Lake Allatoona Fishing Report April 2011

Allatoona: Level: 1.1 feet below full pool. Temp: 58-61 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Excellent. “Allatoona is on fire! Bass fishing doesn’t get any better than the month of April when 30-plus fish days are not uncommon,” said Matt Driver. “The largemouths started to show signs of the spawn in late March, and the spotted bass with follow later within the first couple of weeks of this month. The spot bite is great due to the pre-spawn feed up. Schooling has begun and should continue until the spots lock on the bed. Rattle baits, Scroungers and topwater will best when these fish surface,” Matt said, adding that anglers should also try spinnerbaits like the Mini Me in white and chartreuse with painted blades fished on wind-blown primary and secondary points. “Also great is a belly-weighted Gamakatsu wide-gap hook with a 5-inch Big Bite Jerk Minnow fish very quickly and erraticly. As the spots start to stage for the spawn, the shaky-head bite will turn on. I normally fish wind-protected coves with an 1/8-oz. 3/0 jig head tipped with a Big Bite Squirrel Tail worm. Fish it slow, and shake the rod tip to generate strikes. Small jigs work great, too,” Matt said. Craig Miller, of the Dugout, recommends fishing Carolina rigs on main-lake and secondary points as the best way to catch numbers. “Use a 5-inch lizard or finesse worm in green pumpkin or watermelon seed. If the wind is blowing, a Spro McStick 95 Jerkbait in spooky shad works well in these same places. As the weather begins to warm, fish the backs of the coves with Trick Worms and flukes. Any bright colors, like bubblegum or white, will work well. The topwater bite should also start to kick in this month. Be sure to have your favorite topwaters with you when you hit the lake,” Craig said.

Linesides: Excellent. Robert Eidson said the fish are staging for the river run, and they are stacked up by the thousands on flats from the Bartow Carver north to the mouths of the Etowah and Little River. A half-day trip has been producing 20 to 50 hybrids and stripers. Pull flatlines and planer boards from daybreak until about 9 a.m. Then switch to downlines and keep catching them until you’re ready to leave them biting. Threadfins and gizzards have both been working. Robert said as soon as high water from recent rains subsides, the river run should begin. The white bass were already running March 28, and the hybrids and stripers shouldn’t be too far behind. “If you’ve got a boat, get a kid and head up the river. Everybody can look like a hero to the kids right now.” Anchor, and fish river bends and around sand beaches with live or cut shad or chicken livers on the bottom.

Crappie: Good. Guide Stewart Wright reports the trolling bite is still strong on the upper end of the lake. Use 1/16-oz. tractor-green or bubblegum-chartreuse grubs. The crappie are shallow and can be caught around Christmas trees and wood cover in the creeks, as well as up the river. Use small shiners under a bobber about 3 feet deep. If you do not want to use live bait, cast a 1/24-oz. Hal-Fly under a bobber in these same areas, Stewart said.