Lake Lanier Fishing Report – October 2023

Lanier: Level: 5.1 feet below 1071. Temp: 77 to 80 degrees but will drop quickly as the month moves along. Clarity: Expect clearing water conditions on the south end and turnover cloudiness as you move north on the lake.

Bass: Guide Jimbo Mathley with Jimbo’s Lake Lanier Spotted Bass Guide Service reports, “October on Lake Lanier means transition. Often you can find fish shallow and in the mid-depth ranges. As well, some fish start to move deep. The lake traditionally begins its turnover/stratification process this month, which provides an additional challenge. The traditional weather patterns we have been experiencing in 2023 should bring us some more predictable fall fishing this year on Lanier. The fall topwater bite has already begun at the time of writing this report and hopefully will continue through October. Let’s dig in and examine how to approach catching spotted bass in this highly transitional month. As the water temperature cools, the bait, and therefore many of the fish, begin to move shallower in search of the warmer water that remains. As always, staying up with the location of the bait is key to consistently catching fish. To complicate matters, the lake traditionally begins its turnover process in September/October, which provides an unstable environment for the bait and the fish. The stratified layers of the lake mix at different times in different places. During this time, focus your efforts on the areas of the lake that have not yet or have already turned over or stratified. Look for the clearer water, and avoid water that has a dark, cloudy or coffee look to it. Often, you can find fish shallower in the creeks during this period. However, some fish may also be deeper as they relate to the brush that had been holding them through September. Some of the fish may go even deeper and begin relating to the timber edges in preparation for winter. Obviously, there are numerous factors to consider when searching for the catchable fish in October. Examine your options, understand the status of the lake and the effect of recent weather changes, stay flexible in your search, and stay on the move until you find a viable, repeatable pattern during your fishing day. Now let’s examine some potential lure choices. The topwater and swimbait bite in October can be outstanding. Large schools of fish can be found around humps and points near the creek or river channel, typically more near the mouths. Experiment with different baits and presentations to match the conditions. A Zara Spook, Chug Bug and Gunfish are some of my favorite topwater baits. On the swimbait side, make sure to try the Sweet Bait Company swimbait offerings, as well as the Lanier Baits Hard Swimmers. A Georgia Jig is a great bait throughout the fall on Lake Lanier. Tip the jig with a twin-tail trailer, and fish the bait around rocky/clay points, on ledges and timber edges. Take your time and work it slowly. When you’re fishing shallow, a Georgia Blade jig head with a Lanier Baits finesse worm can be an awesome bait in October.  Fish shallow around docks and secondary points with this bait for some hammers. The Senko is a great bait to fish shallow around docks, as it can be skipped under and around objects with ease. Dead stick the bait and wait for the tick. In the area of crankbaits, tie on a Spro Little John DD and target shallower rock points toward the end of the month.  This can be a particularly good approach at daylight in shallower water. A Georgia Blade spinnerbait can really get cracking for you in October once the water temperatures fall into the 60s. I like the double-white willowleaf blade combination and the No. 9 skirt choice. Check out Georgia Blade online or pick up some of their super creations at Hammond’s Fishing and other tackle stores around north Georgia. The Georgia Blade Shad Spin is an excellent producer on Lanier for suspended spots. Fish the bait at the depth you see the fish suspending near bait balls. Understand the fall-rate for your rig and count the bait down to the depth of the fish and maintain that depth. Another great tool for targeting suspending fish is a jerkbait. Choose a bait that suspends at the depth the fish are holding and experiment with your retrieve cadence until you find what the fish are looking for that day. I really like the Berkley offerings in the jerkbait, particularly the Stunna—start there.” For more on fishing with Jimbo, go to https://jimboonlanier.com.

Lake Lanier Page: Archived Articles, News & Fishing Reports

Stripers: Capt. Clay Cunningham, of Catching Not Fishing Lake Lanier Fishing Guides, reports, “Summer is fading fast here on Lanier. The lake has dropped past four feet. A few shoal markers are missing, so watch for shallow areas. The topwater bite has started early again this year. The topwater bite is not widespread yet, but as the water temperature drops, look for the topwater bite to become solid. The topwater bites we have been getting have been ferocious, knocking water 2 feet in the air. Concerning live bait, herring will continue to be the primary 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% Fluorocarbon and a Spro 120-lb. Power Swivel. The Spro Power Swivel is important. Do not buy the cheap swivels on the market. Use this setup on the same Shakespeare Striper Rod used for downlining  paired with a Penn Fathom II 15 Linecounter spooled with 15-lb. Trilene Big Game. Pull the herring on the freelines as you cast to the schooling fish. Be prepared for the surface action with a wide selection of topwater baits. Spool up an Abu Garcia medium-action rod with 10-lb. Trilene Big Game and a Berkley Magic Swimmer as the lure. The Magic Swimmer has caught tons of stripers over the past decade here on Lake Lanier. The Magic Swimmer comes in several sizes, and they all work, but the 125 is most popular on Lanier. Be prepared with several colors, like the holo greenie, chrome and white liner. These baits have been hard to find at times, so plan ahead. So far this fall, chrome has been on fire. Other key topwater baits include the Berkley J-Walker 120, Berkley Surge Shad and the Berkley Driftwalker. On the soft side, keep a Berkley Jerk Shad in white also rigged up on a spinning rod. Each one has a different action, and each day can be a different choice based on weather conditions. Also, keep the trebles in tip-top shape. If they are bent, replace them with Gamakatsu Magic Eye trebles. The stripers are good at destroying lures. So far this fall, the Magic Swimmer has been the best bait. Look for schooling fish and cast right in the middle of them. Some of these schools can be massive. This is usually the most exciting month of the year on Lanier. Do not miss it!” 

