges of humps. The timber is the first major structure the fish see when they are heading deep, and bass typically hang around the transition of that timber. I typically like to work a jig, worm or jigging spoon around these edges of timber. For jigs, you have heard it from me before. The 3/8-oz. SpotSticker hand-tied jig is my choice. Since the water temps will be below 60 degrees, I prefer the living rubber skirts. I will be using one of the brown colors for the most part. Brown/Olive or Brown/Orange seem to be the most popular. I am putting a 5-inch Yamamoto twin tail on the back of the jig and working it on 12-lb. fluorocarbon line. For worms, rig it on a 3/16- or 1/4-oz. jig head. I like the Zoom Swamp Crawler worm, but a Trick Worm is also a great choice. For spoons, I use two—a .6 white Berrys spoon or a 1/2-oz. silver Hopkins Shorty. One of these will do the trick. As the cold weather settles in, some of the bigger fish will adjust and start to set up shallow on rocky points early. Look for the gnarliest steep rock point you can find, and work a 10- or 16-foot Ghost Herring crankbait up on the rock early in the day. This will produce some big spots during the winter here on Lanier. The fish will need a week or so to adjust to the lower water temps but when they do, don’t miss this bite."

Stripers: Big Fish On Lake Lanier Guide Service reports, “Striper fishing is good, but the weather has been awful! The lake temperature continues to drop, and the bait is moving from the main lake into the creeks. December will see the fish move more toward the mid-creek areas of the lower lake, the creeks of the upper lake and the main river from Browns Bridge to the Hwy 129 bridge. The stripers are following the bait into the creeks, and the main-lake bite has slowed. The freeline bite with both herring and trout has begun and will continue as the stripers settle into their winter pattern. Set your freelines back 70 to 100 feet behind the boat, and pull at 0.5 mile per hour. Try a small split-shot on some of your lines, and vary your trolling speed to locate your baits at various depths. If you are using planer boards, set your bank side outside board at 15 to 20 feet behind your board and the inside boards at 40 to 50 feet behind the boards. Always hang a couple of downrods over the side when you are pulling baits, and vary the depth. In addition, put someone on the front deck throwing a Capt. Mack’s bucktail jig; you may pick up an extra fish or two. Seagulls have arrived. These birds can help you locate actively feeding stripers. Keep your eyes open for gulls diving on bait pushed up by stripers. If you find this situation, move quietly into the area with your trolling motor, drop a couple of freelines and downrods out, and cast a bucktail jig or small spoon. Be aware that gulls will also hang out with loons and feed as they push bait to the surface. We typically do not fish where loons are feeding, but you may want to check the area for stripers with your Lowrance HDS. There are fish in all of the creeks, and the best advice we can give you is to check the creeks for bait, and fish where you find the bait.”