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Lake Lanier

Lake Lanier is a very popular reservoir in north Georgia for anglers and recreational boaters. It was created by the completion of Buford Dam on the Chattahoochee River in 1956, and is also fed by the waters of the Chestatee and Chattahoochee rivers. The lake encompasses 38,000 acres, or 59 square miles of water, and 692 miles of shoreline at normal level, which is at full summer pool of 1,071 feet above sea level. Lake Lanier boasts some of the best striped bass and spotted bass fishing in the country.

Lake Lanier Resources

Lake Lanier Fishing Report – November 2024

By GON Staff | October 30, 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…

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Lake Lanier Articles

Record Catch At Lanier H.D. Marine Tournament

As far as H.D. Marine bass-fishing tournaments go, a record was broken on Sunday, April 14, 2002. The team of Claude Sims and Clinton Elkins, both from Dawsonville, weighed five Lanier bass that went 27.58 pounds. That shatters the old record by nearly 5 pounds. “They had four largemouths and one spot,” said tournament director…

Lake Lanier Primed For Big Spotted Bass

When I got the assignment to do a spotted-bass story on Lake Lanier, I must admit that I wasn’t terribly excited. The prospect of sitting at the end of a long  point or over a hump dangling a jigging spoon in 40 feet of water over a brushpile wasn’t that appealing. Particularly since it was…

Lake Lanier Spotted Bass Busting Topwater All Summer Long

All those experts who told you topwater is an early-morning-only pattern, they were wrong. So were the guys who said that in the summer once the sun comes out you have to shake a worm in 40 feet of water to tempt bass. Things have changed on Georgia’s best spotted bass lake. Something started happening…

Shooting Docks For Lake Lanier Crappie

Wyatt’s first slab of the day came on his third cast — or third shot, to be exact. We had pulled up to a covered dock along the Chattahoochee River near Clarks Bridge and he rifled a 1/32-oz. jig into the dark, back corner of the dock, splitting a 12-inch gap between the dock and…

Larry Lewis Marks Lake Lanier Map For December Bass

Time to break out the snowmobile suits—and catch some bass! Lake Lanier is one of the best choices for bass fishermen in December. It is full of spotted bass, and they tend to be more active in the colder water. The lake is down, often 6 to 10 feet this time of year, and good…

Lake Lanier Record Fish

Largemouth Bass17-lbs., 9-ozs.Emory Dunahoo12/19/65
Spotted Bass8-lbs., 0.5-ozs.Patrick Bankston05/20/85
Striped Bass47-lbs., 12-ozs.Ward Schanhals04/03/10
Hybrid Bass12-lbs.Fred Duncan12/22/92
White Bass5-lbs., 1-oz.*J.M. Hobbins06/16/71
Shoal Bass5-lbs., 5-ozs.Peter T. Thliveros12/01/94
White Crappie3-lbs., 2-ozs.Bill Fretwell04/17/91
Black Crappie3-lbs., 5-ozs.Chris Williams10/06/06
Walleye8-lbs., 9-ozs.Buddy Wade 01/20/13
Bluegill1-lb., 2-ozs.Mrs. Pat Johnson06/03/79
Yellow Perch1-lb., 8-ozs.Jeff Howard02/02/90
Shellcracker1-lb., 9.44-ozs.Michael Madryga12/12/21
Rainbow Trout9-lbs., 6-ozs.Brooke Wheeler03/02/19
Brown Trout6-lbs.Tim Wyatt04/24/04
Flathead Catfish
51-lbs., 10-ozs.
Rodney Stephens
08/14/16
Channel Catfish22-lbs., 8-ozs.Robert Hancock09/28/11
Longnose Gar30-lbs., 13-ozs.Gerald Kennedy09/04/13
Common Carp19-lbs., 9.6-ozs.Charlie White03/17/24
Blue Catfish19-lbs., 5.5-ozs.Tyler Kesselring07/27/24

For Subscribers: Lanier Map-Of-The-Month Bass Articles

Big February Spotted Bass On Lake Lanier

Anglers are learning to go to the ditches at Lake Lanier during the winter months for numbers of spotted bass, but you can also fish rocky points for kicker-size fish to feel the fight of a magnum Lanier spot. The ditch bite is in full swing this month, and you can catch a lot of…

Electronic Edge For Lake Lanier Winter Ditch-Pattern Bass

Everyone has heard about the good winter ditch bite at Lake Lanier, but how do you locate those fish and catch them?  James Harmon, known as “Lanier Jim,” or LJ for short, has spent years learning to read electronics and using them to catch Lanier bass, and his tips will help you. In 2012, I…

Lake Lanier Spotted Bass On The Fall Feed

Big spotted bass are feeding from the surface down to 35 feet deep at Lake Lanier this month. You can catch October bass all month long on a variety of baits by fishing humps and points that have wood cover. Lake Lanier’s 40,000 acres on the upper Chattahoochee River northeast of Atlanta is ranked in…

Emmanuel College Pair Wins State College Title On Lanier

Parker Guy teamed up with Tyler Campbell to represent Emmanuel College in the Georgia Bass Nation state championship that was held on Lake Lanier Oct. 8.  They won with five bass weighing 17.58 pounds and had big fish with a 4.49-lb. spotted bass. Their weight beat out 17 other college teams, and the win earned them…

Lake Lanier August Spotted Bass From Top To Bottom

Editor’s Note: George Stewart “Stew” Medlin passed away on Sept. 20, 2023. In addition to being a fishing guide, Stew was the longtime bar manager at Gino’s NY Pizza Bar in Atlanta, where the bar has been renamed Stew’s Watering Hole in his honor. Stew’s Obituary Lake Lanier is famous for its big spotted bass,…