By Shawn McNew
By mid-April, Allatoona will be at full pool. Winter has finally broken and our clear water is finally coming back after a winter of full lake stain. Water temps should be pushing into the 60 degree range, optimal for striper and hybrid. Shad will continue moving towards the backs of creeks and up into major tributaries. The fish that are being caught right now are very healthy. As far as we can tell, Allatoona has finally made a full recovery from the drought of 2008 when the lake lost most of its larger striper due to poor water quality. Good numbers of 10-15 lb. striper and some big 30+ lb. bruisers are out there for the catching. Hybrids will be in the 3-5 lb. class with the bigger 7-9 lb. fish mixed in ready to stretch your line to the max.
This is the time of year to utilize planer boards and big baits. If you want an Allatoona trophy striper, put out a spread of 10+ inch gizzard shad or trout. Covering water in the middle or backs of creeks and big coves will be a likely pattern. There will also be fish starting to show up in the Etowah and Little Rivers. Anchoring with live or cut bait on bottom will bring in some big fish. Please be respectful of your fellow anglers on these small waterways! Other likely areas to try are the forebay right in front of the dam as fish regularly roam this area. Clark and Tanyard Creeks will have good numbers of fish. Donât overlook the shallow waters back in Allatoona Creek around the Lake Acworth spillway and around Proctor Landing. Big fish will roam these areas ambushing big schools of prespawn shad.
Surface activity is going to hopefully get going again. This type of fishing is the undisputed most fun way to catch hybrid and striper. Keep a keen eye peeled at all times and have your tactical long range casting gear ready to engage any visible targets. Never run up on a school of breaking fish. Stop short, and make the painstaking final 100 yard approach on full speed trolling motor mode to avoid spooking the whole school. Have Sammys, Spooks, Striper Strikes, Pencil poppers, or anything that looks like a fleeing shad ready for some surface blitzkrieg action. For the subsurface murderers, use Storm Wildeyes in 3-4 inch, bucktail jigs like our Tailspin jig, a 1â2 oz. jig rigged with a fluke, 3-4 inch grubs on a leadhead, Scrounger jigs, or hard plastic slash baits like Rapala Husky Jerks or X-Raps. Another effective artificial making its way into the striper market is the A-rig. We now carry the newest lineup of record-setting Hog Farmer A-rigs made in Tennessee.
The white bass run up the major tributaries will be in full swing, so donât forget about them. Try your luck with 1/8-1/4 oz. jigs in white, chartreuse, or yellow. Bucktails, 2-3 inch curly tail grubs, or the Striper Soup Tail Spin jig will work great. Spinners like Rooster Tail, Mepps and Panther Martin are also deadly as long as thereâs no structure to snag your lure.
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HINT: Keep only what youâre going to clean and eat. If releasing fish, use a rubberized landing net or no net at all. Lip grippers like the Boga Grip are the best option for subduing a fish at boat side and giving it the best chance for post-release survival.
Shawn McNew
Striper Soup Bait & Tackle