Capt. Ron Mullins with The Striper Experience reports, “The lake is dropping fast, so be careful using any cut-throughs between the islands that you don’t even think about when the lake is full. October striper fishing is all over the place technique wise. This month is one of our kitchen-sink fishing months. You will have to carry pretty much every rod you own or be ready to tie lots of knots changing out downlines to flatlines, single Super Spin Shads on lead core to Captain Mack’s Mini Macks, and Spro Sashimmy swimbaits to a Captain Mack’s Super Jig with a fluke trailer. The topwater bite in October will be the most fun fishing you will do on Lanier this month. There will be fish blowing up from the mouths of Flowery Branch to Bald Ridge creeks all up and down the river channel. These fish will only be up for short periods of time, so be ready to cast a long way to these schools. Artificial lure favorites like a Spro Sashimmy swimbait, Hedon Super Spook and Cordell Pencil Popper in bone or silver will be great bets. Sub-surface lures like a 1/4-oz. Captain Mack’s Chipmunk Jig or Super Spoon are also great lures to keep tied on since they will cast a long way. The Striper Tackle Jr. Hawg Spoon in nickel or pearl will always be on one of my casting rods this time of year because it can be thrown a long way to surfacing fish and worked like a swimbait, but you can also let it flutter down through the water column to the schools of fish after they have gone back down. I throw all these lures on a 7-foot, medium-action Okuma Reflexions spinning rod paired with an Okuma Helios 30 or 40 class reel. This combo loaded with 15-lb. test Beyond Braid braided line will cast considerably farther versus a reel loaded with mono. The braid (with no stretch) also makes working the topwater plugs much easier since you will be a long way out and do not have to work the rod as hard to make the lure walk or pop on the surface. Make sure you attach 2 to 3 feet of 12-lb. fluorocarbon to your braid before you tie on your lure. These fish will be moving fast, so fishing bait around these schools will be a challenge as you will be picking up and moving around a lot. If you want to slow down and work these areas with bait, your best choice will be breaking out the planer boards and putting out your spring spread. Fish a set of Captain Mack’s Perfect Planer Boards on either side of the boat with baits 30 to 50 feet behind the boards and then four flatlines out the back of the boat. Run two of these flatlines with no weights on them about 75 to 100 feet back. On the other two, use 3/16-oz. worm weights in front of your swivel about 30 to 50 feet back.  This will allow the ‘short’ rods to run under the ‘long’ rods and not get tangled up. Run this setup around 0.9-1.1 mph around the areas where you have seen fish surfacing. Trolling 2-oz. Super Spin Shads in the white/white combination on lead core five to seven colors back at 2.8-3.2 mph will also be an effective way to cover a lot of water where you have seen schooling activity. There has also been a very good trolling bite on humps in 30 to 40 feet of water with Captain Mack’s u-Rigs and Mini Macks from Big Creek up to the Highway 369 bridge that will continue to be a great option in October. LOL, I told you it was kitchen-sink fishing. You give and you get. We all need to approach giving as an attitude, not an act. Psalms 24:1 says, ‘The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.’ We are all selfish and need to remember that it is ALL God’s. He is generous to us, to the point that He gave us His son to die for our sins, so we need to be generous with all that He has given us, including our talents, resources and money.”

Crappie: Capt. Josh Thornton reports, “Crappie can be found suspended from 5 to 20 feet deep. When it comes to bait, use small baits like a gray Sugar Bug. Present the bait in a slow action and target shaded areas. Use live, small minnows straight down with a split-shot or small jigs with a slow retrieval for the best results. Fishing is best during early morning or late evening when the temperature is slightly cooler. Look for covered docks near a channel. The moving water is a little cooler and may have a little more oxygen, making the fish more active.  The gear I recommend for crappie fishing is ACC Crappie Stix one-piece rod and reel with a 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 and like my pages!”