Lake Allatoona Fishing Report March 2014

Allatoona: Level: 8.9 feet below full pool. Temp: Mid 40s. Clarity: Lightly stained on the south end; heavy stain north.

Bass: Fair. Matt Driver, host of Pro Angler Radio, said, “The month of March is moving time! No matter the weather and temps, the bass are in transition to shallower water, and the spawn will start toward the end of the month. Covering water in search of bass is the ticket. Lipless crankbaits and medium and shallow runners will be hot. A Spro Little Johns, Spro Fat Johns, Aruku Shads and McStick jerkbaits are a few that I will be throwing. Ten feet and shallower is the depth to target. Don’t let stained water deter you. Muddy water heats up faster. The late-day bite is better as the water warms. Ditches near spawning flats give bass the ability to have the best of both worlds—deep routes to shallow flats. Once you locate these schools, the Kacys Kustom jig in green pumpkin and bluegill fire is the ticket to pick them off. March is the best time to catch a big fish on Allatoona.”

Linesides: Fair and improving. Guide Robert Eidson reports, “The shad kill is almost over, and the bite should be returning to normal very soon. This was one of the biggest shad kills I have seen on Lake Allatoona in the last 10 years. This made fishing tough for a few weeks. But the good news is it will make for a great spring. I look for the fish to move north this month. I think we should start seeing them show up the mid-lake areas like around Bartow Carver the first week of March. They should starting heading to the Delta by the end of March to start staging for the spawn run the first week of April. Right now we are targeting the backs of the creeks from Cooper Branch to as far north as Kellogg Creek. Working best right now are gizzard shad and small threadfins fished on freelines and planner boards earlier, and then again late in the day in the back of the main-lake creeks. As we move in to March, look for these fish to move out of the creeks to main-lake humps and points. Once these fish move to the main lake, downlining live bait and trolling umbrella rigs will be your best bet. I really believe this is going to be an awesome spring for both numbers and quality fish.”