As the weather starts to warm, the white bass and largest stripers in Lake Lanier will be on the move! This annual migration is considered a major fishing event for anglers who pursue these feisty fish into the northernmost waters of the Chattahoochee and Chestatee rivers each spring. The excitement began as soon as the lake temperature rises above the 50 degree mark.

Early arrivers of this mass exodus from the south are always the smaller male white bass. These are followed quickly by the heavily egg laden and much larger female white bass. Many of the migrating white bass travel up into the Chestatee River as far as the shoals above Highway 400 or on the Chattahoochee River to the rocky runs above Belton Bridge. These areas are difficult to reach by normal boats, so I take clients in my specially-designed, jet-powered, tunnel-hull, 18-foot, aluminum river boat.

Though great numbers of these white bass are found in the upper portions of the rivers that are impossible to reach with normal boats, many of these fish also find spawning areas south of the river shoals where they are more accessible to conventional craft. These white bass seem to prefer sandy flats near the moving water of one of the main river channels.

The area from White Sulphur Access Point north to Lula Bridge on the Chattahoochee is excellent, and from Wilkie Bridge to just north of Lumpkin County Park on the Chestatee side. Especially productive spots are the mouth of Yellow Creek and the big bend in the river near Lumpkin County Park.

Trolling the edge of these flats with 1/8th ounce Swirleybirds, 1/16th or 1/8th ounce Blakemore Roadrunners, or 1/8th ounce jig and Ranger curlytail grubs can be effective and a means of locating the schools. After a congregation of white bass is found, a buoy marker should be dropped in the general area, then cast to the fish with the same shad-like lures that were used for trolling. White or chartreuse are always excellent color choices.

Some white bass will make their spawning runs into other major tributaries around the lake. Flowery Branch, Bald Ridge, Six-Mile, and Flat Creeks are good spawning areas for these whites. Fish in these areas, however, tend to mate at least a week or two later than those in the rivers, and individual females in the tributaries are normally larger in size. In fact, the Lake Lanier and Georgia record (5 pounds, 1 ounce caught by Jeff Hobbins in 1971) came from Bald Ridge Creek.

For those hardy enough to withstand the cooler night air, white bass fishing can be great under artificial lights using threadfin shad or commercially raised shiners. The best places for nighttime fishing are under Wilkie Bridge on the Chestatee and both Clarks and Lula Bridges on the Chattahoochee River. The fish will usually hit the bait at the ten to fifteen foot level.

In addition, night fishing with live bait is effective for white bass that are returning to the main lake after spawning. These whites can be caught all the way into early summer. Best areas for this extended action are Browns Bridge on the Chattahoochee River and Boling Bridge on the Chestatee.

For those interested in catching a huge striped bass, the last two weeks of March and the first two weeks of April are the best times in the Chattahoochee River above Lake Lanier. Though nothing is produced from their spawning efforts, 20 to 40 pound female stripers travel up into the shoals of the upper river to go through the spawning process. I again use the jet boat to allow my fishing clients an opportunity to catch a more than thirty pound fish in beautiful surroundings.

First the white bass and then the stripers will be headed north again, and for those lucky enough to locate a big school of white bass, it can be nonstop action. In with those thousands of white bass, however, one might find a lifetime trophy striper lurking!

Bill Vanderford has won numerous awards for his writing and photography, and has been inducted into the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame as a Legendary Guide. He can be reached at 770-289-1543, at [email protected], or at his web site: www.fishinglanier.com