Lake Lanier Fishing Report – May 2021

Lanier: Level: 0.5 feet above full pool. Temp: 62-65 degrees. Clarity: Water clarity is clear on the main lake to slightly stained in the backs of the major creeks and stained in the river systems.

Bass: Guide Ryan Coleman, of LanierSpots.com, reports, “Lanier is awesome! The fish are in all stages right now and can be caught in many ways. We have fish that have already spawned right now that are feeding up. Topwater, spinnerbaits and flukes around reef poles and main points has been effective. There are still a bunch of fish that have not spawned that are moving up and are eating bottom baits around rockpiles and reef poles on the main lake and in the creeks.   A 5- or 6-inch worm or Senko style bait worked on a jig head or wacky style has been very effective. Docks in 10 to 15 feet of water have also been strong the past week. As we roll into May, look for more fish to move offshore and attach themselves to the offshore humps and man-made brushpiles. We have some herring starting to spawn up on the points and the blow-throughs and can be caught on a topwater bait or a Mini-Me spinnerbait, which is my bait of choice. I am using a shad-colored bait with silver or white blades and making long casts to the points and blow-throughs. Keep the bait moving fast with a trailer hook and don’t get too close. I can’t stress that enough for Lake Lanier. For topwater, I have been using a wake bait and a Chug Bug, switching back and forth until I find what they want.”

Stripers: Capt. Ron Mullins, of The Striper Experience, reports, “With the cooler water temps this spring, there are still a lot of fish up in the river systems, and they should stay up there the first couple of weeks in May. The tight quarters up the river will have The Striper Experience boats staying a bit farther south than the actual river systems and catching lots of fish as they migrate back into the lake. Your best bet will be targeting points and humps close to the river channel that have a lot of topographical change to them. Look for points that have long, 15- to 20-foot ridges that fall off to 50-plus feet of water within a short distance from the ridge. The easiest way to see these areas are to set your Humminbird LakeMaster depth settings at 20 feet with a 7-foot plus or minus, and it will highlight all the areas on the lake 13 to 27 feet deep and steer you to them on your GPS. Once you find these points or humps, pull your spread of herring or small shad using Captain Mack’s Perfect Planer Boards and flatlines at 0.9 to 1.1 mph across these areas to catch stripers, spots and the occasional catfish. Perfect Planer Board baits should be 50 to 100 feet behind the board and flatlines 75 to 125 feet behind the boat. As the sun comes up, put a No. 5 split-shot up to a 3/16-oz. worm weight in front of your swivel to get your bait down just a little bit. Areas from the mouth of Little River to Clarks Bridge will be excellent most of the month. Artificials to have tied on to cast to these areas as you pass by are Zara Spooks, Red Fins and the Spro Zero Minnow. Spring is a time of renewal in the world, and you can have that renewal in your life as well when you give it to Jesus Christ.”

Crappie: Capt. Josh Thornton reports, “Crappie fishing is good. The hot bite target zone is 10 to 15 feet deep. The crappie are back on the docks and also can be found on open-water brushpiles and blowdowns. Look for the stray fish. They are typically larger than the schooling fish. Cast a jig to these fish. Try the slow retrieval method of a jig when fishing vertical. I always put out a crappie minnow with a BB-sized sinker 12 to 16 inches above the hook. Right now I am setting the minnows around 10 feet deep. For best results, use a live minnow. Look under docks that are in 20 to 40 feet of water near a main channel and have brush or structure. Use your electronic charts to locate these areas. Remember crappie love the shade, so cast into the shadows of a dock. Try different jig colors and jig styles. Jigs can be used for short casting, vertical jigging, trolling or dock shooting. When dock shooting, the biggest fish are usually the first to hit. Let your jig sink and give it time to get down to the fish and retrieve your jig slowly. The most productive jig color combinations have been the translucent colors and the small dark jigs. I’m using ATX Lure Companies plastics that can now be purchased at Sherry’s Bait & Barbecue. I use the K9 5-lb. test high visibility yellow braid for my line (unless I am using a bobber) and a Piscifun reel on a  ACC Crappie Stix. I use Garmin LiveScope and the Navionics Boating app. Find me on Facebook and like my page @crappieonlanier.”