Lake Lanier Fishing Report – May 2025

Lanier: Level: 1.1 feet above 1071. Temp: 71-73 degrees. Clarity: Water clarity varies from clear on main lake to stained farther north in the river systems and the backs of the creeks.

Bass: Guide Jimbo Mathley, with Jimbo’s Lake Lanier Spotted Bass Guide Service, reports, “Lake Lanier is arguably at its very best during the late spring and early summer due to the consistent availability of an aggressive topwater and swimbait bite during this time. This is an excellent opportunity for anglers to catch spotted bass and watch the action as wolf packs of monster spotted bass chase your topwater plugs. In this month’s installment, you will learn the necessary tackle, equipment, locations and resources to catch topwater fish on Lanier. Now, at the end of April and heading into May 2025, the lake appears to be behind schedule by a couple weeks compared to previous years. Still, most of the spotted bass on Lake Lanier will finish the spawn in May, and in doing so, will begin aggressively feeding to recover from the spawning process. After a short period of inactivity, the larger female spots will begin their migration from their spawning haunts (both in creeks as well as on the main lake) to key features at the mouths of the major creeks, as well as main-lake areas and can be found on or around long-running points, rocky shoals and underwater humps/islands throughout the lake. Locating these areas and the man-made cover that is often found on them, which will often concentrate the fish, will be important to your success. Trust your Humminbird units to find these brushpiles around the features mentioned above. Focus in the 20- to 25-foot depth range. For topwater action, you should utilize either a medium or medium-heavy bait-casting or spin-casting outfit, rigged with 12- to 17-lb. monofilament line. Monofilament fishing line floats, where as fluorocarbon line sinks, which makes either monofilament or braided line the best option for presenting topwater baits correctly. Also, Seaguar Smackdown braid floats and is also a good option for topwater if you prefer. As far as choosing a rig for fishing these topwater baits, consider the weight of the bait as your deciding factor. Lighter poppers and smaller walking baits are often better presented on spinning gear, which allows for easier casting of smaller baits. For swimbaits, I like to present the larger, heavier, mechanical-type swimbaits (Sweet Herring swimbait) on a heavy-action rod that is at least 7 feet long. Now that we have explored the location that the spots can be found in May, as well as the tackle necessary to fish them, let’s examine some of the techniques and lures that can be used to catch these fish. Remember that even though we are discussing topwater and swimbait presentations in this article, when the females first come off the bed, they are lethargic, so the use of more subtle techniques, such as a fluke or a Georgia Blade jig head and a Berkley Max Scent worm combo, can be the ticket. As the postspawn period progresses, the fish will become much more active and aggressive as eating becomes a major part of their recovery process from the spawn. The fish at times will feed voraciously, and it is at these times when you should focus on fishing fast-moving baits, such as the topwater and the swimbait presentations we have focused on through the course of this report. Nothing beats being able to watch a fish crush your topwater bait. There are many choices of baits here—poppers, walkers, waking baits, etc. The preference of the fish will change day to day, so make sure to experiment daily to identify the mood of the fish, as well as their preference in presentation. Excellent topwater baits for Lake Lanier include a great line up of Berkley Baits: Surge Shad, J-Walker, Highjacker, Cane Walker, and of course, the Choppo. All of these lures, along with G-Loomis rods and Shimano reels, that you will need to present them can be purchased at local tackle shops such as Hammond’s Fishing in Cumming. Swimbaits offer great versatility as they can, based on the model, be fished at any depth you wish.  Once the postspawn has advanced, this becomes a great bait to throw around points and humps in both creeks and on the main lake. Popular hard and soft swimbaits are made by a number of different tackle vendors, to include many local options. As far as the mechanical type swimbaits, I am a HUGE fan of the Lanier Baits Hard Swimmers, and they are the perfect representation of a herring. In the soft-bodied swimbaits, I prefer the Lanier Baits Swimmer and Keitech Swimbait offerings. When the topwater/swimbait bite is tough, pick up your Georgia Blade Shad Spin and go to work. Fish the same areas you would normally present your topwater baits and experiment with different depths of the water column. Also, work these lures over brush for big spots.  Try a Lanier Baits Jerk Shad, a Lanier Baits Swimmer or Keitech swimbait as a trailer.”

