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 Allatoona Fishing Report
Bass fishing is good and
it is still worth fishing a top water in the morning. Try any small
chugging style bait for the first half hour or so. When the sun gets
higher, head to the docks and throw a Shaky Head or Slider Head.
Throw small worms in shad colors under the docks. Concentrate on the
mid-section of the lake throughout the day. If you are looking for
another option, try to find brush and wood in 10- to 20-foot of
water. The fish are finally starting to show up in the brush and
this seems to be the most consistent pattern. Throw a root beer or
green pumpkin Davis Jig in brush as well as a 4' to 6" straight tail
worm in watermelon or green pumpkin pattern. I have had really good
luck with the Shaky Worm in a color called Melon Magic. I would fish
this pattern for most of the day and into the evening. As for the
night fishing, the crank bait bite is in full swing. Throw a DLN in
raspberry or crawfish on main lake points and around steep banks. A
few fish are still hitting on a 1/2 ounce Nite Bite Spinner bait.
This report is provided by
Craig Miller, manager of The DugOut Bait and Tackle, Kennesaw.
Phone: 770 428 7406.
Lineside fishing is great
for numbers and we have been catching most of our fish on down
lines. Just last week, I had two boats working and boated 84 fish in
a half day between the two of us. The hybrids we caught this week
were deep. And I mean real deep 42 to 50 feet. We have not seen fish
this deep on Allatoona in June. They are deep like they are on
Lanier. The low levels last year changed the dynamics of the lake.
Usually they’re 18 to 24 feet deep. If you see them deep, go get
them. Most of the fish are in the mid-lake section to the south,
from Galt’s Ferry to the 75 bridge, and I have been catching a lot
of fish within sight of the dam. The mouth of Stamp Creek has been
good, Coopers Branch is good at sunup, the Allatoona Creek arm and
Tanyard Creek are good. You can flat line at sunup, but you’re
better off throwing a Sammy and a Fluke because it’s only a
15-minute window to catch them on top, then it’s time for down rods.
After the sun gets up high, go to U-rig from right in front of the
dam to Stamp Creek. The key is a loaded Mack Farr U-rig with nine ?
ounce jigs. We’re dragging the umbrella rigs and catching six to 12
doing that to wrap up my trips. For lots of action for small white
bass, go to the Harbortown Marina area in the evenings and throw a
Rooster Tail.
This report is by Robert Eidson
of First Bite Guide Service, 770 827-6282. Email:
eidson6260@comcast.net
or
www.firstbiteguideservice.com.
– compiled from
The Southern Fishing Report by Ken Sturdivant
Night fishing beats the
heat
While the summer season can be
great for bass fishing, it’s not without drawbacks. Our lakes are
often crowded with pleasure boaters and personal watercraft making
it more of a challenge to have a successful day of angling. This
factor is especially true during the weekends. As if that were not
enough, after 10:30 in the morning, the summer heat can make the day
seem more like military survival training than a fishing trip. If
you would like to enjoy some great fishing without these factors,
consider venturing out in the night. Savvy anglers have been doing
this for a long time. When the sun goes down several things happen.
Obviously, it gets cooler and being on the lake can be very
comfortable. Pleasure boat traffic decreases to an insignificant
level. And lastly, the gamefish become less wary and feed more
aggressively. All in all, there’s a lot to like about idling away
from the ramp for an evening of fishing. While many of the same
techniques and baits used during the day work just fine at night, it
pays to be aware of a few twists. Silhouette and vibration are key
elements in lure selection. While finesse style baits will produce,
you’ll catch more and bigger fish using larger versions. These can
be detected by bass at greater distances through the lateral lines
that run down each side of the body. When it comes to color
selection, darker is better. Hues of dark purple, brown, and black
are top producers. These will stand out better than traditional
light to medium colors and patterns used during the day. One
exception to the “darker is better” guideline occurs in lighted
areas. In these places a bit of flash or traditional baitfish color
that reflects light can be productive. It’s worth noting that lights
activate the food chain during hours of darkness drawing in both
forage species such as panfish and shad along with the gamefish that
prey on them.
Slow roll night spinnerbaits
Crankbaits are great lures to
tie on at night. Be sure to choose models that incorporate rattles
to create more noise. Fat bodies will produce more underwater
vibration than flat sided versions. It can be very difficult to find
these diving plugs in really dark colors. A trip to the local hobby
shop can solve this. Pick up small cans of paint in black, dark
purple, or whatever looks good to you. Remove the hooks and split
rings from your lures and cover the clear lip with masking tape.
It’s a good idea to cover the hook hangers with tiny bits as well.
You can do this for the eyes also. Use a hole punch to create round
pieces of tape. If they’re not perfect in the end you can touch up
areas with a black marker pen. Suspend the prepared crankbaits with
a loop of fishing line through the tie and apply a couple of light
and even coats of paint. When they’re dry, spray on a light coat of
clear polyurethane. You could also add various colors of glitter
during this phase. Allow a day or so for the coating to properly dry
and replace the hardware. You now have your own custom night baits.
Other lure categories are a bit easier to find in dark colors. When
it comes to spinnerbaits, stick to the models outfitted with a
single Colorado style blade. As you may remember from last month’s
spinnerbait article, this produces maximum vibration. Models with
black blades and dark skirt colors are readily available. You may
want to look for Terminator’s Night Bait or the time tested Rattlin’
Midnight Special by Strike King. The Moon Talker by BooYah is also a
great choice. It’s available in a ? ounce model that excels in
deeper water. When you cast out a spinnerbait, allow it to sink all
the way to the bottom on a tight line. When the descent ceases, give
it a lift and slow roll the lure along the bottom; crawl it over any
cover you encounter. Plastic worms are proven night killers as well.
