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Lake Chatuge
Lake Chatuge is a TVA reservoir on the Hiwassee River that was created by the construction of Chatuge Dam, which was completed in 1942. The dam is located in western North Carolina, and the lake extends southeast into Georgia around the city of Hiawassee.
Lake Chatuge Resources
Chatuge: Level: 7.2 feet below 1925. Temp: 53-55 degrees. Clarity: Clear. Bass: Eric Welch, of Welch’s Guide Service, reports, “Fishing is good. The lake is at winter pool, and the water temps are just right. The spotted bass on Chatuge love a Z-man Ned rig in the winter. On sunny days, these bass will pull up on long points and also red clay banks. I continued to fish a drop shot in the winter. I just downsize to a 4.5-inch worm and change my colors to red crawler and ayu. When using my forward-facing sonar, I will look for fish off points and ditches and will target them with an A-rig and jerkbait. If you have a sunny day and a little wind, try a crankbait, like a Bandit 200 or a Deep Wee R, in a crawfish or shad pattern around the clay banklines. When the lake is down…
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Lake Chatuge spotted bass are moving from spring spawning areas toward their summer holes. Also in late May and throughout June, the herring are finishing up spawning. The presence of these baitfish can stimulate feeding frenzies. You can intercept the spotted bass as they move out and have great catches if you hit it right.…
A high-school senior from Ellijay drowned when he tumbled overboard while duck hunting on Lake Chatuge just across the Georgia-North Carolina border on Nov. 18. Authorities said 18-year-old Trenton Daniel Johnson, a student at Gilmer High School, was attempting to retrieve a downed duck when he toppled headfirst into the water. His hunting partner, Carson…
A black crappie that weighed 2 pounds on the dot has set a new record for Lake Chatuge. Howard Stimis, of Hiwassee, was fishing on Chatuge April 6 when the big slab bit a 2-inch Hot Grub made by Crappie County Bait & Tackle that Howard purchased at Hammond’s Fishing Center near Lake Lanier. “I…
Lake Chatuge spotted bass are feeding heavily in January, eating shad and herring. They follow the same wintertime patterns as Lanier spots, and you can catch them on ditches and rocks. There is also a good largemouth bite at Chatuge after a heavy rain stains the rivers and creeks. Chatuge is a good choice…
Fishermen can honor our veterans and those on active duty while enjoying a day fishing on Lake Chatuge for big money and prizes. The Lake Chatuge ‘Reelin’ It In For Vets’ fishing tournament will be held Nov. 2. The team event entry fee is $200 per team, which includes tournament entry, Big Fish pot and…
Lake Chatuge Record Fish
| Largemouth Bass | 16-lbs., 11-ozs. | David Presely | 03/27/1976 |
| Smallmouth | 7-lbs., 2-ozs. | Jack Hall | 03/28/1973 |
| Spotted Bass | 6-lbs., 13.8-ozs. | James Dean | 10/11/03 |
| Hybrid Bass | 25-lbs., 8-ozs. | David C. Hobby | 05/01/1995 |
| Walleye | 9-lbs., 4-ozs. | Carol Owenby | 04/07/1991 |
| Black Crappie | 2-lbs., 3-ozs. | Dillon Phillips | 03/31/24 |
| Rainbow Trout | 2-lbs., 8.5-ozs. | Walker Ross | 06/23/2012 |
| Yellow Perch | 1-lb., 2.24-ozs. | Mark McClure | 04/19/2021 |
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Lake Allatoona
Lake Allatoona is a 12,010-acre reservoir in the north Atlanta suburbs located primarily in Bartow and Cherokee counties. The major tributaries are the Etowah and Little rivers and Allatoona and Stamp creeks, although numerous other creeks flow into the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers impoundment. Allatoona is known as a good lake for catching numbers of spotted bass, and it's also known for good striped bass and hybrid bass. Allatoona is a very busy lake for recreational boaters during the summer, when many bass anglers opt to fish at night.
Allatoona Links
Allatoona: Level: 10.8 feet below 840. Temp: 50 degrees. Clarity: Slight stain. Bass: Tournament angler Matt Driver reports, “Fishing in January can be tough. If we have a return of cold weather in January, we could see the water temperature dropping into the low 40s, and we will see a shad kill. The bite will definitely be affected if that happens. A shad kill is not necessarily a bad thing. It just helps regulate the amount of baitfish that we have in the lake. The best bite for the month of January is definitely an open-water, forward facing sonar (FFS) bite using jig-head minnows and jerkbaits. This is the best way to locate large, free-roaming spotted bass this time of year. We are catching occasional largemouth doing this, as well. If you don’t fish FFS, there is a good jig bite on bluff walls for most of the day. You…
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As outdoorsmen, we have all had the proclivity to proclaim at one time or another how much better things were back when. After all, some wise old country gent once said “dead bird dogs and past loves are remembered as better than they actually were.” However, were you to ask Dwight Woodall and his son,…
Allatoona Reservoir is nearly 12,000 acres of some of the hardest- fished waters in the Southeast, ranking typically in the top five most-visited U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects nationally. Putting bass in the boat with regularity at a lake merely 30 miles from metro Atlanta is, more often than not, a close-kept secret of…
Spring in the Peach State comes early when compared with the rest of the country. By the beginning of March, we are usually having some pretty good weather on a fairly consistent basis. While the occasional cold snap will make its presence felt with plummeting temperatures and brisk winds, there will usually be more than…
Lake Allatoona, north of Atlanta, has long been known as a tough lake to fish. The deep, clear water is relatively free of natural structure, and you had better know what you are doing and where the planted brush is or you are going to have a long day with limited activity. But for those…
Catch bass on top early and late? Catch them all day on crankbaits and all night on spinnerbaits? That may not sound like summer fishing at Lake Allatoona, but it is. The late June and July bass fishing is very good at Allatoona if you can stand the crowds, but all Georgia lakes get crowded…
Allatoona Lake Records
| Largemouth Bass | 16-lbs., 9-ozs. | Greg Rymer | 08/31/82 | ||
| Spotted Bass | 7-lbs., 11-ozs. | George Clark | 11/18/74 | ||
| Hybrid Bass | 13-lbs., 9.5-ozs. | Danny Alsobrook | 02/07/90 | ||
| Striped Bass | 42-lbs. | Clint Hight | 02/15/02 | ||
| Black Crappie | 3-lbs., 7.36-ozs. | Corey Harmon | 03/05/22 | ||
| White Bass | 3-lbs., 2-ozs. | Darrell Baxter | 05/15/94 | ||
| Flathead Catfish | 35-lbs., 10.88-ozs. | Sandy Sanders | 06/20/08 | ||
| Blue Catfish | 52-lbs., 1-oz. | Aaron Churchwell | 10/27/20 | ||
| Tiger Trout | 2-lbs., 12.8-ozs. | Bob Geresti | 02/01/18 | ||
| Yellow Perch | 1-lb., 1.44-ozs. | David Brewer | 12/02/23 | ||
| White Crappie | 3-lbs., 4.24-ozs. | Cody Hopkins | 02/10/22 | ||
| Longnose Gar | 27-lbs., 4-ozs. | Caleb McClure | 06/24/23 | ||
| Shellcracker | 2-lbs., 5-ozs. | Dan Huizinga | 04/20/24 | ||
| Redbreast | 10-ozs. | Dan Huizinga | 08/03/24 |