The lake level is at 1071.52 (.52 feet above full pool) with water temps of 74-76 degrees. On Lake Lanier, October fishing is all about being versatile. Turnover has already started up, the lake is getting cloudy and the fish are doing their breakout of the south end of the lake and are above the GA Hwy 369 bridge. The fish below the bridge are exploding on top water the first few hours of the day as well as the last couple hours of the day, especially when there is a bit of cloud cover. On those cloudy days, the best bait to throw at these fish will be a Jr HAWG spoon in nickel or nickel/ silver scale on sunny days and pearl or pearl/ blue scale. On cloudy days, this casting spoon is a great bait because it can be fished near the surface like you would a magic swimmer, but it can also be fished deep by allowing it to fall and yo-yoing it back to the boat after the school has gone back down. The Jr HAWG spoon can also be fished vertically when these schools of fish get right underneath the boat. When the fish are under the boat, drop it straight down about 20 feet below the fish you are marking on your Humminbird Helix or Solix and power reel it back up through the fish like you would the Boss HAWG. The Jr HAWG will cast better due to its thinner profile, but don’t leave your Fat HAWG at home. The Fat HAWG has a wider profile, but the Fat has been catching fish as well. These fish can also be caught throwing a Mini Mack, but when reeling in, hang on as their will probably be a couple on there at a time. If you find these fish in a pocket make sure you keep a flat lined herring 75-100 feet behind the boat as you are chasing the top water fish with your Minn Kota Ulterra. These fish are moving around very fast and you will have to run them down to get a shot at them, but a herring being dragged behind you at a couple miles per hour is often irresistible to those fish you have just passed over. The fish that are already north of the 369 Bridge have not been coming up nearly as well, but that should change as the month goes on. The schools we are seeing at the 30-40 foot range in 60-100 feet of water should be consistent through the month and will be caught on down lined herring or small shad. Start shortening up your leaders to 5-6 feet, but stay with that 10 # flouro and # 2 Gamakatsu Circle hook to keep your bait from having to fight to hard.
“If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9.