Forget about that slender daytime favorite the shaky head rig and
reach for big plastic instead. I’m talking about 10- to 12-inch
ribbon tail worms that probably resemble small snakes more than
anything else in the water. Black is probably the only color you
really need. The 10-inch Power Worm by Berkley is an excellent
choice. It’s special formula requires no addition of scent
products. Bass latch onto these and just don’t want to let go.
Culprit and Zoom both offer large ribbon tail worms as well. When
rigging plastics, remember to insert one or more rattle chambers
into the body for added attraction. The standard Texas rig is the
best option for the worm since you’ll probably be casting around
cover. A one quarter ounce sinker is a good match for this large
chunk of plastic.
Do the Jitterbug
Those are the standard baits for
a night fishing but there are some sleepers out there as well. These
days topwater fishing at night is largely overlooked. It’s tried and
true over the decades on smaller waters and will work for anglers
fishing large reservoirs as well. If you really want to go old
school and catch some bass tie on a black jointed Jitterbug by
Arbogast. Choose the 5/8th ounce model. Give this plug a steady
retrieve in the shallows or near docks allowing it to burble along
the surface. Bass can home in on this from great distances. Buzz
baits are also overlooked when the sun goes down. Pick one with a
black skirt and double blades. The latter feature allows for a
slower churning retrieve along the surface. I would certainly
recommend the relatively new hybrid jigs with blades on the
forefront. The Chatterbait was the original but several others are
available on the market these days. They combine the best features
of both a jig and a crankbait. These and buzzbaits are both “bank to
boat lures.” By now you know the colors to pick. Speaking of jigs,
these are also great at night. Rig up with rattles made for the lure
and a plastic twin tail trailer. The Fat Albert Twin Tail by Zoom is
a great one to add on. You can crawl the jig along the bottom or
swim it back at various depths. Unless casting to the shallows, the
general rule of thumb is to get your bait on or close to the bottom.
Lighted areas are once again an exception as gamefish will hover at
all depths as long as cover is close by. No one talks about fishing
soft plastic jerk baits at night but you might want to give the
Super Fluke by Zoom a go. Grab a pack of the darkest color available
(green pumpkin I think) and be sure to add a rattle in the body aft
of the hook bend. This will be a new look in the darkened predatory
environment of your quarry. Do you remember the Johnson Silver
Minnow spoon you probably fished as a kid? This weedless wonder is
available in all black which goes great with a black split tail
trailer. The action is nothing short of superb. I don’t know of
anyone who has tried this one at night but something makes me keep
thinking about it. If you’re keeping this a secret let me know. I
promise not to tell.
Lights are bass magnets
When looking for likely areas at
night, points, humps, and docks are all worthy. Be flexible when it
comes to depth because deep water fish will often move shallow when
the sun goes down. Alternatively, be prepared to probe the depths
down to 25 feet as well. Target the shallows first and move deeper
on each prominent feature until a pattern is established. As
mentioned earlier, lighted areas can be night time hot spots. Places
that receive light on a consistent nightly basis are always worth
your attention. You’ll soon come to know the docks that have lights
operating on a nightly basis. Marinas with their multiple lighted
areas are often big time fish magnets. It’s not uncommon to see
large schools of bass cruising these areas looking for any forage
they can pounce on. Before venturing into marinas be sure it’s OK to
fish and respect any signs indicating otherwise. Well kept night
fishing secret spots are boat ramps. Although it sounds a bit weird,
think about it. Every ramp has a hollowed out area at the base from
prop wash. These offer a rapid depth change and hiding place for
gamefish. Shad, herring, and other forage species are often found in
good numbers near ramps as well. The concrete and adjacent rip rap
support many forms of life creating abundant feeding opportunities
for bass. Some anglers have made consistent money in night
tournaments by running the boat ramps along with other prime areas.
Bottom line: if you’re close to a boat ramp invest some casting time
to the drop off and both sides. When you’re out at night, one
accessory can really come in handy. This is a head lamp with both a
white and black (UV) light. The former is always handy when changing
lures or doing just about anything else. The latter is great when
using a clear fluorescent line that reacts to the light. Clear blue
fluorescent is the time honored choice. It’s great during the day
presenting a slight blue color above the surface as is becomes
invisible underneath. At night under UV light, it appears fat and
blue allowing an angler to track line position and subtle strikes.
Before venturing out after dark,
take a few safety tips into consideration. Be sure you are familiar
with the area to be navigated. Ideally you’re already experienced
from day time trips in the area. If not, go out during the day for a
getting up to speed scouting session. Go with a partner. Having an
extra set of eyes and ears on deck is especially valuable during the
hours of limited visibility. Let your folks at home know where
you’re launching and when you expect to return. Leave a note on the
refrigerator. Ensure you’re navigation and stern lights are working
and keep them on at all times. A spot light is handy for finding the
reflective reef poles that mark submerged humps. Use the tool for
this purpose along with spotting channel markers sparingly. Constant
use will cause tunnel vision and actually impair your night vision.
Once the eyes adapt, you’ll be surprised at how much can be seen
with no light. Lastly, wear (yes I mean wear) a PFD at all times.
The compact and super comfortable self inflating models make that
responsibility a pretty easy one these days. That’s a good idea
during the day as well.
That’s about it for this month.
Summer is the traditional time for night fishing in our parts. It
offers a great and productive change of pace from those July an
August days on the water. Put your boat in the water as the sun goes
down. Or for that matter, hit your favorite bank fishing spot as
well. You may find yourself becoming a regular on the night shift.
Until next month, take care and enjoy the lake!
Tommy
Wilkinson is assistant manager for Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World in
Duluth. E-mail Tommy at
tommy@lakesidenews.com
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