Lake Allatoona Fishing Report July 2013

Allatoona: Level: Full pool. Temp: 84 degrees. Clarity: Clear to stained in the river.

Bass: Fair: “The month of July can be a tough month for Allatoona,” said Matt Driver. “Most fish are fairly deep and holding on main-lake points and channel swings. Large offshore boulders and brushpiles are the best areas to target. This time of year sonar is key, and side-imaging cuts down on a lot of wasted time while locating where to fish. Drop-shot finesse worms, shaky heads with Squirrel Tail worms in green pumpkin, Kacys Kustom jigs and Spro Little John DD crankbaits are baits that are working best. Target water depths in the 15- to 21-foot range. Bluff banks are also good for numbers, but size is on the smaller side. Largemouth are being caught in the river shallow early. Target the fish with baits like the Big Bite Buzzing War Mouth or a black buzzbait. The bite dies off after around 8 a.m. and is good around 30 minutes before dark. The night bite is pretty good as well.”

Linesides: Very good. Guide Robert Eidson reports, “Lineside fishing is great. The fish are in their summer pattern. The big schools we were fishing mid-lake have moved south. The downline bite is in full swing, and we are catching 90 percent of our fish out over the river channel near the dam. The fish are really starting to school up and are on the move up and down in the water column. Some days we are getting them as shallow as 15 feet. Then the next day they may be 50 feet deep. Keep an eye on your Lowrance, and more importantly trust what you are seeing. Right now I am fishing from Bartow Carver to Clarks Creek, but most of my numbers are coming within a mile of the dam. Threadfin shad have been my bait of choice, but others are doing well on both shiners and gizzard shad. The water is heating up fast. Shad will be very hard to keep alive on a hook come mid-July. Make sure you carry plenty of bait with you, and change it often. Topwater has been fair. There is limited topwater action right at sun up, but you have to be in the right place at the right time. It really isn’t worth targeting yet. Trolling is decent. The trolling bite is really starting to pick up. We have been catching most of our fish on u-rigs fished 120 feet behind the boat. Color really doesn’t seem to matter, but boat speed does. I am having my best luck at 2.4 to 3.1 miles an hour.”