Lake Allatoona Fishing Report September 2012

Allatoona: Level: 4.9 feet below full pool. Temp: 86 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Good. Matt Driver reports, “The bite will only get better throughout the month as temperatures cool. September marks the beginning of the shad migration into the creeks and rivers. So that means it’s time to move shallow and break out the square-bill crankbaits and spinnerbaits and start covering water. Crankbaits like the Spro Little John and Spro Fat John are the ticket. Concentrate on fishing from the main-lake points to halfway back into the creeks and pockets. If you find blowdown trees in the water, be sure to stop and thoroughly fish these areas because they are known to hold largemouths as well as spots. September is one of my favorite months for topwater. September and October are a couple of my favorite moments from the buzzbaits. For the first couple of hours a day, parallel rocky banks up the Etowah River and Little River. This bite may last longer if there is cloud cover. As the water level drops, you will begin to see more cover exposed. Fish the cover with a Texas-rigged creature bait like a Big Bite Fighting Frog. If we get rain and stained water, it will make the fish pull tight to the cover and makes this tactic a lot better. For those of you who love the jig-head worm, that bite is on and is a good way to pick up numbers of spots on the main lake. Fishing will be on a roller-coaster ride until later in the fall for a few reasons. Temps lowering into the 70s can sometime cause algae blooms, not to be mistaken with the fall turn-over that will happen later in the month. The other reason is falling water levels.”

Linesides: Fair at best. Robert Eidson said it’s been pretty tough. The lake needs a cold front and some rain to propel the fish into a fall bite. “It’s that September transition. They’re not hungry. It happens every year,” he said “They’re beat up and heat exhausted.” Early in the morning for about 30 or 40 minutes after first light, there is a topwater bite from the Island at Harbortown to Victoria. After that, it’s time to break out the umbrella rigs and cover some water. Robert said he’s using a nine-bait, four-arm rig with 1/2-oz. jigs and chartreuse bodies. He’s catching fish trolling the rig from 80 to 140 feet behind the boat. “Just experiment and figure out where they want it,” he said. Mid-lake, from Kellogs to Clear Creek has been the best for the U-rig. There are still a few stripers being caught where the water quality is best from the dam to Iron Hill, but they are few and far between. A big threadfin on a downline is catching them. Robert is looking forward to the cooler days ahead. “All we need is some rain or a cooling trend to turn it around,” he said.