by Ryan Coleman
Fishing is good. Lake Lanier is 5.8 feet below full pool and the surface temps are holding in the mid to upper 80’s. The water has come up about a foot since we got all the rains and continues to slowly rise. The water has not been extremely clear all summer. It’s clear but has some cloudy look to it as the water continues to rise.
Fishing has been good all month. The topwater bite has been hit or miss but we are still catching some nice fish all day long on walking baits and big poppers like a Chug Bug. This is pretty typical for Lanier and this year has been right on schedule. We are also starting to get a good bite on swimbaits and underspins worked over brush. This bite was a little slow at first but has now gotten good. I am working a 7/16 ounce Albino Underspin from SpotSticker Baits rigged with a Zoom Super Fluke Jr or a Reaction Innovations Little Dipper. The paddletail will stay higher in the water column and the Fluke Jr will get deeper.
My best bite now is either a dropshot or jig worked around the brush. For the drop shot, just a basic drop shot rig with a 3/8 ounce weight rigging with either a Hot Tomato or Cinnamon Purple 6″ hand-poured worm. This has really heated up over the past week. All summer we have had a great jig bite for big fish in the brush. A 3/8 ounce Green Craw or Root Beer colored jig rigged with a 5″ twin tail trailer has been the ticket. Just work this bait on 12 pound fluorocarbon line in and around the 20-25 foot brush slowly. At times, I am having to stroke it off the bottom to trigger strikes, but once you get one turned on, they will not let go.
Good luck out there!