Lake Allatoona

The lake is almost 7 feet below full pool with a water surface temperature of mostly 77 degrees.

Allatoona is looking great right now, however, the bite is not as good as her appearance. Fish are scattered from the north to south. The north end will be best for smaller fish such as White Bass and Crappie, while mid-lake is best for a decent spot or the typical Hybrid Bass of 4 pounds. We have elected not to burn a lot of gas by searching for active fish, instead waiting on the fish to come to us.  Orion’s boats have been fishing shallow humps and points late evening with cut shad on the bottom at dark and slow trolling live shad at low light times.  We are having luck with a jigging spoon on points and channel ledges during sun up times. A spoon will catch any species on Allatoona with a little patience. Adjust your presentation and size spoon until the fish let you know what works. There is a good top water bite at sun-up some days but don’t hang your hat on it. Catch them when they are on top with popping cork rigs and spoons skipped on the surface.

Coosa River

The Coosa River is going through a transition just like Allatoona is.  We have put our boats in position for a mixed bag of catfish, crappie, and bass, both Largemouth and Spotted Bass. While drifting cut and live shad, stay close to the bank to cast live shad on spinning gear in ditches and creek mouths. Hang on because you might be surprised at the quality of bass you can hook!

For all you “‘fair wheather” fisherman, once the warm up begins late morning/early afternoon, the big Gar are rolling in areas as big as a football field.  These are truly impressive fish and willing to eat. To catch them, present a shad on the surface or sub-surface with a steel leader and hang on!  Our catches have averaged 12 pounds with a 20 pounder possible. Your bait doesn’t have to be alive. Please be careful handling your catch as these fish can ruin your day in a hurry.

Team Orion