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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

Lake Chatuge Fishing Report – June 2025

By GON Staff | May 28, 2025

Chatuge: Level: 1.2 feet above 1925. Temp: 75-77 degrees. Clarity: Clear. Bass: Eric Welch, of Welch’s Guide Service, reports, “Fishing has been good. The topwater bite is picking up. On cloudy days, I like throwing a natural color, like bone or olive; on sunny days, I like pearl or chrome. My choice of baits are: Berkley 110 Cane Walker, Strike King Sexy Dawg Jr., Lucky Craft Gunfish and an Ima Stix. Areas that I’m going to be working these baits on are long points, main-lake flats and main-lake humps—areas that have access to deep water. Lake Chatuge fishes a lot like Lake Lanier, so you need to always keep a couple of topwater baits on the deck of your boat. There are a lot of offshore humps, brush and ditches where I will throw a shaky head, drop shot and Texas rig. Yes, if you’re using forward-facing sonar, the minnow baits…

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Lake Chatuge Fishing Articles

Update: TVA Timeline For Decision On Chatuge Spillway Repair, Drawdown

Lake Chatuge locals will have to wait at least 18 months for the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) decision on how it will handle potential spillway repairs and how long any drawdown will last. The TVA tells GON that it will be 2027 before it makes the final call. “The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) evaluating…

Potential 8-Year Lake Chatuge Drawdown Causing Alarm

Lake Chatuge’s future and those of the small-town economies that depend on it are currently under heavy discussion. The talks involve the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), the lake’s 82-year-old spillway, and how making the area as safe as possible could cause serious issues for local businesses and homeowners, ones that will impact the area long…

Lake Chatuge Mountain Bass In February

It seems counterintuitive to go north in the winter to catch bass, but Lake Chatuge largemouth and spots are moving from winter holes to prespawn structure and cover, and they offer great catching opportunities. February is a good month to land your personal best largemouth or spot on Chatuge. Chatuge is a 7,000-acre, 13-mile-long TVA…

Catch Hungry Lake Chatuge Bass In June

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.…

Gilmer County Teen Drowns While Duck Hunting On Lake Chatuge

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…

Lake Chatuge Record Fish

Largemouth Bass16-lbs., 11-ozs.David Presely03/27/1976
Smallmouth7-lbs., 2-ozs.Jack Hall03/28/1973
Spotted Bass6-lbs., 13.8-ozs.James Dean10/11/03
Hybrid Bass25-lbs., 8-ozs.David C. Hobby05/01/1995
Walleye9-lbs., 4-ozs.Carol Owenby04/07/1991
Black Crappie2-lbs., 3-ozs.Dillon Phillips03/31/24
Rainbow Trout2-lbs., 8.5-ozs.Walker Ross06/23/2012
Yellow Perch1-lb., 2.24-ozs.Mark McClure04/19/2021

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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

Lake Allatoona Bass Fishing Report: June 23, 2025

By Taylor Rampley | June 23, 2025

Level: 0.4 feet above 840. Temp: 83. Clarity: Relatively clear. Spotted Bass: Bill Payne, with Bill Payne Guide Service, said the hotter days have helped the water temps rise fairly rapidly over the last week. “The air temps at night have not gotten very low, and this is causing the water temp to stay up,” says Bill. During Bill’s guiding, he has been seeing a fair amount of baitfish. They are mainly in the upper part of the water column. “We’re seeing plenty of baitfish during the evening hours up until dark,” said Bill. The fish still haven’t made it deep yet, according to Bill. They are in the 5- to 15-foot range. “The topwater bite has been best for me during the middle of the day, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. You can catch some in the evenings, but not as many as that midday bite,” said Bill.…

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Lake Allatoona Fishing Articles

7th Annual Lake Allatoona Moby In The Morning Bass Tournament

With seven years of the annual Moby-In-The-Morning Bass Tournament in the books, there are several things you can count on for this Lake Allatoona event: a huge field of anglers including the top locals, a weigh-in before the biggest crowd of spectators you’ll see at a tournament, and hefty sacks of bass for the top…

Lake Allatoona Alligator Found Dead

Scott Webb and Cliff Scott, of Woodstock, were putting in near the mouth of the Etowah River at Lake Allatoona on July 9, 1990 when they saw what appeared to be a large fish floating on the surface about 100 yards away. “We got about halfway to it when Cliff stammered, ‘That ain’t no fish……

Lake Record Allatoona Hybrid

Last Wednesday I was sitting at my desk going over a project GON has been working on for the past few weeks. We’re trying to compile a list of lake-record fish in Georgia for an upcoming issue. Then the phone rang and an excited fishing guide Mike Mobley said one of his clients, Danny Alsobrook, had…

Allatoona Alligator

The crisis is over; the kids are safe; the Allatoona alligator has been captured The story started in mid-June with the first reports called into the Northwest Region Game and Fish Division office of an alligator sighting at Lake Allatoona. The menacing gator was reportedly lurking near Little River Landing—specifically in the first cove on…

Allatoona Lake Records

Largemouth Bass16-lbs., 9-ozs.Greg Rymer08/31/82
Spotted Bass7-lbs., 11-ozs.George Clark11/18/74
Hybrid Bass13-lbs., 9.5-ozs.Danny Alsobrook02/07/90
Striped Bass42-lbs.Clint Hight02/15/02
Black Crappie3-lbs., 7.36-ozs.Corey Harmon03/05/22
White Bass3-lbs., 2-ozs.Darrell Baxter05/15/94
Flathead Catfish35-lbs., 10.88-ozs.Sandy Sanders06/20/08
Blue Catfish52-lbs., 1-oz.Aaron Churchwell10/27/20
Tiger Trout2-lbs., 12.8-ozs.Bob Geresti02/01/18
Yellow Perch1-lb., 1.44-ozs.David Brewer12/02/23
White Crappie3-lbs., 4.24-ozs.Cody Hopkins02/10/22
Longnose Gar27-lbs., 4-ozs.Caleb McClure06/24/23
Shellcracker2-lbs., 5-ozs.Dan Huizinga04/20/24
Redbreast10-ozs.Dan Huizinga08/03/24