Good morning folks—Artificial Lure here with your Lake Lanier fishing report for Sunday, November 16th, 2025.

First light crept over Lanier right about 7:01 AM, with sunset coming at 5:32 PM. We’re sitting in that late-fall sweet spot, air temps kicking off in the low 50s and peaking around the mid-60s under mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies. There’s a slight breeze blowing out of the northwest, which’ll help push bait up on points and into the creek mouths. Lake levels are holding a tick above historic median, but the drought’s still pinching, so don’t be surprised to find some shallow spots running lower than usual—Corps of Engineers just bumped down the outflow again to conserve water for the coming dry spell, as reported by the Statesboro Herald.

No tides here on Lanier, but the solar-lunar tables from Fishing Reminder call major activity windows this morning from 7:18 to 9:18 AM and again from 7:34 to 9:34 PM, so plan to be on your best water early or late. The moon’s on the backside of a waxing gibbous, so expect those bite windows to be legit, especially at daybreak.

Now on to the action: November’s delivered a fantastic fall bite so far. According to several recent reports, spotted bass are dialed up and schooling in classic autumn fashion. The early morning and late evening topwater bite has been on fire, with anglers boating solid numbers of spots up to 4 pounds. Topwater walkers and flukes have been getting whacked at first light—especially over rocky main lake points and humps off Brown’s Bridge and up near River Forks Park. As the sun climbs, downsizing to underspins or working jerkbaits and finesse swimbaits along secondary points will produce. Work natural shad colors in the clearer water, but if the wind stirs up sediment, swap to chartreuse or white for max flash.

Striped bass chasers are seeing improved activity in mid-lake after a brief lull. Watch for surface blitzes and diving gulls, especially around the mouth of Flat Creek and out in front of the dam. White bucktail jigs, 1- to 2-oz herring imitators, and swimbaits are all money right now. Live blueback herring, if you can get it, is still the gold standard for bait, but freelining medium shiners will get you steady bites, especially during low-light.

Crappie anglers—now’s your time. Fish are stacking up on brushpiles in 15 to 18 feet around docks in Six Mile and Wahoo creeks. Bright plastics on 1/32- to 1/16-oz jigheads are picking up slabs consistently. Dock shooting is productive midday, so don’t sleep on that pattern.

The Chattahoochee tailwater below Buford Dam is coming alive as well. Trout are keying on olive and black streamers as generation eases off, with nymphs picking up bonus rainbows.

Hotspots this week:
- Brown’s Bridge/Humps north side for schooling spots at dawn.
- Flat Creek mouth and Lanier Dam pocket for striper blitzes.
- Six Mile Creek docks for daytime crappie.

Best lures/baits for today:
- Topwater walkers, soft jerkbaits, 3- to 4-inch swimbaits in shad or natural.
- Underspins, jerkbaits, and white bucktail jigs.
- Bright crappie tubes or curly tail grubs on light jigs.
- Live blueback herring or medium shiners for big stripers.

Reminder: low flows and dropping water mean keep an eye on your electronics and be cautious near shallow points and ramp areas.

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This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI