Lake Lanier Fishing Report November 2015

Lanier: Level: 3.7 feet below full pool. Temp: Mid to upper 60s. Clarity: Clear.

Spotted Bass: Tournament angler and guide Ryan Coleman reports, “My best techniques lately have been working a jerkbait and fishing a 3/8-oz. jig around cover. If you get a day where the skies are blue and high with very little wind, the drop shot is still steady in 30 to 40 feet of water and will produce some nice fish for you. As November rolls in, look for a big portion of the spotted bass to get more shallow. Some will come up out of the timber and get on the brush, and some will go all the way to the banks. I have been working a jerkbait on the banks early in the day and catching some nice fish, mostly around rock. During the day, I have been working a Georgia Craw and Green Craw jig around the 20- to 30-foot depths for some very big fish. Last week, we caught five fish over 5 pounds on my guide trips, and most of them came on the 3/8-oz. jig. Also, the spinnerbait bite has been picking up as it usually does this time of year. Look for big rocky points that have wind on them, and commit to the blade if you want to catch a big spotted bass this time of year. It has been one of my most consistent patterns over the years on Lanier, and this year has already started out nicely. A white bladed 3/4-oz. Mini Me spinnerbait is the ticket for these windy conditions. For drop-shot worms, I have been using a 6-inch worm in hot tomato and cinnamon purple. For jigs, stick with the green colors for now, but once the water starts to cool and the fish start to get very deep, I would switch to the brown living rubber colors.”

Stripers: Guide Clay Cunningham reports, “It is overdue for the stripers to move shallow. Over the next few weeks, you will see some stripers on the surface. Some of these schools can be massive. Be prepared and have some topwater lures ready to cast. You can not have too many topwater lures. Each day depending on weather conditions one lure will be the best. Some of the favorites are the Super Spook, the Redfin and a Sebile Magic Swimmer. If you do not want to cast, you can always troll live bait. A freeline will be best most days. Most of the time herring will continue to be the best bait. Troll points as you search for schooling fish.” Big Fish On Guide Service reports, “Seagulls will start arriving the second week of November. Aggressively feeding birds can indicate a school of stripers pushing baitfish to the surface. As the month progresses, the fish will move into the creeks following the bait. Fish long, sloping points and flats in the early morning with flatlines and planer boards from the mouth of the creeks to half way back in the creeks. Blueback herring and trout are the baits of choice. Vary the distance of your bait behind the boat and planer boards from 20 to 100 feet, and set your trolling speed between 0.3 and 0.8 mph. You can also add a split-shot to a couple of your freelines to ensure you have water column coverage. While you are pulling baits, try to keep someone on the front deck casting a Captain Mack’s bucktail jig with a fluke trailer. As the day progresses, focus on points with deep water drop-offs in the 30- to 40-foot range. If you see suspended fish, do not hesitate to deploy downlines and fish vertically. Targeting points with an umbrella rig is a good option and is also an effective fish-locating tool. The fish are scattered lake wide, and they can be found in the creeks from the dam to Clarks Bridge. Some of the more popular areas are Baldridge Creek, Six Mile Creek, Flat Creek, Chestatee Bay, Gainesville Marina area and Sardis Creek.”