Lake Lanier Fishing Report – November 2024

Lanier: Level: 2.5 feet below 1071. Temp: 69 degrees. Clarity: The lake is turning over in many areas but not all. The south end of the lake still looks pretty good. The lake is turning toward the backs of the major creeks and above Vanns Tavern Ramp. It is turning over some in the mid section of lower lake, like the Six Mile area, but it’s still fishable. Colder weather should really accelerate the turnover. Expect the lake to not look as good and not fish as well for the next couple of weeks.

Bass: Guide Jimbo Mathley, with Jimbo’s Lake Lanier Spotted Bass Guide Service, reports, “Many anglers make the common mistake of underestimating the viability of late fall and winter fishing. While the outside elements are not always favorable, the months of November and December on Lake Lanier can offer anglers some of the best fishing of the year. Ditch fishing is often the approach upon which I focus, yet there are many options in a transitional month like November—so, stay versatile. As you pursue different patterns this month, stay flexible as weather fronts will affect the location and mood of the catchable fish. Also, keep an eye on the water clarity and try to stay in cleaner water if possible. Turnover is starting a little later this year and will most certainly carry over into November, so keep an eye out for the best water quality. Avoid the dark, coffee-like water with the foam bubbles on the surface. Those are all signs of turnover, and fishing in waters with those characteristics can be difficult. Don’t forget to look shallow around points and humps both on the main lake and in the major creeks, in addition to the smaller creek runs. Even with the lake down almost 3 feet this year heading into November, a shallow bite will exist on some days. A Georgia Blade spinnerbait on windy days can be incredible this time of year fished shallow on points, as can be a large crankbait, like a Spro DD. The Spro RkCrawler is a great choice for a smaller crankbait. Also, a big swimbait, like the Sweet Bait Sweet Herring, can be an excellent choice for a big catch. As we proceed with this report, I will address more of how to approach Lanier once the water gets around 60 degrees, which will likely happen this year in November. Often, if you find a shallow ditch (15 feet or less) in a creek, you will find baitfish present in and around this ditch. Bass will show up and feed in these areas, particularly in low-light conditions, even in the dead of winter. Slow-rolling a Georgia Blade Shad Spin or slow cranking a crankbait in these areas at daylight is a great way to take some huge spots throughout the late fall and winter. Cast a Spro McStick jerkbait long distances over the ditch, and work the bait back to the boat with a jerk, jerk, pause retrieve. Include pauses of up to 10 seconds between jerks. Also, ensure that you jerk the bait on slack line to improve the erratic action of the bait, which will trigger more strikes. The key to this technique is patience. Long pauses can be important, as well, so stay patient. Many of the same definitions and techniques above will still apply to deeper ditches, but there are some key differences. When you search for these deeper ditches (25 to 50 feet deep), start by following the shallow ditches out to deeper water. Once you have moved to the deeper part of the ditch, use your Humminbird electronics to look for cover within or around the ditch that may offer an ambush spot for bass.  Always remember that bass are predatory and constantly seek an advantage through a point of ambush. Structure changes, such as a ditch, along with ancillary structure/cover, such as brush or standing timber, offer a refuge for baitfish, as well as an ambush position for the bass. If you can find an area with a ditch, standing timber, brush and key feature changes, such as an outside channel bend intersected by a roadbed in 40 feet of water or so, you have found the perfect winter haunts of the bait and our green-backed friends. Good electronics, such as the Humminbird Helix in conjunction with Garmin Panoptix, are vital to finding these subtle depth changes and cover. Once you find a location like this holding fish, start by dropping a Georgia Blade jigging spoon or Shepoon down to the location of the fish. Allow the spoon to sink to the bottom and then reel it two cranks up before beginning your presentation. Jig the spoon with quick, short, upward thrusts of the rod and include pauses in your presentation. Let the fish tell you how they want the bait presented. Another option for these deep fish includes a drop-shot rig. Rig a drop-shot with a small worm or minnow imitation and present the bait in the area of the fish. Do not over-work the bait. Often periods of no movement can trigger strikes. I prefer the many offerings of Lanier Baits for these presentations. Lastly, steep banks and rip-rap consistently hold fish during the late fall and winter months. These ‘vertical’ banks, present both in the creeks as well as the main lake, offer the fish the ability to change depths within the water column without traveling very far. This provides an optimal situation for the fish whose metabolism and activity levels are slowed by the colder water. Begin by using your electronics to graph a likely area in search of bait. When you find the bait, you can rest assure that fish are somewhere in the area. Search for changes in the structure as your starting place. Look for points, pockets, contour changes or transition areas where sand meets rock or clay, for example. Begin your prospecting in these areas with a jerkbait like the Spro McStick. Impart the jerk, jerk, pause retrieve mentioned previously, with a focus on long pauses. If the fish are not active enough to hit the jerkbait, try worms or Georgia Jigs worked slowly down the rock bank.  Position your boat in deeper water and cast toward the bank. Work the bait slowly and methodically back to the boat, paying particular attention to your lure’s movements. Bites in the late fall and winter are often VERY subtle. Once you detect something unusual in your lure’s action, set the hook. While these areas are not the only possible places to find fish on Lake Lanier in the late fall, they are some very good areas to begin your search. Remember to look for bait and fish in an area before fishing it—fish where the fish are! Good luck out there, and see you on the water!”

Lake Lanier Page: Archived Articles, News & Fishing Reports

Stripers: Capt. Clay Cunningham, of Catching Not Fishing Lake Lanier Fishing Guides, reports, “The fall striper bite is here on Lake Lanier. The lake looks good despite the rain from the hurricane. The water is also more clear than you would expect with the rising lake level, and the stripers have been schooling on top at random times. The water temperature is in the upper 60s. All types of topwater baits will work on the schooling fish, but each day a different one will be the key choice. Two key baits are the Berkley Magic Swimmer and the Berkley Drift Walker. So far this fall, the Magic Swimmer has been on fire. We have been catching them on the new colors in the Magic Swimmer for several weeks now. Two great new colors are perfect-ghost and olive bone. The 110 and 125 size are the two key sizes. Spool up a Penn Battle III 4000 spinning reel with 12-lb. Trilene Big Game line on a 7-foot medium-heavy Fenwick spinning rod and you are good to go. If the water is calm, pick up the Berkley Drift Walker. This bait will zigzag across the surface. If any wind, throw the Magic Swimmer. The south end of the lake will most likely continue to be the key area, but the stripers may quickly be found farther north on the lake. Some are already being caught on the north end. If you want to use live bait, pull some freelines, which are simply baits with no weight, 100 feet behind the boat tipped with a blueback herring. All you need is a Shakespeare Striper Rod paired with a Penn Fathom II Linecounter reel spooled with 15-lb. Trilene Big Game line and a 1/0 Gamakatsu Octopus hook. The herring will do the rest. Pull the herring across humps and points, and you will catch stripers and spotted bass. See you on the water.”

Crappie: Capt. Josh Thornton reports, “The weather has changed, and the crappie are getting more active. You can find crappie suspended shallow 5 to 10 feet deep over a 12- to 20-foot bottom. Fish crappie minnows in open-water brush. Set minnow rods in a holder over brush or structure while casting jigs. Try the green-color plastic jig from ATX Lures (D2D color) or a gray hair jig from Sugar Bug. The gear I recommend for crappie fishing is an ACC Crappie Stix one-piece rod and reel with 4- to 6-lb. test K9 line, along with Garmin Livescope and Power-Pole. For more information and tips, please visit my websites www.crappieonlanier.com and www.fishingwitheverydayheroes.org.”