LOCAL LAKES AND FORECAST

striper guide services and have what it takes to put you on some trophy stripers!

Currently, Lake Nottely is 8 feet below full pool. Water temperatures have been in the low to mid 50’s. Water clarity is clear in the main lake and just slightly stained in the backs of the creeks and rivers.

Spring is in the air and striper fishing has been super out here lately. We’ve had such an amazing early spring striper run and it’s only going to get better! Most of the stripers we are catching have been in the 12-to-25-pound range, and we have been loading the boat with these monsters. The warmer unusual water temps have had these fish schooled up and aggressively biting. Our boats have had a bunch of 20 plus striper mornings in the past couple of weeks. We have also been wearing them out on light tackle, which is so darn fun! This pattern should continue into the month of April and increase as the stripers start their pre-spawn. Pulling planer boards with live herring and huge gizzard shad in the backs of creeks and around shallow, sloping banks is going to be the best technique. It’s also a good idea to work the banks by casting a Zara Spook or a Red Fin. As the sun comes up, turn your focus to fishing the mouths of creeks, as the stripers will follow bait to deeper water. With pre-spawn in mind, more and more stripers will start to stage in the mouths of creeks, in April, and start to work their way to the backs. Also, keep an eye on your electronics for schooling stripers, and pay attention to where the bait balls are. I guarantee you, if you find the bait, the stripers will be close by. April is a fantastic month for catching a lot of trophy stripers on this North Georgia lake. Give Big Ol’ Fish Guiding Service a call and let the area’s #1-rated guide service put you on some of Lake Nottely’s best trophy stripers during the fishing trip of a lifetime. We are Murphy, NC’s and Blairsville Georgia’s premier full-time guide service, specializing in striped and hybrid bass. We also serve Lakes Hiwassee and Chatuge (in North Carolina), and Lake Blue Ridge in Blue Ridge, GA. So, come fish with the pros for the opportunity to be featured in Angler Magazine and let us help you get your fish on!

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Joseph Martenilli 404-919-4918

Lake Allatoona has produced quite well these past several years and we anticipate this Spring to be stellar. Water levels have had no notably unusual drops or rises from the Etowah and Little River watershed through March. We can expect a full pool of water teeming with most every species that North Georgia has to offer including striped bass, hybrid striped bass, white bass, crappie, spotted bass, largemouth bass, blue cats, channel cats, flathead cats, gar, several species of bream to name a few. Not to mention all the diverse forage fish that help make this fishery one of the finest in the region.

The stripers and hybrids are beginning to stage up nicely and will soon be seen on the surface chasing shiny little silver baitfish. We are confident that standard patterns of down-lining and free-lining fresh threadfin shad, herring and gizzard shad along with trolling umbrella rigs and crank baits will produce both numbers and quality fish, as they had beginning in March.

Our downlining is typically 3/41.5 oz weight with a 4-6’ leader of 8-10lb. floro. Fish are being found lake-wide, but linesides do move around a lot, and greater concentrations may shift from south to mid to north lake often.

Currently, there is a good bite beginning in the Clark Creek/Tanyard Creek areas and decent catches