Lake Allatoona Fishing Report – November 2024

Allatoona: Level: 4.8 feet below 840. Temp: 68 degrees. Clarity: The water color is ranging from “Allatoona green” to slightly murky. With the effects of Hurricane Helene, the lake level was almost 2.5 feet above full pool. It will take the better part of November for the corps to catch up with the winter drawdown schedule.

Bass: Tournament angler Matt Driver reports, “Fishing had a downturn toward the end of October when the lake was in the process of turning over. For Lake Allatoona, turnover typically begins once the water reaches that mid to upper 60s range. We are now seeing recovery, and the bite is getting back to normal for the month of November. The swimbait and crankbait bites are definitely getting better. From now until mid December, the crankbait bite should be the ticket. I’m also mixing that up with a jerkbait. Fish are definitely feeding up as they always do this time of year. I think as long as the weather stays stable, the month of November will be great this year. The month of November is also a great month for a mid-depth jig. I like a brown-and-orange Picasso Little Spotty in that 9- to 12-foot range around rock.”

Linesides: Guide Robert Eidson, of First Bite Guide Service, reports, “The striper bite remains decent. These fish are coming back down out of the river and will take a big gizzard shad on a planer board and/or freeline early morning and then again late in the afternoon. The north end of the lake has been fishing best for stripers, but there have also been a few good ones caught mid-lake this week. The hybrids are schooling up and are easy to find, but getting them to eat is a different story. These fish are feeding on very small baits. These schools are on the move. One day we will catch them in the S-turns, and the next day we may find them in the channel out in front of Clear Creek. Mid-lake seems to be the overall better bite. These fish are going to have to eat sooner or later. I believe a great fall bite is just around the corner. I really expect fishing on Allatoona to break wide open in the next weeks.”

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Crappie: Robert DeHaas, of Red Rooster Custom Baits and an OG from “Team Geezer,” reports, “There are lots of variants that will happen when the corps really starts pulling down the lake for winter. It generates current that triggers the fish to be active. The beginning of the month the crappie will still be hard on structure unless we have an extended cold front come to stay. The extended outlook for November is mid 70s until the end of the month where 55 degrees will be the average daytime temps. This is the weather change that we will really be looking for as the crappie will start pulling out into open water. The first half of November while the daytime temps are still in the 70s, trolling over structure (brush) is still the ticket. If you are a die-hard minnow fisherman, slow trolling over brush with the live presentation is a deadly tactic that will put sweet crappie in the livewell. When the lake levels drop to 830 feet, or 10 feet below full pool, you will need to either speed up your trolling speed to 1.0 mph if you only have 1/16-oz. jig heads or switch to 1/24-oz. jig heads and keep your trolling speed at .07-08 mph. This will put the jigs just above the top of the brush. At the end of the month, if the fish start pulling off cover and start their winter schooling, that’s when it’s going to get fun. For some reason, the big fish show up out of nowhere and will be aggressive and mean, and you will see some of the most vicious strikes of the season. I’ve had rods jump out of the rodholders. Pay attention to water clarity if we get November rains because you will need to adjust your colors. See the Red Rooster Stained Water combo kits on redroosterbaits.com. Make sure you have a jig with something orange in it, such as cajun chicken, copperhead, Albright special, gold crush, etc. This month can be hit or miss while the deer hunters are still hunting and we have the lake to ourselves. If you have and use FFS, the end of the month will be a jig-casting smorgasbord. There will be small groups of 10 to 15 fish schooling and will aggressively attack a jig presented just past them while keeping the jig above the school. This is when your stealth mode should kick in. Try not to bang or drop anything on the bottom of your boat, and turn off as much of your electronics, except the ones you’re using up front. With all that clicking of your electronics, the fish know you are there. The end of this month, barring major weather changes, will be on fire. It’s time to dust off those rods and get your kids involved. As the water temps drop, you need to start thinking about hypothermia. If you fall in, you only have minutes to get back in your boat. If you don’t have a boat ladder, you need to get one so you can get back in the boat fast and get your wet clothes off. Have towels, a change of clothes and a blanket in your boat. If you don’t have a ladder, hopefully you have a trim button on the big motor so you can trim it down to get your foot on the skeg and hit the up button on your trim and let the motor lift you in the boat. A lot of fish will be caught this fall/winter season. Please be a conservationist. Keep only what you can use and release the rest. Romans 13:1 says, “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.”