Lake Lanier Fishing Report May 2015

Lanier: Level: 0.5 feet above full pool. Temp: 65 degrees. Clarity: The north end is stained from War Hill Park north and from Laurel Park north. The south end is still very clear.

Stripers: Guide Clay Cunningham reports, “The stripers are finishing up the spring spawn, and the water temperature is in the mid 60s. We are already seeing the females spawned out. Most are coming back down river, and it is time for topwater. The stripers are starting to congregate on points up and down the lake. The best points will have access to deep water. Cast Red Fins and Sebile Flat Belly Walkers across these deep points, and the stripers will blow them out of the water. This will be some of the most exciting fishing of the year. The key to the Red Fin is to v-wake it across the surface with a steady retrieve. The key to the Belly Walker is to twitch the bait, so that it zig zags across the surface. One day they will eat the Red Fin, and one day they will eat the Belly Walker. Always keep both tied on, and cast both until you see which one they want to eat. This pattern will hold until the water temperature gets into the low 70s. If you do not want to cast, you can still pull live herring on freelines across these same points. You will catch a mixture of striped bass and spotted bass, making this a great time to bring kids out on the lake.” Big Fish On Lake Lanier Guide Service reports, “There are two striper bites going on this week. The first is the open-water bite on the main lake at creek mouths. The primary approach for the open-water bite has been blueback herring fished on unweighted freelines 80 to 100 feet behind the boat at a trolling speed of 0.8 to 1.2 miles per hour. Fish your planer boards with herring set at 50 to 70 feet back. The second bite is in the creeks on points, flats and reef markers. Freelines and planer boards set at 40 to 50 feet behind the boat is also working for the shallow-water bite. Do not hesitate to use split-shots to vary your depth in the water column. If you want to roll the dice for a 50-lb. striper, put a big gizzard shad on a balloon, and fish it 150 feet behind the boat. We had a striper hit one of our planer boards this week. The topwater bite is right around the corner, and it is always a good idea to keep someone on the front deck casting a Red Fin or a Captain Mack’s bucktail jig while you are pulling bait. The downrod bite continues to be slow. We have not have an opportunity to pull umbrella rigs but hope to this week. Buy a few extra baits, and change your baits often, as the spotted bass will attack your herring without you noticing, and you will end up fishing with dead or injured bait.”