Lake Lanier Fishing Report June 2018

Lanier: Level: 1 foot above full pool. Temp: High 70s. Clarity: Very clear on the south end and slightly stained on the north end and backs of some creeks.

Bass: Good. Guide and tournament angler Ryan Coleman reports, “The spotted bass are recovering from the spring spawn. We still have a few main-lake fish that have not done the deal yet, but they should get it done around May 29 when the moon is full. There are plenty of spotted bass out schooling on humps and points, as you might expect for Lanier. They are also starting to set up on brush in the 20- to 25-foot range. With the lake full, some of the brush is very deep, so look around for the shallower stuff. It will produce much better for you early in the summer. I have been doing very well all week working Chug Bugs and walking baits over the humps and brush. Keep an eye out for the schoolers, and hit them quick before they go back down. Also, on very cloudy or windy days, a Zoom Super Fluke in pearl rigged on a weighted hook or even weightless is working very well out on the humps. Rig it on a spinning rod with light-weight braid, and you can get to the schooling fish with a great hook-up rate. On sunny days, work a
spy bait out over the brush and on points very slowly for the timid spots. That bait should be worked on very light line and worked at a very slow rate. Works great when things are still and the bite is hard.”

Linesides: Capt. Clay Cunningham reports, “We are finally getting some nice weather after several months of cold and wind here on Lanier. Now that June is here, look for the Lake Lanier stripers to progressively move deeper as the water temperature rises. At the beginning of the month, look for them to be 5 to 20 feet deep. You may still see some topwater action, so be sure to have a Sebile Magic Swimmer ready to cast. Day in and day out, it is hard to beat the Magic Swimmer. All the colors in the Magic Swimmer work. Early in the morning, the Magic Swimmer in white liner is hard to beat. A Storm Chug Bug in white or chrome/blue is also a good choice. Cast these lures on 10- or 12-lb. Trilene Big Game on a spinning rod. A good setup is a 7-foot medium-action Fenwick spinning rod paired with a Penn Conflict 3000 spinning reel. As the striped bass move deeper, look for the downline bite to take over. Spool up a Penn Squall Linecounter reel with 15-lb. Trilene Big Game on a Shakespeare medium-light action striper rod. Tie on a Capt. Mack 2-oz. swivel sinker, a 4-foot leader of 15-lb. 100% Trilene Flourocarbon and a 1/0 Gamakatsu Octopus hook. Herring from the local tackle shops will be the key bait. Look for the stripers on your electronics before you drop baits. You can use traditional 2D sonar or down imaging to see these fish. Great electronics like the Humminbird units is a must. You can see your bait swim around the sinker. Overall, June is usually a great month on Lanier for stripers.”