Lake Allatoona Spawn Season Bass

During the March 9 ABA 125 tournament on Allatoona, Dane Hunter won with a limit weighing 14.76 pounds. He had a largemouth that weighed 5.62 pounds and was big fish.

Spotted bass, largemouth and shad are all spawning this month on Allatoona, and anglers can catch bass by keying on the different spawning areas for each species. If you want to have fun and catch a bunch of fish, target spots. If quality fish are your goal, look for bedding largemouth. And when the shad are spawning, you can catch both largemouth and spots that gorge on the baitfish.

Lake Allatoona is a 12,000-acre reservoir dammed in 1942. Created to stop flooding and produce electricity, Allatoona has become one of the most popular recreational lakes that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers manages. It is only 30 miles from downtown Atlanta.

The small, rather narrow reservoir is fed by a huge drainage area, so even a little amount of rain has a big effect. One inch of rain in its drainage area will make the lake rise a foot. This is why the corps keeps the lake low in the winter and spring, expecting rain that time of year. Even so, Allatoona can often rise way over full pool. The grill pattern in flooded campgrounds has been a real thing.

The lake level quickly changing is bad for bedding bass. Spots bed a little deeper and usually in more open water, so they survive the changes better, and most of the lake’s black bass population is spotted bass. For example, in the latest Georgia Bass Federation Creel Census Report, only 10% of the Allatoona bass weighed-in during club tournaments were largemouth. It seems to be a little better now. The Fisheries Section of Georgia WRD has been stocking largemouth at Allatoona, and it’s helping. But mainly you will catch many 10- to 14-inch spots with a few bigger ones caught some days.

Not only does water level affect the bass, but the temperature of the water can also change fast in April and affect them. Add water clarity changes to that, and you might have to adjust to changes most every day you visit Allatoona.

Since the corps often “sucks the bottom” out of the lake during or before a rain event, stained water is pulled out of the creeks and coves and will stain up the whole lake. If the water level has been stable, you can often find some stained water back in creeks to fish, but the main lake will be clear.

Dane Hunter is co-director of the ABA Division 125 tournament trail that fishes Allatoona, Lanier, Carters, Nottley and Chatuge. He fishes Allatoona often, winning the ABA a few weeks ago and the “Hangover Classic” on New Year’s Day with partner Jonathan Farmer. They had just over 14 pounds in that tournament. Dane also had third- and fifth-place finishes in ABA 125 tournaments last year.

“April is all about the spawns,” Dane said.

From late March until May, he said largemouth will be moving into protected flats in creeks and coves, feeding in those areas and then going on the bed. They spawn from 1 to 6 feet deep, and after they feed, they move back out toward the main lake.

Spots will spawn on just about any rock, but they will seek water 6 to 12 feet deep. And they are more likely to use shoals and main-lake points and pockets rather than spawn back in creeks. Spotted bass will be near those areas all month long and don’t have to move as far as largemouth do after the spawn.

Unless they are hard on the bed, both species of bass will move to shoals and rock banks to eat shad when those baitfish spawn. The shad spawn usually lasts for a short time first thing in the mornings, but the bass will often hold near those spawning areas all day, resting until the next shad activity.

You can plan your daily fishing based on this activity. Fish the first hour or so for bass that are eating shad, and then back off and fish for holding fish. If you want to catch numbers, stay on spotted bass areas on the main lake. For quality fish and your kicker in tournaments, go to largemouth bedding areas and either sight fish or look for prespawn and postspawn largemouth.

Dane will have several baits ready for all three kinds of fishing. A good all-around bait for all of it is a small soft swimbait on a jig head. He will also have a topwater bait mostly for “just in case,” plus a glide bait, wacky-rigged worm, soft jerkbait and a small jig ready for different conditions.

We fished the following spots in early March, and bass were on some of them, but they will be much better now as the days have gotten longer and the water warmer. Dane caught several small spots and largemouth from them even in March. The lake was about 3 feet low when we fished. Adjust to the current water level—it changes a lot and fast.

No. 1: N 34º 08.844 – W 84º 43.193 — A danger marker sits out in front of the Red Top Mountain State Park boat ramp. It marks a rocky hump with deep water all around it, the perfect kind of place for spotted bass to live, feed and even spawn.

Keep your boat out in 20-plus feet of water, and fish all the way around the hump. Cast your small swimbait up to the top and swim it back just off the bottom. Dane likes a Kitech 2.8 to 3.3 in Tennessee shad and rigs it on a 1/4-oz. head.

If you have LiveScope or see the depth the bass are holding on traditional sonar, cast your bait to the fish or swim it just over the bottom. Feeding and spawning fish will hit it within a foot of the bottom.

Always be ready to cast to fish chasing bait on top with a topwater bait or your swimbait. Also drag a jig on the bottom, bumping rocks with it. A jig ’n pig is often the best bait to use for bigger spots.

No. 2: N 34º 08.819 – W 84º 43.442 — Go across Allatoona Creek to the other side of the Red Top Mountain Road bridge to the causeway going out to a small island. Shad and spots spawn all along this rocky bank, and some largemouth will spawn in the pocket between the island and main bank downstream.

Start in the corner and watch for shad running the rocks early. If you see shad, fish fast, working a Lip Thrasher Slick Stick glide bait or a walking topwater bait parallel to the rocks. Also try your soft swimbait fished the same way. Fish all the way to the point downstream of the island.

If shad are not running the rocks, keep your boat out in 20 feet of water and cast your swimbait to 4 feet deep, working it back just off the bottom for feeding and spawning spots. When you get to the back of the pocket downstream of the island, slow down and look for bedding largemouth. The water is often clear enough here to see them and sight fish for them.

