June 2021 Fishing Report
June 2021 Lake Lanier Fishing Report
We are often asked when is the best time to fish? The short and correct answer is anytime you can, but my answer always comes back to June and for good reason. The combination of numbers, size, and pleasant weather make for a wonderful day on the water. July and August can see those numbers climb even higher if you can deal with a little heat. June has been outstanding with the fish falling into mostly predictable patterns. Early in the morning, they have been relating to timber in 40-80 feet of water in bays and off primary points. We would normally spend a lot of time graphing with sonar and side imaging in search of large schools now, but being Lanier stripers, they have kept us on our toes and have remained widely spread out. Nearly every bay, pocket, ditch, and point has fish on it, some more than others, but we are also catching fish in places we have never seen them before. This has kept the boats spread out rather well, which is a good thing. I feel that the bite shuts down quickly if there are multiple boats in an area, the fish have been very aware of our presence.
Jeff and I have adopted a "divide and conquer" approach so far this summer. Rather than searching, moving, and fishing together, we are trying to duplicate our patterns in a lot of different areas of the lake with great success. Each day the variables include, but are not limited to, leader length, depth of the bottom, timber or slick spots, windy or calm areas, small or larger baits, and slow trolling versus spot locking. Fine tuning these details in the first hour or 2 can make all the difference in your success. Have a game plan but remain flexible. Yesterday was a great example as the day wore on, fish seemed to pull up on points and humps. Most of you have seen these fish being caught while trolling umbrella rigs. These fish were quick to eat a herring pitched out on a spinning rod as well. Also, I am playing around with hook placement a little when the fish are reluctant to eat right away. My downlines have been anywhere from 25 to 45 feet down with 5-8 foot leaders. Shorter leaders worked well this week with a lot of fish pulling up to shallower bottoms.
Generally, mornings have been best but look for the afternoon bite to pick up as we move into July. With some hot weather coming, the fish still hanging out in the shallows will be forced to join the others down deep and form those big schools we all love to see. Bait care and confidence in your electronics will be key components as we get further along into summer. It pays to be ready when that enormous school shows up near the end of your day. Quick and minimal handling of fish along with the use of a seaquilizer will greatly improve the survival odds of any released fish. We are very mindful of this as the future of this fishery is literally in our hands this time of year. Stay safe out there, we hope to see you on the water with rods bowed over this summer!
June 2021 Striper Report Pictures
