by Shawn ‘Shadman’ McNew
Striper Soup Bait & Tackle
Lake Allatoona will be at 840 feet, full pool. All ramps will be open, including Tanyard and Knox Bridge. As predicted, the mild winter left lots of threadfin shad to feed our population of predatory fish. They will be spawning in the morning along the banks, and the bigger fish won’t be far away from them. The lake has maintained good clarity since there hasn’t been a big flood this year. Hybes and stripes will be post-spawn and feeding up on top a good bit. The fishing will be excellent over many parts of the lake.
Fish will be around the greatest concentrations of baitfish which will be in and around the large creeks. Little R, Sweetwater, Kellogg, Illinois, Clear, Stamp, Clark, Tanyard and Proctor will have large populations of spawning threadfin shad. Using a decent four inch threadfin will catch these fish on flatlines, freelines, planers and downlines. Also, don’t rule out cut-bait fishing with fresh cut threadfin or gizzard shad. Good fishing can be had all day with peak fishing times at daybreak and dusk.
Keep your eyes peeled for surface action. It will be beginning as the spawned out shad make their way back out into the main lake. Surface plugs, spinners, jigs, flukes and small swimbait lures should be in your arsenal. Key areas are going to be around the Clark/Tanyard bay in the far south of the lake, the Iron Hill area around the mouth of Stamp, up between Bartow Beach and Illinois, the bay above Victoria, and possibly the S-turns. A good way to find breaking fish is team up with a couple of other boats and ride around.
Many quality striper have been coming out of the lake on bigger gizzard shad. You want to upsize your bait to prevent smaller fish from engaging with it. Consider something in the 10 inch range. Casting lures at night is also a popular method with Cordell Red Fins, Bomber Long-A’s or perhaps a 7-8 inch swimbait. Look and listen for fish along rocky banks from Galt’s Ferry down to Iron Hill. As the surface temp warms, look around the mouth of Stamp Creek for some line stretching big fish action.
HINT: Come check out Striper Soup’s recently EXPANDED selection of gear and equipment as well as our online store with MANY unique items to choose from at www.stripersoup.com.