This is Artificial Lure with your Lake Lanier fishing report.

Out here the lake is sitting just below full pool and clearing up after that last front pushed through. According to the National Weather Service, air temps are starting in the upper 30s this morning and climbing into the low 50s, with a light northwest breeze 5–10 miles an hour and high pressure settling in. Skies are mostly clear, so it’s a bright, crisp Lanier winter day. Sunrise is right around 7:30 a.m. with sunset near 5:30 p.m., giving us a short feeding window on the banks. Lanier’s a reservoir, so no true tide, but the “tide” you’ll feel today is generation and boat traffic; both should be light this morning and picking up a bit this afternoon.

FishingReminder’s solunar tables show the main major feed late morning into early afternoon, with a smaller flurry just after sunrise. That lines up well with what local guides have been seeing the last few days: slower first light bite, then a definite uptick once the sun gets on the water and pushes bait onto points and ditches.

Spotted bass have been the stars. Reports from Lanier guides and recent YouTube trips out of Gainesville and Flowery Branch show good numbers of 1½–3‑pound spots coming off main‑lake points, bluff walls, and timber edges in 25–40 feet. The textbook deal right now is a **shaky head** with a green pumpkin finesse worm, a **3–4 inch swimbait** on a ball head, and a **drop shot** with a small shad‑pattern minnow. That December shaky‑head bite is exactly what recent winter Lanier videos are featuring, and it’s producing day in, day out.

Stripers have been a little more hit‑or‑miss but worth the grind. Local reports from Port Royale and Bald Ridge marinas the last couple of days mention scattered schools pushing herring and shad in the backs of creeks early, then sliding out to the mouths and mid‑lake channels by mid‑day. Freelines and light planer boards with **blueback herring** are still your best bet, with a couple downlines ready for when they drop under the boat. When they come up busting, have a **1‑oz white bucktail** or a 5‑inch soft jerkbait ready to fire.

Crappie are stacking up around brush and docks in 15–25 feet, especially in quieter pockets. Folks fishing after work around Six Mile and Two Mile have reported limits of eater‑size slabs on **small minnows**, 1/32‑oz hair jigs, and tiny soft plastics in monkey milk and pearl. Electronics make a big difference now; they’re tight to cover.

Best lures and baits today:
- For spots: 3/16‑oz shaky head with green pumpkin or morning dawn worm; 3.3–3.8 Keitech‑style swimbait in shad colors; silver blade bait or spoon for vertical work over timber.
- For stripers: live bluebacks on freelines and planer boards; white flukes, bucktails, and small glide baits when they’re up top.
- For crappie: small live minnows, tiny tube jigs, and hair jigs under a fixed float for dock edges.

A couple of hot spots to consider:
- **Lower lake creek mouths from Big Creek to Shoal Creek**: good mix of spotted bass on ditches and timber edges with roaming stripers nearby.
- **Mid‑lake around Six Mile Creek and Flowery Branch**: consistent winter spot and crappie bite on points and docks, with occasional schooling stripers when the wind stacks bait.

Fish slow, watch your electronics, and let that sun help you. That cold water makes every bite count, but if you stay patient you can put together a really solid Lanier winter day.

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