No. 3: N 34º 08.933 – W 84º 43.680 — Go back into the first small creek on your left downstream of the island, and stop in the mouth of the cove on the left, halfway back in it. This big cove is a flat spawning pocket that largemouth use, and it is a good place to sight fish. Look for beds in water from right on the bank out to about 6 feet deep.

If the water is too stained to see the largemouth on the bed, try to make them show themselves. Dane likes a Berkley Nessie that is somewhat a cross between a glide bait and a fluke. Or try the Slick Stick. Cast near the bank and slowly reel it back, watching for bass slapping at it to run it off.

You may catch some, but mostly you will get the location to drag a jig or other bait. Go back to where a bass flashed and fish the spot carefully since there may be a bed there. Work the cove from one point to the other.

No. 4: N 34º 09.261 – W 84º 42.983 — Going down the lake, there is an island that sits near the right bank within sight of the bridge upstream. It is across from the cabins at Red Top Mountain. Between the island and bank is a saddle that’s a great shad and spot-spawning area, and largemouth spawn in the small pockets behind it. The saddle has gravel and rocks as well as brush to hold fish.

Start on the upstream side of the saddle, keeping your boat in 20 to 25 feet of water and working across the top that rises to about 12 feet deep. Slow-roll your swimbait over it and drag a jig on the bottom, bumping any cover you find.

Dane likes a 3/8-oz. green-pumpkin Picasso Little Spotty Jig with a Yamato twin-tail trailer on it. He often dips the tails in red if bass are throwing up crawfish, or he might try chartreuse if he wants to imitate bluegill.

Drag the jig along the bottom just fast enough to make the tails wiggle, and then hop it and let it fall back to the bottom to draw a reaction bite. When you bump a limb or rock, let it sit a second, then hop it over the cover.

Also work around the island hitting cover like rocks and wood. If you know the largemouth are spawning, it is worth your time to fish for them in the pockets behind the island before leaving.

No. 5: N 34º 10.388 – W 84º 43.954 — Go across in front of the dam into Cooper Branch past the Coopers Landing Boat ramp. After a big bend, the creek narrows way down. There are some big boulders are on the left bank ahead of you. Stop there and start fishing.

Shad spawn on the rocks even back in here and both largemouth and spots feed on the bait. There is also a lot of brush back here to fish. Work the banks, but also watch for cover out in deeper water.

This is a good place to work cover with your jig. Fish all the way around the back—largemouth use the very back and any little pockets along the bank to spawn. It often stains up this far back, so you may need to make them show themselves.

No. 6: N 34º 10.487 – W 84º 41.834 — Go into Stamp Creek to the long ridge running out from Wilderness Camp Marina. It has several danger marker poles and buoys on it, and it runs out to the channel on the right side going upstream.

Stop with your boat in 20 to 25 feet of water, and cast to the top of the ridge. At the second pole marker, a small hump rises a little higher and is covered with pea gravel so both shad and spots spawn here. Work that area carefully.

Fish all the way around the ridge, working the top and down both sides. There are scattered boulders and brushpiles, as well as stumps that hold bass—probe for cover.

No. 7: N 34º 10.487 – W 84º 41.834 — Dane says the area back in Stamp Creek is not as heavily fished as some areas since there is a long no-wake zone, but it is worth the time to idle through it. Go back to the right arm above the marina. Dane calls it “Turkey Foot” due to the way it looks on a map.

This area has several small creeks and ditches coming in and is a great largemouth spawning area. You could spend the whole day in here, hitting all visible cover and looking for beds, as well as learning about deeper cover like rocks and brush.

When sight fishing for bedding bass or probing for beds, Dane often rigs a stick bait, like a Senko, weightless and lets it sit in visible beds. He will also slowly drag it along, pulling it up and letting it fall so the ends wiggle to attract a bite. This is very effective around stumps and rocks that hold bedding bass you can’t see.

No. 8: N 34º 10.911 – W 84º 41.679 — Go up Stamp Creek past the no-wake zone and to the islands in the middle of the creek. The channel makes a sharp turn around the island, so the water is deep near them. There are blowdowns and rocks on the islands that hold bass, and shad and both species of bass will spawn around them.

As we idled near the islands, Dane spotted fish over the channel on his electronics. There were big schools of baitfish out from the islands, and spots and stripers were feeding on them. He caught several of both species casting his small swimbait to them, but most just followed it and didn’t hit

Stay out in 20 feet of water and work around both islands, casting to all the cover you can see. Use all your baits. If he is looking for a big bite, Dane will tie on a Lip Thrasher Glide Bait to match gizzard shad. He fishes it over and around any cover in areas like this. A big bait will often attract a bigger largemouth or spot.

No. 9: N 34º 10.794 – W 84º 41.833 — Go back toward the marina and stop before you get to the on-water cabins upstream of it. A narrow cut goes back from the channel and has wood and rock to fish. Largemouth spawn back in here, and there is enough rock to attract spotted bass, too.

Start at the small secondary point on your right at the mouth of the ditch—it has an osprey nest on it—and fish around the point to the floating cabins. Hit all cover will all your baits and watch for beds to fish.

No. 10: N 34º 10.118 – W 84º 42.093 —Go out of Stamp Creek and start up the Etowah River. Channel marker 5E is on the bank just downstream of two danger pole markers. The markers are on a ridge running off the bank and they are beside the mouth of a narrow ditch. The bottom jumps up fast here and there are rocks and brush to hold spots. Shad spawn here, too, so watch for them.

If there’s no shad spawn activity, keep your boat out in at least 25 feet of water and cast up shallow, trying different baits. Watch for a big brushpile out near the end of the ridge in 25 feet of water and work your jig through it.

Try these 10 locations to see the kinds of places that hold spots, largemouth and shad in April at Lake Allatoona.