LAKE ALLATOONA

By Ken Sturdivant kensturdivant@att.net

Bass fishing is good. Fish are active and can be caught with just about any technique. Use the fluke style baits, Ned rigs and popper style top water baits and cover water. The bite is good most of the day, but the best time is before 9 am. The pockets and secondary point around Red Top and Stamps Creek seem to be best right now. Have a second rod rigged and ready as the spotted bass are chasing small baits mid-day. An all-white 3/8-ounce Rooster Tail will catch almost anything. The

Texas rigged worm and a 1/4-ounce weight with a Zoom finesse worm in a black emerald color cased on or around the bed will also catch these fish. The Texas rig worm on a Weedless Wonder head should be fished in the speed worming method by simply casting the bait to the bed and when it hits the bottom you begin to reel it in with a steady retrieve like it was a small crank bait.

Lake Allatoona is down 1.3 feet 60s.

If you would like to place an ad, please contact us: craig@theanglermagazine.com

Quality Marine is a Mercury Repower and Service Center that specializes in service and repair on Outboards, Sterndrives, and Inboard boats. Quality Marine is the ONLY Mercury Repower Center on Lake Lanier. Operating on Lake Lanier since 2015, the Quality Marine team focuses on QUALITY service at competitive prices.

6490 Bell Dr., Flowery Branch, GA 30542 404-402-3129 facebook.com/QualityMarineLLC

Contributed By Capt.

Wayne Moore - USCG

Licensed www.oconeeonthefly.com

So far, in 2023, we have seen more changing weather fronts than any of us guides here on Lake Oconee can remember. Today (April 7, 2023) is a good example, the high temperature at 1:00 PM is 78 degrees and winds out of the southwest at 2 MPH. The cold front comes in tonight and by tomorrow the high will be 50 degrees and winds east northeast at 20 mph.

These rapidly changing fronts really affected the crappie fishing this season and even the guys that are pros at LiveScope have had some tough days.

The good news is that as we move into May, we expect to see more stable conditions and opportunities for good hybrid bass and striped bass fishing. The trolling bite for crappie will pick up and by the end of May, brush pile fishing for crappie will begin.

Crappie – May is a transitional month for crappie here on Lake Oconee. And crappie fishing can be a little challenging. The spawn is over, but the trolling bite will begin to pick up. Also, as the water warms up, the fish will begin to orient themselves to submerged timber (the brush pile bite).

LiveScope has really changed things. We have a number of excellent crappie guides here on Lake Oconee and some specialize in using the LiveScope. They are able to find and target single fish pretty much anytime. This technology is awesome, but there is a learning curve.

Whether you want to learn how to use LiveScope, troll, or fish brush piles; hiring a guide is well worth the money.

Hybrids / Stripers – May can present some great opportunities for the hybrid / striper fisherman. Be prepared to get on the water at first light. Last May, we had a good topwater bite, mid-lake, near River Bend. Trolling MiniMacs was very productive and I expect it will be again. However, the fish might be at the dam. Casting spoons and ¼ ounce bucktail jigs will produce as will the popping cork with a Betts Pop N’ Stripe Popper Fly. After the sun comes up, switch over to down lining live shad.

Fly Fishing - The opportunities for fly fishing in May will be at first light, (particularly if they are pumping water up from Lake Sinclair) and fishing humps late in the morning or late afternoon.

For the early morning bite use intermediate line on an 8-weight rod with a 9-foot, 12-pound fluorocarbon leader. A Cowen’s Somethin Else fly is your best bet; but if the fish are rising, try a wiggle minnow. Sometimes, I fish the wiggle minnow and use a Somethin Else as a dropper.

If you see fish suspended at 10 to 15 feet on a hump over a 30-foot bottom use an 8-weight rod with sink tip line, a 5-foot section of 15lb fluorocarbon for the leader, and a white and chartreuse clouser tied on a #2 hook. This can be more productive than the topwater bite and the fight is an absolute blast!

It is prime time now for hybrid and striper fishing. Contact me at wmoore1700@outlook.com or call 404-317-9556 to lock in your dates well ahead of time.

Tight Lines, and God Bless.

Forecast By: Capt. Keith Hudson Keith Hudson

Guide Service

hudsonprobass@gmail.com | www.LakeWestPointFishing.com 706-844-1483

Bass: Good. Largemouth are being caught on several different patterns. Top water baits such as Pop R’s, Zara Spooks and Buzz Baits can be extremely effective for shallow and aggressive fish, especially around bream beds. The second pattern that works well is to look for spawning shad. Try fishing rip rap around bridges with spinnerbaits, small crankbaits, and Zoom Super Flukes- Additionally, some big tournament sacks of largemouth are still being weighed in by guys who sight fish, targeting fish that are locked on bed. This can be an aggravating way to fish but can pay off in a tournament win. Lots of spotted bass are caught by casting Spot Remover heads loaded with Shakey Tail worms or just dragging a Carolinarigged Zoom finesse worm or mini lizard around sloping gravel banks. These tactics normally works very well for numbers.

Linesides: Excellent. Spawned out hybrids & stripes will show up down lake in May. Expect the down - line bite on live bait to be awesome! Some fish starting surface schooling on the main lake and can be caught on small crankbaits, topwaters, pop n cork rigs and Storm Swim Shad lures.

Crappie: Fair. Spawned out fish will typically move out and hold on deeper brush & structure or under docks for a while to recover. Night fishing should also improve in May.

Bream: Good. Don’t forget about our bream & shellcracker. Finding an active bed can take a little ef-

611 TWIN BRIDGES RD. EATONTON, GA 478-968-0713