This weeks report is brought to you by CrappieMan - Allatoona Guide Service! If you are looking to catch and learn more about Allatoona Crappie, Give Jeff a Call @ (678) 229-8110. Tell him you saw him on Red Rooster's weekly Lake Allatoona Crappie Fishing Report!
Air Temp: High: 84 - Low: 68
Wind: 5 - 10 mph
Lake Level: Approx. 839' (Click Here For Current Water Level)
Water Surface Temp: 80 - 82
Water Clarity: Clear Green, Murky Green in places
Area Fished: Kellogg Creek, Victoria Area, S-Turns & Little River Areas
Jigs Used: Gray Ghost - Dagger, UV Shad - Dagger, Blue Glimmer - Kic'n Chic'n XL & UV Smoke - Kic'n Chic'n XL
Technique: Casting & Spider Rigging
Allatoona Weekly Crappie, Shellcracker & Bluegill Fishing Report:
It's been a couple of weeks since we had a chance to put out a fishing report and to be honest August is not a thrilling time to be out on Lake Allatoona. Historically, at least for Crappie fishermen, August and September are really hit or miss due to the water temps being in the mid to high 80's. The window of activity is small in the morning and late evenings. Now you can still find hungry crappie but it is a lot of work and planning this time of year.
Crappie: As stated in previous reports, the summer report will be very repetitive between now and September/October...it's summer and the crappie will be in their deep water hangouts. The morning bite is when you will find active crappie hovering around the structure/brush piles. They tend to be much more prone to bite a jig or minnow between 0600 - 1000. After 1000 they seem to get lockjaw no matter what you throw at 'em whether it be a jig or a minnow. That's just summertime crappie fishing. This past week the water temps did drop due to milder than normal temperatures. The water temps had dropped down to 80 - 82 degrees and that was the afternoon temps! We found a good school of crappie hanging out on a channel break suspended over 30' of water anywhere from 10' - 16' deep. To our surprise they wanted a bigger bait moving fast! We caught several keeper crappie with a Kic'n Chic'n XL (2.3") in the Blue Glimmer color. Sometimes you hit them just right and they are ready to chase a jig which is few and far between this time of year. It was fun while it lasted. The other times we went out they were buried in the brush and were not budging unless yo dropped a small jig like the Red Rooster Dagger on their nose...even then you had to let it sit over the top of 'em and every now and then they would move up to get it. The general rule for the time being is to hit several locations to find a few active crappie. The crappie should be be found on structure anywhere from 16' to 22' deep and they are typically suspended above the structure in 10' - 16' (Just above the Thermocline). You can also find crappie on deep water docks, when we say deep water docks, we are talking about docks that sit in at least 20' of water. If you are shooting docks, we recommend a 1/32nd oz. jig head for a slow fall. Let it sink for about 10 - 15 seconds and then slowly start reeling to the boat. If you are casting to structure you want to use a 1/16th or 3/32nd oz. jig head and let them fall down in and around the structure, count down to 10 and slowly reel your jig back to the boat. Counting to 10 using a 1/16th oz. jig head should put your jig in the 10' - 12' range. When the bite slows down, switch to spider rigging minnows in and around structure to finish out the trip. If you are throwing jigs make sure to use natural color jigs like a Red Rooster Dagger in UV Shad, Gray Ghost, Watermelon Ghost or Motor Oil Red. These are great colors and sizes to start with first thing in the morning. This time of year we start downsizing our jigs to the 1.5" Red Rooster Dagger. The crappie start getting real finicky if the jigs are larger. The small profile matches the smaller baitfish perfectly and are our number one jigs of choice for the summer time. If you are Spider Rigging, set the minnow at different depths until they start biting. We usually have 2 rods set at 8', 2 rods at 10' and 2 rods at 12'.
Bluegill: The bluegill should be in the shallows in the early morning and then moving a little deeper to 4' to 8' in the afternoon/evening. We are catching bluegill using nightcrawlers, red wigglers or crickets. Use a #4 - #6 gold Aberdeen hook with 4 - 6 lb. test fishing line and a bobber set about 8" - 12" above your cricket or worm in the morning and then changing the bobber depth as it gets later in the day to pick up some deeper bluegill.
Shellcracker (Redear sunfish): To be fair we have not fished for Shellcracker during the month of July or August but from what we understand you can still find them in 6' - 10' of water around wood. If you are fishing around laydowns, stick ups, stumps that are at this depth you should be able to pick up a few with a nightcrawler or red wiggler. The rig we use for shellcracker is a #2 hook on 4 - 6 lb. test fishing line and a #5 clam shell split shot pinched on the line about 12" - 18" above the hook. We are primarily using either a red wiggler or nightcrawler.
Lord willing we will have a better report for you in the coming weeks! We are ready for fall weather and cooler water temps!
If you don't know what colors to choose check out our Combo Packs, this will save you a lot of time with proven stained and clear water colors. Lord willing we will have another report for you next week. Be sure to check out the archives for August 2024 and see what we were doing this time last year!
Make sure to download the Red Rooster Long Line Trolling Guide for tips on how to troll for Allatoona Crappie.
Verse of the Week: The Lord is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble; And He knows those who trust in Him. ~ Nahum 1:7.
Hot Water Crappie caught on a 3/32nd oz. jig head and a Red Rooster Dagger Crappie Jig in the Gray Ghost Color.
We tried something a little different and started catching these aggressive crappie on the Kic'n Chic'n XL -Blue Glimmer! They were in chase mode and HAMMERED our Red Rooster Kic'n Chic'n XL Paddle Tail/Swimbait Crappie Jig!
Another nice Lake Allatoona Black Crappie caught on the Red Rooster Kic'n Chic'n XL Paddle Tail/Swimbait Crappie Jig!
