Lake Allatoona Fishing Report – July 2022

Allatoona: Level: 0.4 below 840. Temp: 85-88 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Tournament angler Matt Driver reports, “Fishing on Lake Allatoona in July is good. The bass are mostly out deep and suspended during the daylight hours with some schooling activity. The boat traffic has been rough, but you can still catch them if you don’t mind the waves. The drop shot, Picasso Little Spotty jig and Spook have been the best ways to catch fish during the day. Even though fishing is good, sometimes it is a grind to get fish to fire on a bait. Once you get the fish to fire, you can catch several in a row. Forward-facing sonar is a huge factor when targeting these suspended fish. I’m not saying you must have it, but it helps. Don’t spend too much time on fish that are not biting. Some of the suspended fish are channel and blue catfish. The catfish are just coming off bed. At night, I’m targeting less suspended fish and moving shallow to mid-depth looking for cover and structure. The bass are a little late showing up on brush this year. I’m not sure why other than the whole year seems to be delayed. The Picasso Thumper spinnerbait is a good bait to search areas for active bass, and I’ll mix it up with a Picasso football head jig and a Strike King 5XD and 6XD. Main-lake points and channel swings are the ticket for good schools of fish, and bluff walls are the most consistent place to get bit right now. I crank with a 5:2:1 Shimano Curado and 7-11 fiberglass Shimano glass rod lined with 10-lb. Sunline Sniper Fluorocarbon. The lighter line allows the bait get to the desired depth easier. I have been getting the best results with a fast retrieve. In the evening, there are schools of fish around the Allatoona Creek area of the lake. Be careful with all the boat traffic, expect that all boaters are new and drive defensively at all times.”

Linesides: Guide Robert Eidson, of First Bite Guide Service, reports, “Great! As of right now the record-breaking temperatures haven’t hurt our bite. The fish are already on their summer pattern and can be caught out over the river channel anywhere from Kellogg Creek to the Allatoona Creek arm. Threadfin shad fished between 18 and 30 feet is really our best bite right now. Shiners are also working well. Trolling is very good! The umbrella-rig bite is very good right now. I am not personally pulling them because of the cost of fuel right now, but I know some of my guides are and they are having productive days trolling. I am personally running the Mini Macks with the trolling motor and doing well 60 feet behind the boat at 0.9 miles and hour.”

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