Biting right now — August

Water is cold and stripers are grouped up deep over main lake humps and points, feeding on threadfin shad balls we mark on the graph. We fish live bait straight down or slow troll to cover water until we find them. Spots and largemouth are sluggish this month and bites are light, but the striper bite alone is worth the trip.

This is when striper fishing on Lanier really turns on. Fish stack up on deep structure near the dam and up the river arms, and we work live bait and umbrella rigs through those schools all day. Largemouth, white bass and crappie are also waking up around brush and creek channel bends, so it is a good month to mix species if the group wants variety.

March is the best all-around month we have on Lanier. Stripers are shallow and aggressive as water warms, largemouth and spots are staging on points ahead of the spawn, and white bass and crappie are pushing into creek arms in numbers. We can run a pure striper trip or mix baits to put multiple species in the box depending on what the group wants.

Water is warming fast and everything on Lanier turns on at once. Stripers and white bass push up the rivers and creek arms chasing shad, largemouth stack on points and brush, and crappie hold tight to standing timber and deep brush piles. This is our busiest stretch of the year and we run trips daily to keep up with it.

The thermocline starts to set up and bait pushes deeper on the humps and ledges. Largemouth and crappie are still locked in and biting well, stripers and spots stay steady out over deep structure, and catfish start showing up strong on cut bait around the flats near the dam. We adjust depth through the month as the water column settles.

The thermocline is locked in and stripers and spots slide down onto deep points and humps where we work them with downlines. Catfish and gar really turn on this month, feeding hard in the warmer water along channel edges and flats. Largemouth are still catchable around brush and dock lines but the bite slows some as the heat builds.

The lake is warm top to bottom and the thermocline pushes most fish deep. We fish channel catfish and gar out over deep humps and old creek channels where they stay active all day, while spotted bass hold tight to brush and rock on the main lake points. Striper, largemouth, white bass, and crappie are slow this month, so we do not chase them hard in July.

August looks a lot like July on Lanier. Catfish and gar stay locked in on deep structure and keep biting through the heat, and spotted bass work the same deep points and ledges. Striper, largemouth, white bass, and crappie remain slow, so we build the day around catfish and gar with some spotted bass mixed in.

Cooling water breaks up the thermocline and the whole lake wakes up. Spotted bass peak on the points and humps, and striper, largemouth, white bass, and crappie all turn on as bait scatters and current moves through the creek arms. This is one of our best months to run a full day and cover water for a mixed bag.

The lake starts turning over in October and bait gets pushed up onto humps and long points. We run planer boards and down lines over structure for stripers and spots, then slide shallow to work docks and rock for largemouth. Catfish and white bass are still active enough to fill in a slow stretch, and gar show up on the surface on calm mornings.

Shad get pushed back into the creeks and stripers follow them hard, this is one of our best months for consistent surface and mid-depth action on the main lake. Largemouth and spots stack up on the same points and brush piles the bait is holding on, and crappie are grouped up around standing timber and deep brush. Catfish and gar slow way down and are not worth targeting this month.

Water temps drop and most species shut down, but stripers stay reliable, holding deep on main lake humps and river channel bends where we work them with down lines. Spotted bass and crappie will still bite but you have to slow down and fish tight to structure to get numbers. Catfish and gar are effectively done for the year on this lake.