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: 75 - Low: 25
Wind: 5-25 mph
Lake Level: Approx. 824' and dropping (Click Here For Current Water Level)
Water Surface Temp: 43 - 58 (Warming Trend bumped the water temp to 58 in places, cold front dropped it back down to 43 in places!)
Water Clarity: Stained to Heavy Stained depending on area of the lake
Area Fished: Blockhouse & Little River
Jigs Used: Cajun Chicken - Small Fry, Bluegrass - Small Fry, Black & Blue - Small Fry, Jive Turquee - Orange - Kic'n Chic'n, Lemonade - Kic'n Chic'n, Lemonade - Slab Dragon, Black & Blue Flake - Georgia Razor
Technique: Trolling
Allatoona Weekly Crappie, Shellcracker & Bluegill Fishing Report:
Happy New Year fellow crappie anglers! This last week of December was a tale of two weather events and how fast things can change on Lake Allatoona in the winter time. The weekend leading up to this week was a glimpse into what Spring fishing normally looks like. The water temps came up to 56-59 degrees! We were finding crappie in 4’ of water! But then old man winter showed up and ruined the party! The cold and wind kicked up to 25 mph gusts the first part of the week and dropped the water temp back down to 45-47! This really did a number on the crappie. We ventured out on New Year’s Eve and found some crappie but they were “slow and low” as they had moved out to 10’ - 12’ range on points and laying on the bottom. We were able to pick up some slow biters while trolling 1/16th oz. jig heads real slow at .5 mph. We let the jigs bounce on the bottom and sped up to .6 mph to keep them just above the bottom. The morning was a light breeze but the winds kicked up at noon and we were done.
Crappie: Trolling was on fire leading up to the cold front at the beginning of the week! We were able to get on the water 2 days before the cold front and found crappie in warm shallow water from 4' to 10'! Prior to the cold front the water temp in some areas was up to 58 degrees! The crappie had moved up into the warmer water as if it was Spring! With the lake drawdown it does not take long for the water to warm up in shallow creeks and flats but when things go up they are also quick to come down with a cold snap! The latter part of the week we got on the water on New Year's Eve and the temps had dropped back down to 43! This greatly affects the crappie as they move back into deeper water when the cold fronts hit. In the warmer water we were trolling a mix of 1/16th oz., 1/24th and even 1/32nd oz. jig heads at speeds of .9 to 1 mph in 4' to 10' depths. When the cold front dropped the temps, the crappie moved out to 10' - 12' of water and were laying on the bottom. We trolled 1/16th oz. jig heads at .5 to .6 mph to get those jigs down on the bottom and were able to pick up a few but the bite was real slow. The water is stained to heavy stained and we had a lot of success on those bright solid colors with a 1/16th & 1/24th oz GLOW WHITE jig head. It looks like we are in for another warming trend in the week coming up so those crappie should move back into the shallows until the next cold snap. If you are not familiar with long line trolling or have questions, we are here to help! Reach out to Red Rooster if you need some tips on how to get started long line trolling for Lake Allatoona crappie. This time of year we rely heavily on sidescan and downscan. Sidescan will help you find schools of crappie and bait fish and downscan will tell you the depth that the crappie are in. Find the depth of the crappie and you will know what jig head size and speed you need to be trolling. This is where the Red Rooster Long Line Trolling Guide will help you! Our go to colors this time of year are Black/Blue, Black Chartreuse, Lemonade, JuneBug, 'Lectric Chicken, Sour Grape...etc. Once the lake starts to stain we rely heavily on bright colors and colors with Orange in them such as Tannic Flo Orange, Cajun Chicken, Albright Special, Sasquatch and Copperhead, the bright colors we use are Bubble Gum and Flo Pink Pepper as examples.
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 January 2025 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: Put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. ~ Ephesians 4:22-24.
T-Shirt & Shorts Lake Allatoona Crappie Fishing two days after Christmas!
Robbie "Red Rooster" with a nice Allatoona crappie caught on a Sour Grape Kic'n Chic'n.
Robbie showing off some Allatoona Slabs!
Big Time Allatoona Black Crappie Caught on the Small Fry in the Cajun Chicken Color
The Jive Turquee - Orange Kic'n Chic'n on a 1/24th oz. jig head was putting in work on some Allatoona slabs before the cold front!
No shorts and t-shirts on New Year's Eve! A cold Allatoona crappie caught on a Bluegrass Small Fry with a 1/16th oz. Glow White jig head.
A Black and Blue Georgia Razor on a 1/16th oz. glow white jig head does well in stained cold Allatoona water
The Cajun Chicken in Small Fry, Dagger or Kic'n Chic'n is one of our stained water go to colors for cold Lake Allatoona crappie.
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