Lake Lanier Fishing Report – January 2022

Lanier: Level: 1.3 feet below 1071. Temp: 55 degrees. Clarity: Clear on the main lake to slightly stained in the backs of the creeks and up the rivers.

Bass: Jimbo, from Jimbo’s Lake Lanier Spotted Bass Guide Service, reports, “While the outside elements are not always favorable, January can offer some outstanding angling on Lake Lanier. Lanier offers some great winter fishing if you are willing to go outside of what may be your comfort zone. Before we get into the fishing, please mark Jan. 14-16, 2022 on your calendar. These are the dates of Jimbo’s Southern Fishing Expo! Come and enjoy some incredible fishing tackle and service vendors, as well as classes presented by the region’s top anglers. Live entertainment as well! The event will be held at the Forsyth County Conference Center at Lanier Tech. Visit this web link for more info: https://jimboonlanier.com/southern-outdoor-expo. Now, let’s explore some fishing tactics with which you can approach Lanier in January. As we discussed in a recent installment, a ditch can be defined as a significant depression which offers a sharp depth change of 2 feet or more from the surrounding structure. Ditches can be naturally occurring or can be man-made. An example of a naturally occurring ditch would be a creek channel that feeds a pocket, cove or creek arm. A man-made ditch could result from a trench that was dug during the construction near the lake. These features exist in many places on Lake Lanier, and they hold fish during the winter months. Ditches can be shallow or deep and sometimes both depending on the length and location of the ditch. I shared a comprehensive article in December that focused completely on ditch fishing. If you missed it, take the opportunity to go back to gon.com and review this information—it could continue to play a key role in January this year. Use your Humminbird/Garmin electronics to find creek arms or pockets just off of the main creek channels that offer a deep vein extending back into the arm or cove/pocket. The farther the deep water extends back into the creek arm, the better for wintertime fishing. When you enter these areas and are searching for productive water, search for the presence of baitfish in and around the timber, which you will find in the deeper-water portions of the ditch. If you do not find bait, you will not find fish. Leave and check other similar areas. Also, look for the ditches that do have timber at the mouth. The presence of the timber represents the appropriate depth for a potentially productive ditch. Also, key in on special features within the ditch, such as a point or secondary ditch, that may intersect with the main ditch. While our focus is on fishing deep, understand that a shallow bite often exists in these same ditches, even in the dead of winter. Often these shallow fish in the winter mornings are monsters. Try these areas with a Georgia Blade Shad Spin, SPRO jerkbait or SPRO crankbait.  Also, a Keitech swimbait on a 1/4-oz. swim head can be a good option. Your presentation speed with all the above should vary directly with the water temperature. The colder the water, the slower your presentation should be. Also, with the Shad Spin, crankbait and Keitech, your bait should maintain contact with the bottom as much as possible. Begin your search shallow in the backs of the creek arms at daylight. This will be the warmest water in the lake and will often attract baitfish. Often the active fish will be in 15 feet of water or less right at daylight, so get out early and be ready for some action right away. After the early morning bite, switch your focus to the deep areas of the ditch. Start with the first area of naturally occurring timber you find as you move from shallow to deep in the ditch. An isolated tree can be excellent, but thick timber can hold fish, as well. Obviously, the former is preferred, as the latter is normally more difficult to fish and potentially less efficient. So, if you can, find the more isolated cover when possible. The timber edges are often the most productive, so focus on those areas first. Cast and drag a Georgia Jig through the timber the same way as you would work shallower cover.  Slow and methodical is the key. Develop a keen sense of feel as the bites are often very light. If the jig is not productive, fish a shaky head tipped with a Berkley worm in the same fashion. Another option is to jig a Georgia Blade spoon vertically over fish you see on your Lowrance electronics. A drop shot can also be an effective presentation. Experiment daily as fish preferences change like the wind. Stay open in your approach and remain flexible. We guide year-round on Lanier and would enjoy the opportunity to help you with your winter fishing. Tight lines and enjoy a great winter bite on Lake Lanier.”

