Lake Allatoona Fishing Report – December 2006

Allatoona: Level: 5.9 feet below full pool. Temp: 57-58 degrees. Clarity: Mostly clear, with the clearest water in the middle section of the lake.

Bass: Good. You can still try topwater first thing in the morning either a Sammy or Pop-R on the secondary points and even a buzzbait back in the pockets. On cold mornings or once the sun gets up, start fishing at the mouths of the pockets and work your way to the back with a small crankbait like a Deep Baby N. Also try a green pumpkin 1/4-oz. jig fished on the rocky banks. Concentrate on main-lake and secondary points with the crankbait and jig. For a bigger spotted bass or the occasional largemouth, try a jig ’n pig or spinnerbait around any blowdowns or wood cover in the pockets. On sunny days you can catch bass on a jigging spoon, and this bite will get better as the month goes on. Using your electronics, look for big schools of shad around the mouths of creeks and pockets and vertically jig a spoon.

Linesides: The fishing is good right now, especially for hybrids. The best bite is trolling Thunderstick crankbaits or bucktail jigs 12 to 16 feet deep. The lineside fishing on Allatoona is about to get even better. “When the water temperature gets to 55, the topwater bite on flatlines and planer boards should explode,” said guide Robert Eidson. “It’s really starting to turn on real well. If you can troll into a pocket, chances are you’ll catch fish, especially on the secondary points. The major cold fronts will shut down the fish, but the hybrids bounce back quick, usually within 24 hours and almost always within 48 hours,” he said. There are some big hybrids being caught at Allatoona right now, up to nine pounds, and there is also an excellent bite for small hybrids mixed with white bass using bucktail jigs or jigging spoons. For live-bait fishermen, Robert said to use a mix of flatlines early in the morning and then downlines once the sun gets up. “I’m pulling dollar-bill-sized gizzards, but small threadfin will work — that’s what these fish are eating, mainly small threadfins,” Robert said. The best bite has been the easy method of trolling crankbaits, bucktail jigs or umbrella rigs. “Last week we had 41 fish in less than four hours on a U-rig. If you have kids, it’s time to go fishing. We have holidays coming up when they’re out of school — take them fishing,” Robert said.