North of Atlanta · 38,000 acres
Lake Lanier fishing guide
Stripers, spotted bass and crappie on the lake Buford Dam built, just north of Atlanta.
- Where
- About 50 miles northeast of Atlanta
- Fish
- Stripers, spotted & largemouth bass, crappie
- Best
- Fall for stripers and spots
- License
- Georgia fishing license, 16+
About the water
Lake Sidney Lanier filled behind Buford Dam on the Chattahoochee River and reached full pool in 1958. Its roughly 38,000 acres of deep, clear water make it one of the Southeast’s best spotted-bass lakes; Bassmaster ranked it No. 11 on its 2026 Southeast list.
Stripers are the headliner. Georgia DNR’s 2025 sampling found them averaging about 8 pounds, with fish over 20 pounds in the mix, and largemouth, spotted bass and crappie round out the lineup.
What’s biting, season by season
Stripers and spotted bass follow bait into deep creek channels. Slow down and fish deep.
Bass move shallow to spawn, and the crappie bite peaks from February through April.
Fish settle deep in the heat. Early mornings, evenings and nights are your best windows.
The best topwater of the year, as stripers and spotted bass push bait to the surface.
Tips from the guides
- In fall, watch for birds and surface boils, and get a topwater plug or fluke into the action fast.
- Lanier’s stripers and spots feed heavily on blueback herring, so match your bait or lure to it.
- For spotted bass, work points, humps and brush piles, especially on windy days.
- Crappie hold around docks and brush in late winter; small jigs fished slowly get bit.
- Summer weekends bring heavy boat traffic, so fish early or go midweek.
Access & rules
The Corps of Engineers runs public parks and boat ramps around the lake, and some charge day-use fees, so check before you go.
Lanier is entirely in Georgia, so a Georgia fishing license covers you.
Ask Chris
Headed to Lake Lanier? Ask Chris.
Chris Scalley has fished just about every water in Georgia and the Southeast, and he has guided since 1994. Ask him where to go, what’s biting, or who to fish with. He reads every question himself.
- Where and when to fish Lake Lanier
- Which local guide or charter is worth booking
- A trout trip on the Hooch with River Through Atlanta
From the guides at River Through Atlanta
Lanier stripers are a blast. But have you fished the cold water that pours out the bottom of the same lake?
Below Buford Dam, cold water from the bottom of Lake Lanier keeps 48 miles of the Chattahoochee cool enough for trout all year. It’s western-style fly fishing from a drift boat, for rainbows and wild browns, right through Atlanta. Our Orvis-endorsed guides have fished it since 1994, and beginners are welcome.
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