Lake Allatoona Fishing Report December 2015

Allatoona: Level: 3.2 feet low. Temp.: 62 degrees. Clarity: Stained.

Bass: Tournament angler Matt Driver reports, “Fishing in the month of December on Lake Allatoona gets very interesting. The first of the month many fish are still in transition to winter hideouts but will have completed that task by the end of the month. December marks the start of the Float-n-Fly, spoon, jerkbait and A-rig bites. Cold fronts become more frequent, and the suspended fish patterns are going to be predominant. Fish are suspended in the 10- to 12-foot range. You will see fish deeper, but they will tend to be hybrids. At the start of the month, the jerkbait bite is your best bet. I am fishing the Spro McStick in 95 and 110 models. My retrieve is pretty quick until water temps drop into the low 50s and high 40s. Bluff walls and points mid-lake are best. Once the water drops to 55 and below, the Float-n-Fly bite gets good. The red rooster custom threadfin and Carters special are my go-to baits. The fly should be fished on a 9- to 12-foot leader, depending on location of baitfish. The A-rig will be a big player, as well. The Big Bite Cane Thumper in the 3 1/2 size is the most productive. Slow-roll the A-rig, and wait for the bass to bite and load the rod before setting the hook. Merry Christmas!”

Linesides: Improving. Guide Robert Eidson reports, “The north end of the lake from Little River to Fields Landing is holding a ton of white bass and a few decent stripers right now. The white bass will hit a 1/2-oz. spoon, Rooster Tail, Tiny Fluke and a small threadfin shad. The bigger stripers are wanting to eat big. Your best bet for a big fish right now is to pull bigger baits. Large gizzard shad are my first choice, and trout are my second choice. The big schools of smaller hybrids are starting to show back up on the main lake. I have found some really big schools of hybrids in Kellogg’s Creek and all the way south to Clear Creek. These fish are eating threadfin shad, small gizzard shad and small trout fished on downlines 18 to 32 feet deep. The water temp is getting right and should be prime by the time this hits the newsstands. Keep pulling your Mack Farr u-rigs 120 feet behind the boat at speeds between 2.4-3.1 mph. This is my favorite time of the year to be on the water. But the water is getting cold, so be safe this winter.”