Lake Allatoona Fishing Report December 2011

Allatoona: Level: 9.9 feet below full pool. Temp: 60 degrees. Clarity: Clear; 4 feet visibility.

Bass: Good. Matt Driver reports, “The month of December is a great month to be on Allatoona, because it has so many options for bait choices. I start the month with jerkbaits while the water temps are still in the high to mid 50s. I use a Spro McStick and the McStick 95. Mix the smaller and larger bait up to see what works best. Use ghost/transparent colors while the water is clear, and use purples and oranges if the water gets a little stain to it. When you jerk the bait, use a slack line pause retrieve. Fish the bait parallel to drop-offs and bluff walls. As the water cools, break out the float-n-fly. Use the float, a three-way swivel and 10 to 15 feet of 6-lb. Sunline fluorocarbon. Tip it with a Red Rooster hand-tied fly and Red Rooster fly dope. Be careful, and don’t fish alone this time of year. Hypothermia is a killer if you fall in.”

Linesides: Good. Robert Eidson said all the fish are mid-lake right now, and the north end of the lake is not even worth fishing. He’s catching good numbers, including some good-sized 4 1/2-lb. hybrids on flatlines with planer boards early, and he’s also getting a few on downlines. Before the sun gets up, the fish are on 18- to 20-foot deep flats from Kellogg Creek to Clear Creek. Threadfins are the best bait. Once the sun gets up, the trolling bite is starting to pick up. Robert has been pulling U-rigs 100 feet behind the boat and clipping bottoms in 24 to 25 feet of water.