Lake Allatoona Fishing Report November 2011

Allatoona: Level: 9.2 feet below full pool. Temp: 66 degrees. Clarity: Stained to clear with turnover.

Bass: Great. Matt Driver reports “It’s time to get cranking on Allatoona! The month of November is time to get shallow and break out the crankbait box. There are no set standards on just one style crankbait to throw. You can burn lipless crankbaits like the Spro Aruku Shad or the Rat-L-Trap on open, shallow flats where active bass are chasing bait. Or my favorite, which is pitching small, wide-lipped crankbaits like the Spro Little John or the Fat John around wood and visible shallow cover. I use shad- and crawfish-patterned baits to invoke strikes from pre-winter bass. There is still a buzzbait bite, and the jig and worm bites are always options on Allatoona. Fishing creeks and secondary points in the mid to upper lake is productive. Remember to match the hatch on bait size.”

Linesides: Good. Robert Eidson said the lake was in the process of turning over at presstime, and all the action was on the north end where the water was cleaner. He’s been catching all his fish on the big 8- to 12-foot deep flat from Little River to Fields Landing, and he said the fish will be gradually moving back downlake. All the fish are relating to the bottom. The best bite has been on jigging spoons dropped to the bottom and then twitched up about 6 inches. The bite will come as the spoon falls. Robert likes a 3/4- or 1-oz. Flex-It in chrome with either white or chartreuse. Spoons are catching a mixed bag of hybrids, stripers and white bass, and people are even catching a few big catfish in the same area. It’s not uncommon to boat 30 or 40 fish. The fish will also hit live bait, and Robert said gizzards and threadfins are easy to catch in Little River. You just have to get there before sun-up. Linesides are hitting shad either downlined or freelined.