Lake Lanier Fishing Report – March 2025

Lanier: Level: 0.8 feet above 1071. Temp: High 40s to low 50s. Clarity: All over the place due to recent rains.

Bass: Guide Jimbo Mathley, with Jimbo’s Lake Lanier Spotted Bass Guide Service, reports, “Fishing during late February and March can provide some interesting opportunities. The largemouth will be soon to spawn, and the spots will begin to stage in preparation for the spawn. The lake level has been above full pool as we head out of February and the temperatures have been about normal so far this winter. A strong warming trend could add up to an early spawn. This could provide some different opportunities for this March as we should find different trends and patterns this spring as a result of the warmer-than-normal weather trends. Let’s explore how to address this important month on Lanier in these unusual weather and water conditions. There are a few things to consider when fishing during this time of year. You will be fishing the prespawn in March and maybe an advanced prespawn based on the weather, so let’s start with the end in mind and review the spawning habits of both the largemouth and spots. The largemouth in the lake will physically go on the bed at water temperatures of 56 to 58 degrees. The spotted bass will spawn a bit later when the water temperatures reach 62 degrees or above. Typically, the fish spawn in waves, rather than all at once. After the first wave of fish completes their spawning routine, there will be fish in all stages of the spawn for the next 30 to 45 days, depending on the weather conditions and water temperatures. Further, it is important to understand that many fish that spawn in waves as mentioned above, do so during a favorable moon phase, given the noted water temperature requirements are met. The full and new moon phases often prompt fish to move into their spawning routine. Until those conditions are met, fish will be staging and feeding up in preparation for this process. So, where do we need to look? The largemouth in Lake Lanier tend to spawn shallower than do the spotted bass. The largemouth can be found bedding in creek pockets, often in the backs of these pockets, in a protected area. They will position themselves next to a piece of cover, such as a blowdown tree or stump for security and are often in 3 feet of water or less. Look around docks in shallow water for these fish, as well as stumps and adjacent blowdowns. The spotted bass can frequently be found in similar areas but often prefer a hard-bottom-type area, such as a clay flat can provide. And again, the spots will typically spawn deeper than do the largemouth and can be found in 6 to 15 feet of water and even deeper. Unlike most largemouth, there are a contingency of the spotted bass that will spawn on the main lake. These fish can be found on or around humps, points and sandy saddles between islands on the main lake. These females are often some of the biggest fish in the lake. Until the time when the fish spawn in these areas, fish key features adjacent to these spawning areas. Secondary points and docks often provide great staging areas for these fish and become a prime target this time of year. The spots will be in the same types of places to spawn and will stage in similar areas, as well. Now that we have explored the location that fish can be found during the spawn, let’s examine some of the techniques and lures that can be used to catch these fish. Jerkbaits are a great choice as the water warms up though the 50s. Work these baits around docks, points, in the backs of pockets and over humps. A Berkley Stunna is a good option. Experiment with cadence to find the right retrieve speed and pause cycle. The colder the water, the longer the pause. A Georgia Blade Shad Spin in the 1/4-oz. size is an excellent choice to work in shallow creek ditches, as well as in and around secondary points and docks. Experiment with trailer size and type. A Berkley Jerk Shad is a good option for a trailer. A crankbait is an excellent choice to cover water in the backs of creeks and pockets, as well as around secondary point, docks and flats this time of year. The Berkley Frittside crankbait or the Berkley Dredger are good options to cover the varying depth ranges until you find the best one for the day’s conditions. They offer many good shad and crayfish patterns from which to choose. And as always, make sure to visit our local treasure, Hammonds Fishing, to pick up what you need. The worm and jig are always an option in springtime. A Georgia Jig on rocky/clay secondary points and around docks is always a good choice for spots or largemouth. If the fish are ultra-finicky, don’t forget the old reliable Carolina rig to present your soft-plastics. Drag or drift this rig slowly over secondary points or spawning flats for some potentially awesome results. Also, when fishing a Georgia Blade jig head and worm combo, consider using a lighter jig head. I often choose a 1/8-oz. head or lighter to target spawning fish. I will often tip this with a 4-inch Berkley Hit Worm, as opposed to a traditional offering of 6 inches or more. I often work the baits slowly in this situation to trigger strikes. While the winter to spring, early spawn transition can be a tricky time of year to catch fish, it can be awesome if you remain versatile and open minded in your approach. Use the tips and techniques noted above to guide your fishing during the spawn and you will enjoy some great success. See you on the water.”

