Lake Lanier Fishing Report – June 2009

Lanier: Level: 5.4 feet below full pool. Temp: 67-69 degrees. Clarity: Light stain up the lake and in some of the creeks.

Spotted Bass: Very good. Ryan Coleman reports, “The spotted bass are now 90 percent finished with the spawn and are starting to make a move out to the main lake. The water temps are holding in the upper 60s right now, which is allowing them to stay shallow. Look for that to change as the June sun brings the water temperature up and gets the big boys offshore. Main-lake humps and points will be your ticket throughout June and early July. Work these areas with topwater baits such as Spooks, Sammys and Chug Bugs, and don’t forget to toss your Triple Trout swimbait over a few places. As June moves forward, rig a 3/4-oz. brown football jig on 14-lb. fluorocarbon, and work it in 10 to 20 feet of water around main-lake brush. This will produce some awesome spotted bass in June on Lanier. As always, keep a drop-shot rig ready for the ones that try to hide under your boat. This is the time of year where your ability to read your electronics is crucial on Lanier. It is your eyes underwater.”

Largemouths: Fair. Billy Boothe reports, “The largemouths are really scattered right now with all the flooded cover and the lower-than-normal water temps. I’m catching some in 2 feet and some in 15 feet. We haven’t had a push to the ledges and brush yet, so most of the fish are still in less than 6 feet of water. At daylight there is a decent topwater bite around shallow rocks if shad are present. I’ve had the best luck with a Lucky Craft G-Splash 65 popper in the ghost-minnow color fished right on the rocks. After daylight, I’m covering water, junk fishing, and throwing at anything that looks good. Cover water with chartreuse-shad Mann’s C-4, and when you get around docks and laydowns, flip a 7/16-oz. black-and-blue TABU jig. The ledge fish are scattered, but there are some on it. Work the main-river ledges with a citrus-shad Mann’s 15 Plus or a Carolina-rigged, green-pumpkin Trick Worm. As the water temp reaches 75, look for the fish to move out to the ledges and the laydowns on channel-swing banks.”

Stripers: Very good. Capt. Clay Cunningham reports, “The topwater bite is tapering off, and the downline bite is already falling into place. The stripers will be on the points in 20 to 30 feet of water. Drop the downline about a foot off the bottom using a blueback herring as the bait. You should be able to see the fish on the graph. It is not uncommon to get doubles and triples at one time this time of year. The north end will be the most consistent fishing, but do not be afraid to head south to get away from the crowd. Be sure to use a limber rod on these shallow downline fish like the new Okuma medium-lite striper rod.”