Lake Allatoona Fishing Report February 2015

Allatoona: Level: 12.5 feet below full pool. Temp: 45 degrees. Clarity: Mostly stained except in the dam area and in Stamp Creek.

Bass: Tournament angler Matt Driver reports, “February can be tough on Allatoona. Some of the coldest temps of the year happen at the end of January. At the first of February, bass are still in a winter pattern and are not quite to the point of migrating to staging areas for the spawn. There is still lots of bait in the main lake at the mouths of pockets and creeks. The bass have been sluggish, sometimes lying on the bottom in 12 to 15 feet of water or suspending out just off main-lake points and bluffs. Channel swings seem to play a big part in locating bass. The morning bite has been most productive with crankbaits like the Spro Rock Crawler, the Spro Fat Papa and also a 1/2-oz. spinnerbait with white double willowleaf blades. As the day warms, fish the Spro Aruku Shad and Shad Rap in shallower areas where the sun has warmed the stained water. Temps will warm faster in the muddy water. Do your homework with your sonar, and find the area with bait. It’s a guarantee the bass are nearby. As temps warm and the closer we get to March, think shallow.”

Linesides: Guide Robert Eidson reports, “The lake is stained from one end to the other, but the fish still can be caught. The key to fishing Allatoona right now is finding clear to slightly stained water. The dam is a good starting point. Cooper Branch, Stamp Creek, Iron Hill, Tanyard Creek and the bay near Allatoona Landing are all fishable right now. Find the mud or stain lines, and work it. Small trout and small gizzard shad fished on freelines and planner boards early morning are working well, but the better bite is on downlines and umbrella rigs after the sun gets up. We are finding two different bites. Downlining small gizzard shad and trout in the mouth of the creeks 45 to 60 feet deep over open-water deep bait has been producing some really big hybrids, while most of our stripers are coming in water less than 50 feet on umbrella rigs. Again, the key to catching these fish on rigs is clean to slightly stained water. You’re not going to go out there and catch 30 fish right now. But it is winter, and it is February, the bite right now is about as good as it gets for this time of year. Much better than last year at this time.”