Lake Lanier Fishing Report – October 2018

Lanier: Level: 0.7 feet low. Temp: Low 80s. Clarity: Clear.

Spotted Bass: Guide Ryan Coleman reports, “Slow but improving. As I write this report on Sept. 24, the temperatures outside have taken a dive. The forecast for the week is much cooler weather, so I expect the surface temps to be much lower before this is printed. Fishing has been pretty tough here on Lanier over the past month. The high water temperatures have just shut them down. There have been some guys catching a few, but for the most part, the bite has been off. As we move on into early October, look for things to really pick up. We are having to catch fish on drop shots and a few on topwater right now, but look for a big group of fish to move up in the 25-foot water soon and get active. Look for fish to get around brushpiles in 25 feet of water pretty strong over the next few weeks. Working a topwater bait, jerkbait and swimbait over these brushpiles will be a great start. I would try all three baits on a place before I move on to another spot. If that does not produce for you, start working a 3/8-oz. jig in the piles as soon as you pull up. This will keep from drawing all the fish off the brush with moving baits and give you a much better chance at catching a few. Sometimes they do not want to chase, so a slow-moving green-craw jig in the fall is pretty productive. As we move into late October, look for the fish to school a little more, and you should be able to toss topwater or some kind of an underspin in them. A pearl or albino underspin with a fluke trailer has always been great for me in the late fall on schooling fish. You can adjust the depth very easy versus a topwater. Also, keep an eye out for some of the bigger fish to move very deep before the end of October. Good luck out there.”

Stripers: Capt. Clay Cunningham reports, “Fall is beginning to show up here on Lanier. We need one cold front, and we will see more and more surface action. Herring will continue to be the primary live bait in October. Rig the herring on a freeline, which is basically a 1/0 Gamakatsu Octopus hook, a section of 10-lb. Trilene Big Game 100% Flourocarbon and a Spro 120 Power Swivel. A quality swivel like the Spro Power Swivel is very important. Use this setup on the same Shakespeare Striper Rod you use for downlining spooled with Trilene Big Game. A linecounter reel like the Penn Squall 20LC or the new Penn Fathom 15LC are great choices. A linecounter makes your fishing much more precise. Be  prepared for the surface action in October. Spool up a Fenwick medium-action rod with 10-lb. Trilene Big Game and a Sebile Magic Swimmer as the lure. The Magic Swimmer has caught tons of stripers and huge spotted bass over the past decade. The Magic Swimmer comes in several sizes, and they all work, but the 125 is most popular. Be prepared with several colors, like the holo greenie and white liner. Each day a different one can be the lure of choice. As mentioned last month, another topwater bait to try is the Berkley J-Walker 120 and the Berkley Driftwalker. These two baits are new and just hitting the market. Pick a shad based color or a bone color, and you are good to go. Look for schooling fish, and cast right in the middle of them. This is usually the most exciting month of the year on Lanier. Do not miss it.”