Lake Allatoona Fishing Report – April 2010

Allatoona: Level: 3.2 feet below full pool. Temp: 54-59 degrees. Clarity: Stained, clearer water around Iron Hill.

Bass: Good. Mike Bucca said, “The fish are moving up shallow. I got two 5-lb. spots in my boat last week, both on 8-inch swimbaits. I am fishing the ditches on flats leading into spawning areas.” He’s using side-imaging electronics to find concentrations of fish staging on the lips of ditches, and then he’s bottom-bouncing an 8-inch Bull Shad or an 8-inch Huddleston Deluxe swimbait. “I use no less than 25-lb. Triple Fish camo line and a 795ML Dobyns swimbait rod to throw these bigger baits,” Mike said. “My secondary pattern is on the opposite extreme and more for numbers than size. I am fishing the drop shot on the bluff walls. Bluff walls allow you to fish a lot of different water depths with one cast to decipher the depth the fish are holding at. I’m using Zoom Tiny Flukes and Yamaminnows by GYCB on a No. 4 Gamakatsu Split Shot/Dropshot hook and a 1/4-oz. Quickdrop sinker on 8-lb. Triple Fish fluorocarbon line. Just pitch it to the bluff walls, and stair-hop it down slowly. We are a little behind schedule on water temps, but April will be our spawning month on Allatoona. If the weather holds, I predict possibly week two or three of April we will have our spawn under way. The best pattern is to work the spawning pockets with big swimbaits like a 7- or 8-inch Bull Shad or Triple Trout swimbait.” Matt Driver said April is by far the best month for numbers on Lake Allatoona. “Whatever you like to throw, you can catch them in April. Remember the spawn will begin soon. Largemouths first, and spots shortly thereafter. Start the day midway to the backs of creeks and coves with a jerkbait like the Spro McStick in shad patterns or a white spinnerbait with painted blades. Keep an eye out for surface activity because those big spots are schooling and feeding strong getting ready for the spawn. It’s not too early for topwater. I fish the Spro Dawg or a Zara Spook and move it fast.”

Linesides: Fair. “An east wind is messing us up right now,” Robert Eidson said from the boat March 29. “The river run is about to be on. White bass are already showing up, and stripers and hybrids will be up the Etowah soon. Before the cold front this weekend, we were catching decent fish in the Iron Hill and Allatoona Creek areas. That area will still be productive in April. Use freelines and planer boards in the main lake. Up the river, fish live shad or cut shad on the bottom. Anchor up on any bend up the river.”