Lake Allatoona Fishing Report – June 2025

Temp: 74-80 degrees. Clarity: 5 feet.

Bass: Tournament angler Matt Driver reports, “To me, it seems like the water temperature is a little slow to warm compared to most years in the past, likely due to rain and a few cold fronts. We’re now at the tail end of the shad spawn. The bass are on the move, and shad is the primary forage. Bass are holding on main-lake points, and later in the month, brush will be the key to finding better size. I’m using a three-fold approach: a jig, a jerkbait and a jig-head minnow with FFS. Where I find fish positioning on brush or rocks depends on which approach I’m taking. We’ve been seeing fish scattered on cloudy days and buried up in the brush on sunny days. A jerkbait and jig-head minnow are what I’m typically using on overcast days. As they bury up in the brush on sunny days, a jig tends to be better. There’s also a decent topwater bite on the same areas early in the day. Don’t let the boat traffic run you off. Fishing has been good most all day long.”

Here are some smiling faces from a recent trip with Allatoona guide Robert Eidson, of First Bite Guide Service. Robert has always promoted taking kids fishing.

Linesides: Guide Robert Eidson, of First Bite Guide Service, “Lineside fishing is great. The summer pattern is in full swing. That means it is time for downlines, umbrella rigs and down riggers. Shad are very hard to keep alive, so carry 2-dozen shiners when you head to the water. The south end of the lake is by far the best bite on the lake. Live bait fished off of any main-lake point right now will get you bit. Also, the humps in the mouths of all the main creeks are holding fish right now. There is also a good evening bite at the dam and on the flats at Kellogg. The trolling bite has been good for big fish. Pulling umbrella rigs near the mouth of Tanyard Creek has been producing some really nice fish lately.”

Lake Allatoona Page: Archived Articles, News & Fishing Reports

Crappie: Jared Northey reports, “Howdy fellow GON subscribers, readers and crappie anglers. June on Lake Allatoona is the beginning of summer, which means that the crappie are moving and in some cases have already moved into their summer pattern. The summer pattern is deep structure and brush. When we say deep brush, we are talking somewhere in the range of brush sitting in 16 to 22 feet of water. The top of the brush is generally in the 12- to 15-foot range, and the crappie will be suspended over the top or buried in the brush. During the early part of June, depending on water temperature, you can still find some roamers in and around shallower brush or structure in the 12- to 14-foot range, but as the water temps rise and the thermocline starts setting up, the 15- to 18-foot range will be the sweet spot. As of the writing of this report, the water temperature is already in the 80-degree range, which means the crappie will be moving deeper soon. Your summer techniques should be a mix of spider rigging and casting to active brushpiles. The common spider-rig setup is four to six, 12-foot rods positioned out the front of your boat. Each rod should be rigged like a mini Carolina rig, which is a 12- to 14-foot leader, a 1/2-oz. egg sinker, bobber stoppers, bead(s), a No. 2 to No. 4 aberdeen hook and plenty of minnows. Troll in and around the brushpiles and wait for the rods to go down. Keep in mind the crappie will move around, so if you are not getting bit, move around to another brushpile until you find one that is active. For those of you who have FFS or will be marking brush with a buoy marker, you will want to stay 25 to 30 feet off the brush and cast a 1/16- to 3/32-oz. jig head with a tiny, 1.5-inch minnow-looking bait, like the Red Rooster Dagger, toward the brushpile. Count down five to 10 seconds for your jig to reach the target area and slowly retrieve your jig back to the boat. Make sure to use clear-water colors, which are natural colors, such as watermelon ghost, mayfly, uv ghost, splatterback and gray ghost. On bright days, use bright colors, like bluegrass, Mardi Gras, chartreuse pepper, etc. The summer pattern can be challenging for crappie fishing, but remember that the crappie are going deep and you will need to adjust accordingly. Deep-water docks will also be great places to pick up some nice slabs. Don’t forget to be a conservationist and keep only the crappie you need and release the rest to fight another day. Lord willing, we will have another good report for July 2025. Until then, good luck and God bless! Psalm 145:8-9 says: ‘The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.’”