This weeks Lake Allatoona crappie fishing report is brought to you by DRC Marine Repair located in Dallas, Georgia. Give DRC Marine Repair a call for outboard engine repair and maintenance needs. A full list of services can be found on their website. Tell them you saw them on Red Rooster's weekly Lake Allatoona Crappie Fishing Report!
Air Temp: High: 70 - Low: 18
Wind: 10-15 mph
Lake Level: Approx. 826' and dropping (Click Here For Current Water Level)
Water Surface Temp: 44 - 48
Water Clarity: Clear Green to Stained depending on area of the lake
Area Fished: Blockhouse, Kellogg Creek, Victoria & S-Turns
Jigs Used: VooDoo Bloo - Kic'n Chic'n, Black/Chartreuse - Kic'n Chic'n, Black & Blue Flake - Talon 2.0, Fried Pickle - Slab Dragon, Black & Blue - Slab Dragon, CopperHead - Slab Dragon & Black & Blue Flake - Georgia Razor.
Technique: Trolling
Allatoona Weekly Crappie, Shellcracker & Bluegill Fishing Report:
We were blessed with a couple of nice days this past week with little to no wind and was able to get on the water and snag some of those Lake Allatoona crappie. The annual lake drawdown is really changing the landscape of the lake! The water level is down to almost 826', which is 14' down from full pool or 840'. This changes where you troll this time of year as the humps and points are exposed which means you have quite a bit more open water. You want to keep your boat in depths of 15' to 30' to pick up the cold water crappie. We are approaching BIG crappie time frames. Usually the end of December through January is when we catch our larger crappie. Disclaimer: We only keep crappie that are 10" to 12"! We impose our own "slot limit" and leave the bigger crappie in the lake for spawning purposes...the bigger crappie make more crappie for years to come! Help us keep Lake Allatoona a great crappie lake for years to come by only harvesting crappie that are 10" to 12" long and keep only what you need and can eat when possible.
Crappie: We are in long line trolling season! If you are not familiar with long line trolling or have questions, we are here to help! Long Line trolling is an absolute blast and we are sure that if you get the hang of it you and your family/friends will enjoy this method of fishing. This time of year we fish the mouths of creeks, river channels, flats and points in or around 15' to 30' depths. The crappie are generally schooling and suspended at different depths in 15' to 30' of water. We use our electronics to find schools of crappie. Once we find schools we determine the depth using downscan or 2D sonar. Typically the crappie are suspended anywhere from 6' to 15' which then determines the jig head size and speed that we troll to pick up the crappie at these depths. You can't go wrong with a mix of 1/16th oz. and 3/32nd oz. jig heads trolled at speeds between .5 mph and .9 mph. That's the general rule of thumb and should be the starting point...sometimes you have to speed up, sometimes you have to slow down depending on what depths the crappie are. During this time of year the water starts getting stained due to rains and you will want to use solid/bright colors that are more visible in the stained water. Our favorite colors this time of year are Cajun Chicken, Albright Special, 'Lectric Chicken, Sour Grape, Black/Chartreuse, Black/Blue and Lemonade. Those are great solid, bright and bold colors to get started. As the water gets muddier we tend to use more orange colors such as Tannic Flo Orange, Cajun Chicken, Sasquatch, CopperHead and Jive Turquee - Orange. Orange is a special color on Lake Allatoona in the winter time!
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. Be sure to check out the archives for December 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: And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. ~ Luke 2:1-7.
Robbie "Red Rooster" with a nice keeper Lake Allatoona black crappie!
Larry & Danny with a nice stringer after a great morning of long line trolling for Lake Allatoona crappie!
