Rick_Shoup
Senior Member
Just wanted to give y'all a quick report on Carters Lake and Lake Allatoona.
Carters Lake - The water clarity is 5+ft with surface temps averaging 53-55.
Striper fishing is fair. Free lines and planer boards using gizzards or thread fins seem to be working best over 50-80ft range - Finding bait is key! Expect the bite to pick up in a couple of weeks.
Shawn at Striper Soup has gizzards in all sizes right now and are very healthy (Thanks for hooking us up Shawn!)
Spotted Bass fishing is good averaging 10-15 per day using Strike King jerkbaits in the sexy shad color fished on points or anywhere the wind is blowing hard. Sometimes the fish want a couple seconds between twitches and sometimes no pauses at all - so vary your retrieve. Spotsticker Crawler heads tipped with Big Bite Real Deal Craws, and the unpainted ball heads and Shaking Squirrels in green pumpkin color are STILL working. Louie and I have found early signs of the Mini-Me spinnerbait bite at both Carters and Allatoona. This is a fantastic big fish pattern on both lakes. GON's own Ryan Coleman (owner of spotsticker) recently acquired Mini-Me - so it is locally owned and operated out of Georgia. We have been using 3/4oz. lavendar shad with white blades on Allatoona and chrome blades on Carters.
Lake Allatoona - Down approx. 4.5ft. Water clarity 3ft. with surface temps averaging 53-55 degrees main lake and warming. On some of the warmer days, I have seen surface temps nearing 60 degrees in the upper end. Also, with the rising water level please be careful of debris!
Striper/hybrid fishing is getting better.
We've boated a few stripers as of late free lining gizzards from Cooper Branch to Iron Hill. The hybrids havent bit consistently yet...BUT THEY ARE THERE! I have marked HUGE schools of hybrids and expect that bite to be on fire real soon!
Spotted bass - a lot of buck bass are making their way shallow on flats getting ready for the spawn. Strike King Red Eye Shad (Silent) in blue chrome and chili craw have been catching fish on pea gravel flats and main lake points. Again, vary the retrieve - fish may want it reeled slow or use a stop-n-go retrieve. Carolina rigs fished SLOW with Big Bite green pumpkin lizards have also been producing in the same areas. When water temps sustain 60+ degrees - watch out for the Mini-Me!!!
Crappie fishing is very good.
Fish are staging. Crappie are being caught on creek channel ledges, in mouths of creeks, and back of creeks in as little as 5-7ft. of water. Look for a major push to the shallows in the next couple of weeks.
White bass fishing is good.
We've been catching white bass in the same areas as crappie, but are mostly concentrated on red clay flats and points.
Be safe out there and if you see Louie or me on the water please say hello.
Rick
Carters Lake - The water clarity is 5+ft with surface temps averaging 53-55.
Striper fishing is fair. Free lines and planer boards using gizzards or thread fins seem to be working best over 50-80ft range - Finding bait is key! Expect the bite to pick up in a couple of weeks.
Shawn at Striper Soup has gizzards in all sizes right now and are very healthy (Thanks for hooking us up Shawn!)
Spotted Bass fishing is good averaging 10-15 per day using Strike King jerkbaits in the sexy shad color fished on points or anywhere the wind is blowing hard. Sometimes the fish want a couple seconds between twitches and sometimes no pauses at all - so vary your retrieve. Spotsticker Crawler heads tipped with Big Bite Real Deal Craws, and the unpainted ball heads and Shaking Squirrels in green pumpkin color are STILL working. Louie and I have found early signs of the Mini-Me spinnerbait bite at both Carters and Allatoona. This is a fantastic big fish pattern on both lakes. GON's own Ryan Coleman (owner of spotsticker) recently acquired Mini-Me - so it is locally owned and operated out of Georgia. We have been using 3/4oz. lavendar shad with white blades on Allatoona and chrome blades on Carters.
Lake Allatoona - Down approx. 4.5ft. Water clarity 3ft. with surface temps averaging 53-55 degrees main lake and warming. On some of the warmer days, I have seen surface temps nearing 60 degrees in the upper end. Also, with the rising water level please be careful of debris!
Striper/hybrid fishing is getting better.
We've boated a few stripers as of late free lining gizzards from Cooper Branch to Iron Hill. The hybrids havent bit consistently yet...BUT THEY ARE THERE! I have marked HUGE schools of hybrids and expect that bite to be on fire real soon!
Spotted bass - a lot of buck bass are making their way shallow on flats getting ready for the spawn. Strike King Red Eye Shad (Silent) in blue chrome and chili craw have been catching fish on pea gravel flats and main lake points. Again, vary the retrieve - fish may want it reeled slow or use a stop-n-go retrieve. Carolina rigs fished SLOW with Big Bite green pumpkin lizards have also been producing in the same areas. When water temps sustain 60+ degrees - watch out for the Mini-Me!!!
Crappie fishing is very good.
Fish are staging. Crappie are being caught on creek channel ledges, in mouths of creeks, and back of creeks in as little as 5-7ft. of water. Look for a major push to the shallows in the next couple of weeks.
White bass fishing is good.
We've been catching white bass in the same areas as crappie, but are mostly concentrated on red clay flats and points.
Be safe out there and if you see Louie or me on the water please say hello.
Rick
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