Lake Allatoona Fishing Report July 2016

Allatoona: Level: 0.3 feet below full pool. Temp: 84-86 degrees. Clarity: Clear; visibility 6 feet.

Bass: Good. Tournament angler Matt Driver reports, “Fishing Allatoona now through the month of August tends to be a little slow when the water temperatures are at or near 90-plus degrees. Fishing at night is highly recommended. The deep brushpile bite is good at night. Bass are down around brush and rockpiles in the 15- to 25-foot range. A 1/2-oz. Texas-rigged Big Bite Kriet Tail Worm allows you to get in the brush without getting hung up as much. Typically, I am only getting a couple of fish out of each brushpile. The key is having several areas to check and fish. There are also a lot of small suspended schools holding off points around Galts and the mouth of Little River. Fishing a drop shot Big Bite Baits Jointed Minnow and using sonar has been good. Seeing your bait on sonar allows you to know how deep the bait is. Keeping the bait in the strike zone for as long as possible is key for these hard-to-catch bass. In the evenings and after rain showers there’s a possibility you may see some topwater action in the middle of the lake. These bass tend to be small and only stay up for very short time, but this can be productive if you catch it at the right time. Be safe, and look out for boat traffic.”

Linesides: Excellent. Guide Robert Eidson reports, “Linesides are biting great! The bite has been awesome for our boats the past few weeks. Both ends of the lake are fishing equally as well. Downlining gizzards, threadfins and bream has been the best. All the major creeks—Kellogg, Owl, Stamp, Iron Hill, Clear and Tanyard—are all holding good schools of linesides. The main-lake points from Little River out to Red Top are also holding schools. On most days we are catching between 20 to 40 fish. It’s a mix bag of stripers, hybrids, whites, spotted bass and even a few monster crappie. As we enter into July, look for the bite to move south. Fishing just doesn’t get much better than it is right now. Grab the kids, and hit the lake.”