Lake Allatoona Fishing Report September 2014

Allatoona: Level: 0.8 feet below full pool. Temp: 85 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Tournament fisherman Matt Driver reports, “Allatoona starts a positive transition this month. The last month or so it has been stale and slow to say the least. We are seeing the topwater bite on the increase, and as we get cooler nights by the end of the month, it will be on fire. The buzzbait is one of my favorite fall baits on Allatoona. First thing in the morning, fishing the buzzbait parallel to bluff walls and blowdowns is the most productive. Make sure the bait is banging off the rocks and wood for the best results. Fish like to feel as if they are trapping the bait against the shoreline. The swimbait bite is slow at the start of the month but gets better by the end. Baits like the 6-inch BBZ, the HPH 6-inch Gizzard and the Triple Trout are hard to beat. The Carolina-rig bite gets good by the end of the month as fish roam more and get active. A 4-foot leader, 1-oz. weight and a 3/0 Gamakatsu Skip Gap hook tipped with a green-pumpkin Big Bite Fighting Frog is my setup.”

Linesides: Fair. Guide Robert Eidson reports, “The linesides fishing is decent. The fish are on the move and can be caught on any given day from the dam to the flats at the Delta. The north end of the lake seems to be holding more fish than the mid-lake flats, but the fish we are catching mid lake are bigger. Downlining live shad at 18 feet off of any main-lake point or the humps is your best bet. As we enter into September, I look for these fish to start to school up. Once this happens, the topwater bite will be second to none. With the massive shad kill we had this past winter, I am expecting our topwater bite this fall to be the best we have seen in years. Trolling is fair. The key to catching these fish is to bottom-bump your U-rigs on flats with an 18- to 20-foot bottom. The topwater bite is good. The better bite seems to be in the afternoon, but we are catching some decent numbers right at sunup. There has been some really good topwater action near the dam, and also mid lake from Clear to Galts.”