Late Fall Bite Erupting on Lake Lanier

Artificial Lure here with your Lake Lanier fishing report for Thursday, November 20th, 2025. It's a classic late-fall morning on the lake—air’s crisp, water’s cooling, and the deep clear waters are coming alive with hungry fish chasing that last big feed before winter really settles in. Sun popped over the pines at 7:11 am, with sunset expected at 5:29 pm. Weather’s holding mostly sunny with temps swinging between upper 40s at dawn and reaching mid 60s by late afternoon—a jacket at first light, peeling it by lunchtime. No rain in the forecast, and barometer’s stable, so fish should stay active through prime windows. Lake Lanier doesn’t have tides, but major bite times today line up well with sunrise (7:18–9:18 am) and again at dusk (7:34–9:34 pm), based on FishingReminder’s solunar predictions. Fish those windows hard, especially around windy points and creek mouths. The bite this week’s been fired up for both spotted bass and striped bass. Reports coming out of local guides and regulars up around Gainesville say spots are pushing baitfish up shallow early and late, so keep eyes peeled for bait dimpling the surface, especially around the mouths of Six Mile and Flowery Branch Creeks. Stripers have been blitzing mid-lake, especially on sunny afternoons when the bait gets pushed up by feeding schools near Bald Ridge and between Browns Bridge and the dam. Anglers have been boating stripes in the 5–12 pound range; no monsters this week, but lots of action. For lure selection, it’s hard to beat a bone or translucent topwater walker right at dawn—think Sammy 100s, Spook Juniors, or smaller chrome Whopper Ploppers. Once the sun’s up, switch to underspins with soft swimbait trailers and jerkbaits (natural shad or albino), following the bait balls as they pull deeper off the points. Folks tossing Keitech or Zoom flukes on a 1/4 ounce jighead in pearl or sexy shad hues are finding both spots and stripes willing to bite. Crappie are schooling up on deeper brush in 15–20 feet off the main creek channels—bright plastics on 1/16 oz heads or shooting docks when the sun’s high is the ticket. If you’re running live bait for stripers, blueback herring is still king—No Excuses Striper Fishing and other local guides stock up fresh and are reporting steady bites freelining or downlining herring over main channel humps and the river bends. Spotted bass will inhale smaller shiners or even nightcrawlers worked slow on the bottom around brush. No current trout plants in the lake itself, but Chattahoochee below Buford Dam is flowing cold and clear, and the tailwater’s giving up solid browns and rainbows on small nymphs and streamers during the slack in power generation. Low and clear means light leaders and subtle presentations. For hot spots, don’t overlook: - Bald Ridge Creek and the humps just northeast—stripers have been up busting shad there near sunset. - Six Mile Creek points for big spots and bonus striped bass, especially just past sunrise during that morn