Lake Lanier Fishing Report – May 2010

Lanier: Level: 0.8 feet above full pool. Temp: High 60s to low 70s. Clarity: Clear, with a light stain in the creeks and rivers.

Spotted Bass: Good. Most of the spotted bass will be on a postspawn pattern this month. The main-lake points and humps will hold good numbers and some big fish. Try to call them up with a Chug Bug topwater or a Staysee 90 jerkbait. If you’re marking fish that won’t come to the surface, drop some plastic on them. Try a 3/8-oz. jig head with a finesse worm or a drop-shot rig.

Largemouths: Good. “The largemouths are finishing up the spawn right now and should remain shallow through most of May. At daylight, topwater is the way to go. Target shallow points leading out of spawning pockets with a 1/4-oz. War Eagle buzzbait. As the sun gets up, a green-pumpkin Mann’s Free Fall worm will continue to catch fish fished down in the grass. As the month progresses, the bluegill will start to spawn. Fishing a 4-inch green-pumpkin Zipper worm around the beds will get the rod jerked out of your hands by a bass. Get a mark on the beds, and then stay back and work the beds over throughout the day. Toward the end of the month look for some fish to pull out to the ledges and deeper points in 10 to 15 feet of water. Target these fish with a citrus-shad Mann’s 15 Plus and a 9/16-oz. green-pumpkin/green TABU jig.”

Stripers: Good. Shane Watson said the topwater bite is on. “It is so great to see big stripers and spots blowing up on a surface lure and on a freeline. Last week we spent a couple of days out over the main channel freelining and caught some nice fish, but there just wasn’t enough out there yet. The last two days, we found stripers up in 2 to 8 feet of water and caught them well on bone Redfins, Spro BBZ-1s and on Spro Dawgs. Fish as many points and reef poles as you can, and cast your lures up very shallow. Freelined bluebacks are also working well.” Mike Maddalena said, “Wow! Someone turned on the switch. Fishing is the best it’s been all year. The fish are scattered lake-wide in the creeks — check the points. The main-lake points on the upper end are also holding fish. Be sure to fish as many reef poles and points as possible. Try herring on freelines and boards 70 to 90 feet back and freelines weighted with a medium split-shot 40 to 50 feet back. Keep your boat in 10 to 25 feet of water. Check your herring often, and you may want to pick up some extras when buying your bait — the spots will drive you crazy! Always keep at least one gizzard shad out on the bank-side board for a large stripe. The topwater bite is picking up strongly. Some days the fish want Redfins, and other days they want a walking bait like the Spook. Be sure to cast these baits as shallow as possible while pulling the freelines and planers. Some fish are starting to hit the shallow downrod and a U-rig pulled shallow. I am not sure it matters that much which creek, but the middle lake and northern creeks seem to be working best for me. There is a stronger early morning and late afternoon bite; however, we have caught fish all day. As we move into May, the fish will continue to move deeper, and the downrod will become stronger.”