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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
Lanier: Level: 1.5 feet below 1071. Temp: Low 40s. Clarity: Clear. Bass: Guide Jimbo Mathley, with Jimbo’s Lake Lanier Spotted Bass Guide Service, reports, “The early prespawn on Lake Lanier can be a fantastic time to catch a huge spotted or largemouth bass. The fish have been lethargic due to the colder water, and biologically, they are triggered to begin feeding in preparation for the arduous spawning process that will soon follow. Typically, the female largemouth begin the process first. What triggers these fish to move into prespawn? Where will these big fish emerge? How do you catch them? These are all excellent questions that we will discuss in detail in this month’s report. The biggest factor in the bass beginning their trek shallower is the steady lengthening of daylight that we experience as the calendar progresses forward. The longer days are nature’s signal to the bass that it is…
Read MoreLake Lanier Articles
For Buford’s Tyler Kesselring, it was a fishing tournament outcome that he wasn’t necessarily expecting. Fishing in the Lake Lanier Catfish Challenge, he went to the scales at 2 a.m. with a winning weight of 40 pounds. In his catch was a new Lake Lanier record blue catfish that tipped the scales at 19-lbs., 5.5-ozs.…
Van Pugh South Park on Lake Lanier has transitioned from offering overnight camping options to a reservation-only day-use park that is open on Saturdays and Sundays. According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, this change is designed with your convenience in mind and aims to enhance visitor experiences at the Lake Lanier recreation site.…
One of the keys to being a good fisherman is being observant. North Hall High School senior Charlie White was fishing for bass off his grandparent’s dock on Lake Lanier when he noticed a change. “My grandparents have one of those green lights in the water off their pier, and I noticed that the bass…
Brooks Anderson, of Marietta, caught a five-bass limit weighing 23-lbs., 3-ozs. on Saturday, Feb. 19 to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Lanier. The tournament was the first event of the 2024 season for the BFL Bulldog Division. Anderson earned $4,584 for his victory. Anderson began his day…
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…
Lake Lanier Record Fish
| Largemouth Bass | 17-lbs., 9-ozs. | Emory Dunahoo | 12/19/65 |
| Spotted Bass | 8-lbs., 0.5-ozs. | Patrick Bankston | 05/20/85 |
| Striped Bass | 47-lbs., 12-ozs. | Ward Schanhals | 04/03/10 |
| Hybrid Bass | 12-lbs. | Fred Duncan | 12/22/92 |
| White Bass | 5-lbs., 1-oz.* | J.M. Hobbins | 06/16/71 |
| Shoal Bass | 5-lbs., 5-ozs. | Peter T. Thliveros | 12/01/94 |
| White Crappie | 3-lbs., 2-ozs. | Bill Fretwell | 04/17/91 |
| Black Crappie | 3-lbs., 5-ozs. | Chris Williams | 10/06/06 |
| Walleye | 8-lbs., 9-ozs. | Buddy Wade | 01/20/13 |
| Bluegill | 1-lb., 2-ozs. | Mrs. Pat Johnson | 06/03/79 |
| Yellow Perch | 1-lb., 8-ozs. | Jeff Howard | 02/02/90 |
| Shellcracker | 1-lb., 9.44-ozs. | Michael Madryga | 12/12/21 |
| Rainbow Trout | 9-lbs., 6-ozs. | Brooke Wheeler | 03/02/19 |
| Brown Trout | 6-lbs. | Tim Wyatt | 04/24/04 |
| Flathead Catfish | 51-lbs., 10-ozs. | Rodney Stephens | 08/14/16 |
| Channel Catfish | 22-lbs., 8-ozs. | Robert Hancock | 09/28/11 |
| Longnose Gar | 30-lbs., 13-ozs. | Gerald Kennedy | 09/04/13 |
| Common Carp | 19-lbs., 9.6-ozs. | Charlie White | 03/17/24 |
| Blue Catfish | 19-lbs., 5.5-ozs. | Tyler Kesselring | 07/27/24 |
For Subscribers: Lanier Map-Of-The-Month Bass Articles
Big Lanier spotted bass are up shallow for the spawn in April, and now is the best time of the year to catch them shallow around rocks, docks and wood. Some bass will be postspawn in April, but many will still be moving in during prespawn and bedding in April. Lake Lanier is a 38,000-acre…
Lake Lanier is one of the premier lakes in the country for catching numbers of quality spotted bass, and November is one of the best months of the year to fish Lanier. Spots are starting their move to the ditches, and they can be caught on brushpiles, bluff banks and in the ditches this month.…
Lake Lanier is known for its magnum spots and a great winter ditch bite. It’s true that in December lots of Lanier bass are moving into the ditches, but they can also be caught on rocky points near the coves, on boat docks, and there are many fish still on main-lake brushpiles. There is a…
Most bass anglers have heard about the good winter “ditch bite” at Lake Lanier for spotted bass. But exactly what is a ditch bite? How do you find good ditches, and how do you catch bass on this pattern? Three local expert fishermen on Lanier—Jim Farmer, Jimmy “Lanier Jim” Harmon and Jim “Jimbo” Mathley—shared their…
Some of the biggest spots in Lake Lanier are already moving to staging areas on rocky points near spawning areas in early February. You can catch a personal best spot right now by fishing crankbaits on these points. Lanier has developed a well-deserved reputation for producing magnum spots over the past few years. Five-pounders are…