Stripers: Capt. Ron Mullins, of The Striper Experience, reports, “Striper fishing will continue to be good through January mid-lake and north up the rivers.  The stripers will be in a variety of water depths, but the most consistent bite will be in 40 to 60 feet of water with downlines. The Captain Mack’s Planer Board bite has been good in late December and should continue to produce a few bigger fish while using trout or shad in the 8- to 12-inch range if the weather continues to stay at or above normal temperatures. The key to the downline bite will be to find the large concentrations of bait toward the backs of the creeks. Sardis, Ada, Wahoo and Littler River on the Chattahoochee side and Taylor, Thompson and Yellow on the Chestatee side will all be good starting points. The drainages and coves coming into the main lake as you run up the river channels will also produce during January. Herring on downlines with a 1- to 1.5-oz. Captain Mack’s Swivel Sinker with approximately 3 feet of 10- to 12-lb. fluorocarbon leader and a No. 1 or 1/0 Gamakatsu circle hook will be the best bait setup. Don’t forget that small trout, medium shiners or small gizzard shad will also be great baits to put down. Remember to change out your hooks to a 2/0 or No. 4 hook depending on the size of the bait that you put down.  The Captain Mack’s Mini Mack and Super Spoon will be the artificial go-tos in January.  After you find the bait and fish on your Humminbird SOLIX or HELIX, get your downlines down, as well as your Captain Mack’s Mini Mack. The Mini Mack should be put 25 to 35 feet down and pulled around these schools at 0.5-0.8 mph. The Mini Mack will also be an easy rig to flip out 125 to 150 feet behind the boat and trolled through active birds that you will see while you are moving from creek to creek. Once you find a big school of fish, put your Minn Kota Ulterra on Spot-Lock and fire your 3/4- or 1-oz. Super Spoon in white/silver scale, white/chartreuse scale, chartreuse/chartreuse scale, or chrome down to the fish that you are seeing on the bottom. Let the spoon hit the bottom, put your reel in gear, and make a 5 to 8 foot sweeping motion up with the spoon and let it fall back to the bottom. Most of your hits will come while the spoon is falling so really pay attention and consider using 15- to 20-lb. braid as your main line so that you have a better feel. John 3:16 plan and simple: God loved, God gave, we believe, we receive. We pray for a blessed 2022 for all.”

Capt. Clay Cunningham reports, “The striper fishing on Lanier has been consistently pretty good despite the changing weather this past December. Many times in January the best fishing is in the afternoon. No need to get out super early and freeze most days. The other key to the stripers this time of year is to find the bait in the back of the creeks. Every creek on the lake will have some stripers in it. Another huge advantage this time of year is the bait being in the backs of the creeks, which narrows your search immensely. Once you find the bait in the backs of the creeks, several patterns can develop. First and foremost is pulling live bait on a freeline. The freeline is basically a hook and a live bait back behind the boat. Be sure to use a premium swivel like the Spro Power Swivel and fluorocarbon on the leader like the Berkley 100% Fluorocarbon. So far this winter, herring has been the best bait, but trout are working, as well. Early in the morning and during any time of low light, pull the herring or trout on a freeline somewhere around 100 feet behind the boat. This is the best way to catch bigger fish most days. You will not get as many bites as you will on the downline but size will be better. The other pattern is the downline bite right on the deep schools of bait in the creeks. Rig up a Carolina rig with a 2-oz. Captain Mack’s Swivel Sinker, a Berkley 100% fluorocarbon leader and a Gamakatsu 1/0 straight-eye octopus hook on a Penn Fathom Linecounter 15 reel and a Shakespeare Striper Rod. Find the bait and drop the smaller trout and herring right on top of the bait. Start with a 5-foot leader, but do not be afraid to shorten it. If you do not want to use live bait, be sure to try a spoon. The spoon bite has been strong for stripers and spotted bass. The most popular spoon on Lanier is the 0.6 white foil Super Spoon and the 1-oz. Captain Mack’s Super Spoon. Great electronics like the Humminbird Solix are critical for seeing the spoon. Many times you can see the fish eat the spoon. We’re also catching some monster spotted bass on the spoon. Give it a try and see you on the lake.” 

Crappie: Capt. Josh Thornton reports, “Crappie feed year-round. They eat every day. We just have to figure out what they want and present our bait when they are willing to eat. When a cold front moves in or the water temperature rapidly drops, the bigger fish can be found in deep brush. On overcast, warm days, search for crappie suspending on top of shallow brushpiles. You will want to use a slow-falling jig for these fish, so try a 1/32-oz. jig. Let the jig fall, give it time to get to the fish. Give it a count to five or 10 depending on depth. Then start retrieving the jig slowly. When vertical jigging, stop the boat over the brush and drop the line. Move the jig ever so slightly since winter crappie move slowly. I like using the Skipper’s Jigs Moon Jig tipped with a small minnow for this technique. Crappie can be found around docks all year. Cast into the shadows or the shady side of the dock. If you don’t have electronics, a good depth to start at would be 10 to 15 feet. 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.”