Lake Lanier Page: Archived Articles, News & Fishing Reports

Stripers: Capt. Ron Mullins, with The Striper Experience, reports, “The striped bass spawn is winding down, and the fish are moving back south out of the river systems and the backs of the main, free-flowing creeks on the south end of the lake. May will be the time to catch these fish on rocky points, humps and sandy blow-through areas that the herring and shad will be spawning on through the month. Toward the end of May, the bait will be pulling off these areas and pushing into coves along the main lake and even halfway back in most of the major creeks. During the spawn time, flatlines and Captain Mack’s Perfect Planer Boards will be the ticket pulled over the areas that you see shad or herring spawning around. The shad and herring will also spawn on vertical surfaces, like bluff walls, bridge pilings and marina break waters and dock walls. Run your flatlines out the back of the boat between 50 and 100 feet, and run your planer board lines between 50 and 100 feet behind the boards that are 40 to 60 feet away from the boat. Pull this setup at 0.9-1.2 mph with your Minn Kota Instinct trolling motor around any of these areas that you are seeing spawn activity. Best bets on bait this time of year are herring or small- to medium-size shad. On the north end of the lake, you should be able to find fish on these areas in Wahoo, Little River, Gainesville and Ada on the Chattahoochee side and Thompson, Taylor and Latham on the Chestatee side. Down south, the fish will be on secondary points in Bald Ridge, Young Deer, Two Mile and Big Creek. The topwater bite will also crank up this month, so make sure you have a Chug Bug, Zara Spook or Redfin tied on to throw as you drag your baits over these areas. As the month moves along and the water temperatures get into the high 70s and low 80s, the cove bite will pick up. This will be the time to start relying on your Humminbird Explore or Apex to find groups of fish in 35 to 65 feet of water right in the middle of the drainages that make up the cove. Once you mark a few fish, drop your downline herring to the depth that you are marking the groups at—and hang on. Downlines consist of a 1.5- to 2-oz. weight attached to your main line and then 3 to 5 feet of Seaguar fluorocarbon leader and a Gamakatsu No. 2 to 1/0 circle hook, depending on the herring size. May is a great month to fish Lanier. Extraordinary outcomes start with ordinary obedience. We don’t have a specific timeline, but in just five chapters in the Bible, God goes from creating man in His image and being pleased (Gen. 1:31) to regretting making man (Gen. 6:6). With one act of obedience, Noah builds a huge boat as he is asked and (with God’s grace) saves humanity. In the entire story of Noah, he says nothing. His actions speak louder than any words he could say. Through every flood in our lives, God is faithful and always remembers us. However sin got off that boat as well and so God needed to save humanity (again through grace) by sending His son Jesus to live, die and come back to life. With one act of obedience, by having faith that He died for your sins, you will also see extraordinary outcomes in your life. Get out there and catch them up.” Capt. Clay Cunningham, of Catching Not Fishing Lake Lanier Fishing Guides, reports, “The quality of fish being caught this spring has been better than the last couple of years, so be prepared with a little heavier gear. Topwater time is here, and the fish are looking to eat. Spool up a 7-foot medium-heavy Fenwick Eagle spinning rod, paired with a Penn Battle 3000 with 12-lb. Trilene Big Game line and you are ready for action. Several baits will be needed for casting to the stripers. You will need a walking bait like the Berkley J-Walker or the Berkley Driftwalker. Look for the bone color and the chrome black back color and you have the two primary colors in the J-Walker and Driftwalker. Twitch the walking baits so they zigzag across the surface. If the fish are wanting a subsurface lure, the Berkley Magic Swimmer is the bait. Another choice is the Berkley Jerk Shad. Cast these baits to points and humps across the lake, and be prepared for some explosive action. If you need a more subtle presentation, rig up a 3/8-oz. Berkley Fusion swimbait head tipped with a white paddletail. Every day is different in the spring. Just because it worked yesterday does not mean it will work the next day on Lanier. Live herring on a freeline across these same points and humps will also be a great tactic. This is the old reliable technique. This is what has been producing fish every day this spring. Spool up a Penn Fathom II Linecounter 15 series reel with 15-lb. Trilene Big Game and a Shakespeare Striper Series rod and you are ready for live-bait fishing. Be sure to pick up some Gamakatsu  size 1  Octopus hooks, some Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon and some Spro Power Swivels for your leaders and you are all set. Using a quality swivel makes a difference. Pull these freelines across these areas at about 1 mph. As the water temperature increases, do not be afraid to add a little weight to the freeline to get down a little deeper. As the water temperature increases, look for the fish to go deeper. May should be great weather and great fishing. It is a great month to be on the water before the summer heat. The number of boats out this spring has been unbelievable. Many ramps have been full by 8 a.m. Use extra caution on the weekends. Stay safe.”

Crappie: Capt. Josh Thornton reports, “Crappie fishing is excellent  on Lake Lanier. Current water temperatures, averaging in the mid-60s, are attracting crappie to shallower areas (10 to 20 feet). These fish are actively schooling near structures, such as docks and submerged brushpiles. While live minnows have proven highly effective, I encourage experimentation with different presentations and retrieval techniques to optimize your catch. Adjusting speed and depth will help you determine the crappie’s preferred feeding patterns on any given day. To enhance your fishing experience, consider investing in high-quality equipment. A sensitive rod and reel combination, such as the ACC Crappie Stix paired with 4- to 6-lb. K9 line, is recommended. Furthermore, incorporating technology like a Garmin LiveScope can dramatically improve fish location and targeting. A Power-Pole will provide superior control and positioning on the lake.”