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Stripers: Capt. Clay Cunningham, of Catching Not Fishing Lake Lanier Fishing Guides, reports, “The water temperature is trying to climb into the low 50s, but the cold fronts are keeping it from making much progress so far, but with the days getting longer, warmer water is rapidly advancing upon us. Freelines have already become the dominant pattern. Rig up a Penn Fathom Linecounter reel with 15-lb. Trilene Big Game line, a 15-lb. Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon leader, a Spro 80-lb. Power Swivel, and a Gamakatsu 1/0 Octopus hook tipped with the herring. The past few weeks medium shiners have also been a great option, but with the warmer days coming, herring will become the dominant bait. This setup is the Lanier staple. The Penn Fathom Linecounter really helps your success rate as you are able to know exactly how far back your baits are behind the boat. Start at 120 feet and make changes as necessary. Some days a small split-shot or an additional 30 feet of line can make a huge difference from day to day. Pull the freelines at 1 mph across humps and points and in some cases over open water. So far, open water has been best on the north end. When the fish move more to the banks later in the month, keep a Penn Battalion 7-foot medium-light spinning rod paired with a Penn Conflict with light line on the deck. Tie on a Berkley Fusion 1/4-oz.jig head tipped with a Berkley 3- or 4-inch white shiner Drip Swimmer and beat the bank. Some days the plastics outperforms live bait. Another great bait on the banks is the Berkley Stunna, which is a jerkbait. Most people think of the jerkbait being for bass, but big stripers love the Stunna jerkbait in the spring, especially in the stained water like we have now. The use of forward-facing sonar has increased the jerkbaits popularity, as you can see the stripers eat the jerkbait in real time on your sonar. Also, start thinking about a Berkley Surge Shad in bone later in the month. The topwater bite will be around the corner and continue into April.” Capt. Ron Mullins, with The Striper Experience, reports, “Water clarity, with all the rain, is all over the place. It is completely blown out in the river systems and backs of the major creeks to clear on the main lake. March will be a transitional month with deep fish on downlines early in the month and will change to shallow fish on flatlines and Captain Mack’s Perfect Planer boards and even topwater artificial later in the month as water temps increase. The downline bite will be in 35 to 90 feet of water from half way back in the creeks out toward the river channels. This will be the case in most of our northern creeks on the Chattahoochee arm, as well as the creeks in the middle of the Chestatee arm of the lake. These fish will eat a variety of bait from herring, large shiners, small trout and threadfin shad. Most of the fish up in the river systems have been pushed south with all the flooding and cold, muddy water. If the rain will stop, expect fish to move up into the river systems getting ready to spawn as the month progresses. These river fish will be caught on a variety of live bait as well, but mostly on larger gizzard shad or trout on flatlines and Perfect Planer Boards. As the water clears from muddy to stained in the major creeks, the shallow bite will get better throughout the month. Flat, Big, Shoal and Baldridge on the south and Thompson, Taylor, Lathem, Gainesville, Wahoo and Limestone on the north end of the lake will all hold fish later this month. Live baits pulled over points and humps in 15 to 30 feet of water at 0.8-1.1 mph with herring, threadfin shad or small/medium trout on flatlines or Perfect Planer Boards will be the go-to technique. Run your flatlines 25 to 75 feet behind the boat or on boards with smaller baits and 15 to 30 feet with larger baits. The stealth trolling bite with Captain Mack’s Mini Macks will continue to be the artificial fishing way to go. Run your Mini Macks from 25 to 35 feet deep and run them from 25 to 35 feet away from the boat attached to your Perfect Planer boards. The Striper Experience team has been using the 3/8- and 1/2-oz. swimbait heads available from StriperTackle.com to add some weight to our rigs, which gives us a better feel on how deep our rigs actually are at these speeds. Also, keep a 1/4-oz. StriperTackle Pro Swimbait head with a small Keitech swimbait attached, a small Chug Bug, a Gunfish or a Top Dog walking plug tied on for surfacing schooling fish that will become more active throughout the month. We all need to be good stewards of the money that is given to us from God. Jesus spoke more about money than Heaven and Hell combined. As you read through your Bible, there are about 500 passages about prayer and 2,000 about money. We all need to realize that what stuff we have is actually God’s. Matt 6:19-24 ends with ‘no one can serve two masters… You cannot serve both God and money.’ We can do good with money when we use it to serve, but it will destroy us if it is our master.”