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Lake Nottely
Lake Nottely is a deep, clear mountain lake of 4,180 acres that offers good fishing for a variety of species, but Nottely is probably best known for its trophy striped bass. Nottely is one of many reservoirs built by the Tennessee Valley Authority. It is located entirely in Union County. Formed in 1942 by the damming of the Nottely River, Nottely Reservoir extends 20 miles upstream to Blairsville. Approximately 70 percent of the shoreline is owned by the U.S. Forest Service and undeveloped.
Lake Nottely Resources
Nottely: Level: 2 feet below 1775. Temp: 81-84 degrees. Clarity: The main lake is clear, the creeks and river are stained. Linesides: Guide Jeremy Seabolt reports, “What an awesome August we are having. Both our boats have been catching tons of fish. The fish have moved out over the deeper water and have gotten into some big schools. We have been fishing from Point 6 to the dam. Most of the fish are holding over an 80-foot bottom from 15 to 20 feet deep. Most all our fish are coming on downlined herring. The trolling has been getting better every day. We have been catching fish pulling 1-oz. bucktails 160 to 180 feet back on lead core. We are seeing some topwater at first light and later in the afternoon, so have a topwater plug ready if they blow up. By mid September, we’ll be catching fish from downlines to freelines…
Read MoreLake Nottely Articles
As summer hits us Georgians in full force this month, you can bet anywhere you decide to fish it’s going to be hot, and I mean hot. About the only thing in the northern portion of our state that you can expect to be hotter than the sweltering daytime highs is the striper fishing. As…
Mason Tompkins, 11, of Milledgeville, had the catch of the day with his 46-lb. Lake Nottely striper on April 9. Mason was fishing with his parents Tim and Dawn, his 8-year-old brother Kolby and Jeremy Seabolt, who runs a guide service on Lake Nottely. “We were trolling freelines,” said Jeremy. “The fish hit in open water…
Lake Nottely is one of the top lakes in north Georgia when it comes to producing big stripers. When compared with the other mountain lakes, it may be the best. This month the fish will be on the move from their wintertime patterns into a spawning attempt and back into a transitional period before they…
Jonathan Lewis caught an 11-lb., 7.52-oz. lake-record brown trout on Lake Nottely on March 16, 2010.
Lake Nottely sits high in the Blue Ridge Mountains of northeast Georgia. Being so far from Atlanta, the lake doesn’t see the fishing pressure of many reservoirs. In December, the pressure will be even less. For Josh Garrison, owner of Garrison International Inc. Fishing Guide Service, the lack of pressure is what makes the lake…
Lake Nottely Record Fish
| Largemouth Bass | 12-lbs. | Sonny Evans | 07/30/75 |
| Spotted Bass | 7-lbs., 2-ozs. | Robert Kincaid | 03/08/72 |
| Smallmouth | 6-lbs. | James Miller | 01/30/93 |
| Striped Bass | 53-lbs., 12-ozs. | Christopher Hampton | 04/28/02 |
| Hybrid Bass | 11-lbs., 5.6-ozs. | James Beise | 03/21/17 |
| White Bass | 3-lbs., 10-ozs. | John Ledford | 08/06/88 |
| Black Crappie | 3-lbs., 1.28-ozs. | Anthony Tritt | 04/04/14 |
| Yellow Perch | 1-lb., 2-ozs. | Harold Underwood | 04/01/85 |
| Flathead Catfish | 51-lbs., 15-ozs. | Hoyt McDaniel | 06/02/69 |
| Blue Catfish | 12-lbs., 8-ozs. | Denise Dean | 06/26/86 |
| Walleye | 8-lbs., 15.2-ozs. | Dwight Dilbeck | 02/24/07 |
| Brown Trout | 11-lbs., 7.52-ozs. | Jonathan Lewis | 03/16/10 |
| Channel Catfish | 17-lbs., 12-ozs. | Micah Garrison | 08/20/21 |