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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

Georgia SCI Hosts Wounded Warriors For Annual Fishing Weekend

The Georgia Chapter of Safari Club International (SCI) hosted 31 Purple Heart recipients during its annual Wounded Veterans Fishing Weekend at Lake Lanier July 7-9.  Georgia SCI has hosted the event for more than a decade, providing a full weekend of fishing and fun on Lake Lanier for wounded veterans and their guests. The three-day event,…

Rabid Beaver Attacks Girl On Lake Lanier

A 12-year-old girl is undergoing a series of rabies shots after a beaver lunged out of the water and bit her. The girl was climbing a ladder or about to get on the ladder at a boat dock when the beaver latched on to her leg, dragging her into the lake. Don McGowan, a biologist…

Two PBs Earns BFL Victory On Lanier

Justin Nalley, of Hampton, caught a five-bass limit weighing 22-lbs., 8-ozs. on Feb. 18 to win the MLF Phoenix BFL on Lake Lanier. The tournament was the first event of the 2023 season for the BFL Bulldog Division. Justin earned $5,970 for his victory. Justin’s win came in his first BFL event fished as a…

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 Receives New Fish Habitat

Limestone Creek has a new look thanks to WRD’s Gainesville and Burton Fisheries’ staff. Crews planted 775 maidencane plants and 10 bald cypress trees that will prevent bank erosion, provide areas for spawning, hiding places for juvenile fish and foraging habitat. The new additions are also expected to provide nutrients to the water. “With the…

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,…