Lake Lanier Fishing Report: Be ready to cover large areas to catch active stripers

Posted on October 5th, 2022

The CORPS continues its normal fall drawdown in anticipation of the rainy winter season. 

Lake Lanier is down at 1,067.49 feet or 3.59 feet below the normal full pool of 1,071. 

Lake temperatures have fallen with the cooler fall weather and the lake water is currently in the mid to lower 70’s. 

The main lake and creeks mouths are clear with some stained water showing up in some areas from lake turnover. 

The creeks and rivers upstream are clear to stained due to the turnover. 

The Chattahoochee River below Buford Dam is very stained due to stratification or lake turnover. 

Check generation schedules before heading out to the river at 770-945-1466.

Bass fishing has improved and it’s time for anglers to load up our gear and go fishing. 

Hurricane Ian missed us totally and the lake level continues to drop. 

Dropping water is a pain for dock owners but a boon for anglers. 

Lower lake levels concentrate the fish and bait, and gives the fish less water to hide. 

We have really keyed in on two techniques: Power fishing with topwater or swim-bait fishing, following up with either a subsurface lure like a swim or crank bait or finesse techniques like drop shot, shaky heads or Ned Rigs. 

The subsurface offerings only get used if the fish are not schooling.

I have stowed almost every rod on the deck, except for my 8-Foot Kissel Krafts medium weight bait-casting rod. 

I have spooled my reels with 65 pound Suline SX1 Braid attached to a 4-5-foot Sunline Sniper Fluorocarbon Leader. 

This is the setup I use for casting my topwater plugs and swim baits. 

My lures of choice for topwater fishing this week include a SPRO Fat Pappa 130, a Sammy, SPRO Pop 80 or even a Storm Saltwater Chug Bug. 

We have also been casting baits like a SPRO BBZ1 six-inch or a Sebile 110 over these same schooling fish.

Fishing and environmental conditions will often dictate what type of fishing styles we start with. 

Keep reading on the source!

Source: The Times