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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: 1.1 feet above 1071. Temp: 71-73 degrees. Clarity: Water clarity varies from clear on main lake to stained farther north in the river systems and the backs of the creeks. Bass: Guide Jimbo Mathley, with Jimbo’s Lake Lanier Spotted Bass Guide Service, reports, “Lake Lanier is arguably at its very best during the late spring and early summer due to the consistent availability of an aggressive topwater and swimbait bite during this time. This is an excellent opportunity for anglers to catch spotted bass and watch the action as wolf packs of monster spotted bass chase your topwater plugs. In this month’s installment, you will learn the necessary tackle, equipment, locations and resources to catch topwater fish on Lanier. Now, at the end of April and heading into May 2025, the lake appears to be behind schedule by a couple weeks compared to previous years. Still, most of…
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State championships in Georgia high school sports bring pride and prestige to local communities and towns. The 2025 Georgia bass fishing state championship crown will reside in the city of Evans in Columbia County, as a team from Greenbrier High School took the win. The 2025 GHSA Bass Fishing State Championship, presented by Alfa Insurance,…
Taylor Cronan, 10, of Pendergrass, is the new Lake Lanier record holder for the common carp. She caught a 22-lb., 0.2-oz. fish on April 26 and had it weighed on certified scales and verified by a WRD biologist. She was fishing from the bank in the Gainesville area with her dad, mom, sister and a…
Cooper McDonald, a 17-year-old junior at Lumpkin County High School, caught a five-bass limit weighing 21-lbs., 14-ozs. Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine at Lake Lanier. The March 1 tournament was the first event of the season for the 2025 BFL Bulldog Division. Cooper earned $3,963 for…
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.…
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 | 22-lbs., 0.2-ozs. | Taylor Cronan | 04/26/25 |
| Blue Catfish | 19-lbs., 5.5-ozs. | Tyler Kesselring | 07/27/24 |
For Subscribers: Lanier Map-Of-The-Month Bass Articles
Tired of rocking and rolling over boat wakes while probing deep brush as you hope a bass will bite at Lake Lanier? There is an alternative way to fish, one that puts you on smaller water with fewer boats, and it produces quality fish. The Chattahoochee River up near the Lula Bridge is one such…
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…
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