LAKE ALLATOONA

Joseph Martenilli 404-919-4918

There’s little doubt that March is the herald of spring here in Georgia, so let’s welcome it with many casts and tight lines. Lake Allatoona continues to shine as a gem here in North Georgia, and we are excited to share a little of what to expect in the next few weeks.

Linesides: The striped bass, hybrid striped bass and white bass have already developed mature roe. While the striped and hybrid are not selfsustaining, here on the reservoir, the white bass do successfully spawn, and we hope to continue to see them thrive. Once these water temperatures hit 60° +, spawn will be fullon for many species. Depending on mother nature, we may see these water temps and first runs begin as early as this month. It is a magical time of year!

Through February, most of the better fishing for line sides was midlake and south, starting around Stamp Creek, the dam, and Red Top State Park. South through the pass and all the way to Tanyard and Clark Creeks are producing fish. Many of these are found feeding deep on the established alewife and shad populations, and down lining baits from 30 to 40 ft down, has not been uncommon. Sure, there are times when they are pushed up into the flats but overall, they are staying with that deep bait line. When you find this, you will find fish this time of year. They may not always show themselves immediately on a down scan, but properly interpreted electronics can give you a good read of fish in the bait. If your bait is running 10 ft thick from 25 ft to 40 ft down, run bait at 25 and just below 40 - it’s been working great for us!

Naturally, there are days when all the good fish come on a free line so be prepared to have one or two of those in the spread to see what is working best on any given day. With the free lines, we have had pretty good success with shad and small rainbow trout, size 2-1 hook and maybe a size 7 split shot on 8 to 10 lb. test fluorocarbon setup. Lastly, planer boards have had their success, but still predominantly catching schoolies. For Allatoona, we are still using smaller baits as the larger baits have just not produced as well on Allatoona, for the linesides this winter.

There will be different patterns developing as spring progresses, but as we find ourselves in late February and into March, these patterns should hold true.

Crappie: The crappie are stacked! I do not say this lightly. These are not all slabs, let alone record size fish, but the 10–14-inch fish are in there. In a multitude of fishing and scouting trips, I’ve had some of my best crappie fishing already for this season and haven’t even gotten into long line trolling, yet this season. A tried-and-true pattern for me in any state. I’ve fished crappie with the basic float ‘n’ fly or cork ‘n’ jig. With my setup of light 4 lb. test, a balsa slip float and 1/16 oz. rubber bugs and even a quill with 1/80 oz specialty baits, we’ve been cooing these crappie on Allatoona since January. Fast forward to water temps getting in the high 50s and these fish are going to stack up in the mouths of the mid-lake and northern creeks where they will be staging to move into structure and lay some eggs. They stage for as many as 6 weeks here on Allatoona though there always appears to be a peak two to three weeks, determined by water temperature. Those bigger girls lay down a lot of eggs and already have proven genetics. If you catch a monster 16-20” black or white crappie, you did good. Personally, I like to let these go but I think keeping a record size fish alive if possible for an official weigh in and release would be ideal for a potential record crappie. We released 2 over l3+ last Feb/March. An 18” white-19 1/4” black, both swollen with life giving eggs. The long and the short of it– Harvest responsibly and consider if it is ideal table fare or better to release.

Spotted Bass: These have been fun and cooperative all winter long. We have had the most fun and caught almost as many on a 3-in swim bait as we have on a live shad or any other bait. There are several combinations we like, but a quality 1/8 oz. swimbait head with the Cast Prodigy has been in our front line arsenal. When switching from finesse to fan casting or trolling for locating fish, the same baits bunched up on a good Hog Farmer A-rig and the Captain Mack’s mini have been crucial to our success. So many species and so little time to give each their due today, but as spring progresses, we will likely be sharing details on the other lovely species Allatoona has to offer. We hope this helps a little on your own excursions. Naturally, you are invited to reach out to us at 404-919-4918 to set up a fullservice Adventure on Allatoona and Carters this Spring. God Bless you and tight lines, friends!