Lake Allatoona Fishing Report – March 2020

Allatoona: Level: 10 feet over full pool. Temp: 49 degrees. Clarity: Heavy stain.

Bass: Tournament angler Matt Driver reports, “Normally the month of March is spectacular on Lake Allatoona with plenty of prespawn bass moving up to the shallows. They are feeding up and are fat and sassy. This year the weather has been mild and wet. So far we’ve not had cold enough temps for a shad kill. There will be an abundance of baitfish to compete with. I believe we will see COE draw the lake down quite a bit over the first few weeks of the month. This will all depend on rain amounts. With high water conditions, I tend to stay shallow. The key is to cover lots of water with baits like the Spro Aruku Shad, Spro Little John and Strike King 1.5 and 2.5 crankbaits. I gravitate toward red, orange and even blue colors in the spring. We tend to see more stained or muddy conditions. If you find clearer water, the jerkbait and Alabama rig bites are hard to beat. I like a Lucky Craft Pointer or a Megabass Vision 110 jerkbait. With temps over 50, I fish the bait a little faster and very erratic. The more stain or colder water, I tend to slow it down. This is a great way to pick up numbers of fish. The Picasso School-E-Rig tipped with a finesse paddle bait like the Keitech Easy Shiner works great. A nice slow but steady retrieve wins every time. My final bait selection for March is the Picasso Little Spotty jig tipped with a Zoom twin-tailed trailer. Bluffs and red clay banks around Little River is a great way to catch a big fish. Many times you will feel a thump, but a good bit of the time it will load up. When in doubt, set the hook! Be careful. There is lots of floating debris on the lake right now.”

Linesides: Guide Robert Eidson reports, “Decent! We went from 15 feet below full pool to 10 feet above full pool in less then three weeks. All of the rain has completely trashed the lake. There are still pockets of decent water south of Red Top, but I think that will muddy up in the next few days. The good news is there is still a bite. Downlining small baits on the south end is still decent right now. All of our fish are coming 18 to 24 feet deep over open water. If you go out, be careful because the lake is rising fast. There isn’t a ton of debris out there, but there’s enough to damage your boat if you’re not careful.”