Lake Lanier Fishing Report – March 2007

Lanier: Level: Down 5.2 feet below full pool. Temps: 44-48 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Spotted Bass: Fair as fish are scattered — some big spots are still in the deep timber, but in general they’re going to make a quick move to the points at the mouths of spawning pockets and into the pockets. March is typically one of the best months for big spotted bass Lanier. As the weather warms, try jerkbaits on rocky main-lake banks and islands for some quality spotted bass.

Largemouths: Good. The largemouths are just starting their annual move to shallow water, said tournament angler Billy Boothe. “Cover a lot of water. You might fish 20 pockets and only catch fish in five of them, but there will be a load of fish in the ones that you do. For numbers, fish mid-way back in the pockets with a gold-and-black Yozuri Rattlin Vibe, burning it back to the boat along flats and ditches. Once you locate bass, you can slow down and milk the area with a green-pumpkin Trick Worm on a 1/8-oz. Bite Me jig head,” Billy said. With warmer temperatures, big prespawn females will start to move up on secondary points and docks in four to eight feet of water. “Fish the points and docks mid-way back in the creeks. I’ll be throwing 1/2-oz. Stone Jig in green pumpkin for the dock fish and a Mann’s Baby 8 Minus in a crawfish pattern on the points. Those fish are just now starting to pull up, so fish slow with the jig, and use a stop-and-go retrieve with the crankbait and make repeated casts. As March rolls on, the fish will start to really group up on the flats and shallow docks in the very backs of the pockets. The best ones will have a mixture of pea gravel and sand. For those fish my main bait will be a watermelon candy Mann’s Hardnose Free Fall worm for numbers and for big fish a 1/2-oz. Nichols spinnerbait with gold blades and a blue-glimmer skirt,” Billy said.

Stripers: The stripers are scattered at Lanier, but there are a few areas to key on. The bite has been exceptional at Balus and Flat creeks, and a couple of 35-lb. stripers were caught last week. Up the Chestatee, try Johnson and Lathem creeks, and up the Chattahoochee, try Wahoo Creek and Little River. The stripers have been in the backs of the creeks as the bluebacks look for warmer water, and the stripers will follow them. If you pull planer boards, you want to be right up on the bank, and run a long line with your bait 70 to 100 feet behind the planer board.