The current lake level is at 833.50 feet which is approximately 6 1/2 feet below full pool, and it will drop an additional 10 feet before winter. Current water temperatures are still around 83°. These relentless 90° days have kept us off the water in the afternoons and have kept the main lake surface temps fairly consistent for several weeks.
Lake Allatoona is surely having its ups and downs , and the typical peak morning and evening hours have been hit or miss since last weekend. The topwater Hybrid and Striper schooling in particular has been hit and miss for us , and while we experienced phenomenal topwater Lineside action and subsurface feeding earlier this week both in the mornings and evenings , this was almost entirely absent in several locations Wednesday evening and through Thursday morning from Kellogg to Galts to Bartow and down to Stamp creek even though most conditions were perfect - very light wind and a little overcast. Tomorrow could be the exact opposite. We are hopeful. The good news is, the fish are loaded in the main channel closer to the Dam. The areas of Kellogg and Galts we like to explore, while holding plenty of bait, are just not as consistently holding the fish these past few days as the stretches from Stamp to Bethany and again in the Clark and Tanyard arms
The Spots have been relentless elsewhere we go, and one stands a good chance of catching them on top while they are schooling up and chasing shad.
While down-lining frisky threads at 12-25 feet is still producing while they are feeding, we took a hard count last weekend and will share that our artificials (spoons and topwaters) out-fished fresh live bait 3:1 Saturday morning alone with 12 of 16 linesides being caught on artificial versus down-lining during a 2 hour morning feed from 7-9 am. We missed several fish on topwater with no missed opportunities of the downlines that we ranged from 5-18 feet over the bait that was present
Don't get too excited yet, but we've hooked up with 2 Solid and Bigger fish mixed in with the schoolies the past 7 days. Unfortunately, they both ripped out a lot of line before pulling hooks - they'll be coming down the river en masse soon enough!
In the interim, it is safe to say you may consistently catch at least a few linesides from 2-5 pounds on any outing by just putting in the time and effort. And far from a consolation prize, the Spots and Largemouth will provide a nice tight line when you are in position.
As we have also been marking schools of and catching some nice crappie on the channel edges, and if these are your target species you may wish to check out the 20-22' target areas over 45/50' in the bends of Illinois downsteam to Bartow. While we have been picking them up on smaller threads while downlining the channel edges here more than intermittently the past 2 months, I believe if you are targeting them specifically you could bring home a nice stringer for dinner. Please save a few for us :)
Being in the right place at the right time....well, that's what it's all about.
We truly believe Heron Outdoor Adventures can give you and your party the best chance of keeping a tightline and catching some fish, and we serve at your pleasure. Feel free to reach out to us any time! Capt. Joseph
