Lake Allatoona Fishing Report – August 2019

Allatoona: Level: Slightly over full. Temp: 84-90 degrees. Clarity: 6 feet.

Bass: Tournament angler Matt Driver reports, “Typically the month of August on Lake Allatoona is slow, but things are a bit different this year. Plenty of rain and constant water levels have made for a good summer bite. A lot of fish are mid depth to deep and will be for a while. August means the brushpile bite is usually good, and rock is great right now, as well. Let’s start out simple and talk about catching numbers. The 3/16-oz. Picasso Rhino Ned Rig is as good as it gets for numbers this month. The way to work this bait is not to work it at all but just drag it slowly until you locate the brushpile or rockpile—and prepare to get bit. The bite is mushy sometimes and typically just loads up. I want to pair the Rhino Ned with a Missile Baits Ned Bomb or Roboworm Ned in green pumpkin. A very sensitive rod is key. I am using a Shimano Expride, medium-heavy 7-2 spinning rod and 20-lb. Sunline FX2 braid tipped with Sunline Sniper fluorocarbon as a leader. The second technique I have confidence in every August is a deep-diving crankbait. I am switching it up between a Spro Little John DD and the Strike King 6XD or 8XD. Use 10-lb. Sunline fluorocarbon and a glass Shimano cranking rod. Fish this bait on long points that are near the channel with scattered brush or boulders. Run and gun. Don’t stay in an area if you’re not getting bit. Last but not least is the nighttime spinnerbait and blade bait bite. The Picasso nighttime spinnerbait or Picasso Shock Blade can be great for quality fish. This is a shallow- to mid-depth technique for nighttime. It will be important to pre-plan your trip during daylight hours and find areas to target once the sun goes down. Many times you will find that shallow cover and structure may only hold one or two fish, but typically they are better quality. This definitely takes planning and practice to perfect. There are plenty of small fish feeding on very small bait. I have not found very much quality in the schools. One fun way to catch the schooling fish during daylight hours is a popping cork and a bass fly. You must be able to cast long distances and be very accurate. These fish will only bite while on the surface. I typically divide the lake up into three regions. The south end is Allatoona Creek to Bethany Bridge. The mid lake is from Bethany Bridge to Galts. The north end is from Galts north to the Etowah River. Right now in the month of August there are no particular areas that are producing better. Pick the area of the lake you like the best, and run the mid- to deep-depth pattern. If a lot of what you’re reading sounds the same, it is. There’s not a lot of changes on Lake Allatoona this time of year, but the fishing is good.” Guide Bill Payne reports, “Allatoona in August means night fishing. During July, we have seen some great catches with five fish weighing 17 to 18 pounds. One of my clients boated a largemouth weighing 8.02 pounds last Saturday night. Of course, those catches are the exception, and I must say that August is the most challenging time of the year on Allatoona. Even so, night fishing on ’Toona is my favorite time of the year, and who doesn’t like a challenge? It’s all about having reasonable expectations. The good news is that you’ll get lots of bites and catch some fish. Shaky heads and finesse worms worked in the 18- to 24-foot range around brush, stumps and rocks will get plenty of bites. Jigs, crankbaits and spinnerbaits can work very well in the same places. If you like to fish a little shallower, ChatterBaits and spinnerbaits cast up on the shallow rocks and shoal markers can produce, as well.”

Linesides: Very good. Guide Robert Eidson reports, “The live-bait bite is starting to fall off, but the trolling bite is really starting to pick up. We are catching very good numbers of stripers, hybrids and white bass on our morning trips right now. Some mornings we are catching 30 to 50 fish per boat. The numbers will start slowing down as we enter into August because the dissolved oxygen is dropping fast. All of the fish seem to be within 1 mile of the dam. Concentrate your efforts from the mouth of Clear Creek to Clarks Creek. Once you find the fish, start the morning fishing live shad on downlines at 24 feet. This can be a good bite if you’re on feeding fish, but fresh bait is the key. Change your baits often. Once the live-bait bite slows down, switch to trolling umbrella rigs. I have been having most of my success pulling nine, 1/2-oz. white bucktails with chartreuse trailers about 110 feet behind the boat, which puts the rigs about 24 feet deep. Also, keep your topwater baits ready in case any schooling fish come up. They’ll hit a popping cork, fluke or Lucky Craft Sammy, but I prefer the biggest white Rooster Tail I can find. The secret to getting bit is to fish with light line (6-lb. test) and to retrieve your bait as fast as you can crank it in. In these conditions, it’s important to get your fish back in the water quickly if you want to release it. Keep your camera ready because a quick release can mean the difference between a dead fish and one that swims away. We also suggest riding back over the area you just fished and keeping any floaters. Striper Soup has plenty of bait in stock for those of you who don’t want to get to the lake at 4 a.m. Our boats are taking no less then 100 baits out for our four-hour trips. Fresh bait is a must right now.”