Lake Allatoona Fishing Report – August 2022

Level: Full pool at 840. Temp: 87 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Tournament angler Matt Driver reports, “For those who follow the Allatoona reports each month, this is going to seem repetitive. Conditions are still great, and not much has changed. Fishing on Lake Allatoona in August is usually extremely tough due to the heat and poor water quality. This year we’ve had a very rainy summer, and I believe that has helped with better water quality and continued great fishing. The bass continue to be out deep and suspended during the daylight hours with a good bit of schooling activity. The boat traffic continues to be very active but will slow later in the month when schools start back. The drop shot, a Picasso Little Spotty jig and a Spook have been the best ways to catch fish during the day. Even though fishing is good, sometimes it is a grind to get fish to fire on a bait. Once you get the fish to fire, you can catch several in a row. Forward-facing sonar is a huge factor when targeting these suspended fish. Don’t spend too much time on fish that are not biting. Some of the suspended fish are channel and blue catfish. The catfish are just coming off the bed. At night, I’m targeting  bass that aren’t suspended and are moving shallow to mid-depths looking for cover and structure. The bass were a little later showing up on brush this year. The Picasso Thumper spinnerbait is a good bait to search areas for active bass, and I’ll mix it up with a Picasso football head jig and a Strike King 5XD and 6XD. Main-lake points and channel swings are the ticket for good schools of fish, and bluff walls are the most consistent places to get bit right now. I crank with a 5.2:1 Shimano Curado and a 7-11 fiberglass Shimano glass rod lined with 10-lb. Sunline Sniper Fluorocarbon. The lighter line allows the bait to get to the desired depth easier. I have been getting the best results with a fast retrieve. In the evenings, there are schools of fish around the Allatoona Creek area of the lake.” 

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Linesides: Guide Robert Eidson, of First Bite Guide Service, reports, “We are still catching decent numbers, but we are having to run-and-gun right now. The fish are on the move and aren’t staying in one location for more than five minutes. Downlining shad is still working, but shad are dying very quickly on a hook. Be sure to take plenty of bait with you. Downlines fished 14 to 21 feet deep are working best right now. The dissolved oxygen level is so low below 21 feet that bait is dying in less than five minutes on a hook. I have caught fish this week as far north as Kellogg Creek and as far south as Allatoona Landing. These fish are on the move and never seem to be in the same place the next day. Hopefully this is just a minor setback in what has been a great summer live-bait bite. The trolling bite has been my better bite the last few weeks. I am pulling nothing but umbrella rigs right now. Color doesn’t seem to matter. It is more of a reaction bite right now. I have been having my best luck at 145 feet behind the boat at speeds of 2.4 to 3.1 mph.”