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Lake Burton

Lake Burton is a 2,775-acre Georgia Power Co. reservoir located in the northeast corner of Georgia in Rabun County. Burton offers very good bass fishing, and it also has a unique fishery for reservoir trout. The lake is lined with exclusive homes. It is the first lake in a six-lake series of small reservoirs on the Tallulah River. The chain begins with Lake Burton as the northernmost lake followed by Seed, Rabun, Tallulah Falls, Tugalo and Yonah.

Lake Burton Resources

Lake Burton Fishing Report – February 2025

By GON Staff | January 29, 2025

Burton: Level: 4.9 feet below 1866.66. Temp: 36 degrees. Clarity: Clear. Bass: Guide Wes Carlton reports, “Bass fishing has been consistent the last couple of weeks. The colder weather has pushed the fish deeper to their normal winter pattern, which we haven’t seen in a couple of years. These cold water temps and wind should cause a bait die-off in the next week or so. Most of the spotted bass seem to hanging in the 28- to 35-foot depths in the middle of the coves. Hopkins spoons have been working well on these fish. Jig the spoon using a slow retrieve just up off the bottom. Most of these fish are lethargic, so take your time when fishing for them. We have caught a few largemouth around some of the deeper docks using a weighted fluke (pearl color), letting it sink slowly. This bite should continue to get better as…

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Lake Burton Fishing Articles

Lake Burton Crowned King For Bruiser Spots

In February 2005, Lake Burton produced a new Georgia state-record spotted bass, a fat 8-lb., 2-oz. fish. Burton is full of big spots, and a surprising number of largemouths, and the bass are on a pattern this month that can produce some outstanding catches. Burton is a small Georgia Power Co. reservoir just off Highway 76 between Clayton…

Mountain Lake Perch, Ohio Style

Fisherman Paul Turman lives in Hoschton. He is a transplant to Georgia from Ohio, where he grew up catching walleye and yellow perch from Lake Erie. When he moved to Georgia, he went to school on the perch (and walleye) in Georgia’s mountain lakes, and he has been catching them for 30 years. You may…

Lake Burton Giant Spotted Bass Sets Georgia Record

The heaviest spotted bass ever caught, weighed on certified scales and verified by state biologists is a Lake Burton fatty that pulled the scales to 8-lbs., 2-ozs. Wayne Holland, of Blairsville, caught the Burton spot on Feb. 23, 2005. The official Georgia state record, and Lake Burton record, measured 21 1/2 inches long, but it’s…

Lake Burton Record Black Crappie

A 2.70-lb. black crappie set a new lake record for Lake Burton, but it only placed third in Week 1 of the 1994 GON Fishing Contest with a score of 83.1 percent. Tom Cook caught the slab on March 7. The GON Fishing Contest had weekly winners, with each species of fish having a benchmark…

Lake Burton Record Largemouth

A huge mountain largemouth bass caught in 1993 set the lake record for Lake Burton. Carl Lovell Jr., of Clarkesville, caught the bass on May 28, 1993 while fishing a plastic worm. Carl’s big largemouth weighed 14 pounds even.

Burton Lake Records

Largemouth Bass14-lbs.Carl Lovell Jr.05/28/93
Spotted Bass8-lbs., 2-ozs.Wayne Holland02/23/05
Smallmouth Bass4-lbs.Jeff Blair10/15/08
Striped Bass47-lbs.Robin Vaughn12/02/88
Hybrid Bass12-lbs., 12-ozs.Richard Sokolowski05/03/15
White Bass3-lbs., 2-ozs.Tod Hickman05/02/12
Walleye11-lbs.Steven Kenny04/13/63
Yellow Perch2-lbs., 9-ozs.*Emerson Mulhall02/18/24
Black Crappie2-lbs., 11-ozs.Tom Cook03/07/94
Brown Trout12-lbs., 4-ozs.Tom Fox05/30/22
Rainbow Trout6-lbs.Lila Kilby10/21/22
Shellcracker3-lbs.Greg Taylor05/21/75
Bluegill1-lb., 15,5-ozs.J. Gary Simmons07/03/76
Channel Catfish18-lbs., 12-ozs.Bland Burroughs10/14/94
White Catfish4-lbs., 4-ozs.Bill Papineau10/02/93
Chain Pickerel2-lbs., 12-ozs.Shelby Cathey7/17/24