This weeks report is brought to you by The Dugout Bait & Tackle! Tell them you saw them on Red Rooster's weekly Lake Allatoona Crappie Fishing Report!
Air Temp: High: 91 - Low: 72
Wind: Light & Variable
Lake Level: Approx. 840' (Click Here For Current Water Level)
Water Surface Temp: 88 - 90
Water Clarity: Clear Green, Murky Green in places
Area Fished: Kellogg Creek, Victoria Area, S-Turns & Little River Areas
Jigs Used: Motor Oil Red - Dagger, UV Shad - Dagger, Watermelon Ghost - Dagger
Technique: Casting & Spider Rigging
Allatoona Weekly Crappie, Shellcracker & Bluegill Fishing Report:
The summer heat is setting in and that means the fish are going deeper in search of optimum oxygen levels all over the lake. We are seeing the thermocline setting up around 20'. The thermocline is key this time of year because there won't be any fish below the thermocline so your target depth should be 20' and up. There are a lot of great videos on the internet in regards to understanding the thermocline and how to find it. The morning hours between 0600 - 1030 are the best times to be on the lake to avoid boat traffic and for the early morning bite. The crappie will be most active first thing in the morning that's just the way it is this time of year. You can still catch fish in the evening and at night but if you want the best chance you have to do it early.
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. Keep an eye on your side scan and down scan when you are riding around the lake. We are seeing some roaming crappie in large schools. If you happen to find a school you need to mark it and fish that area as crappie are roaming around looking for prime water that has the best oxygen. Hint: The best oxygen in the lake will be in and around the river channel and creek channels. The crappie will also 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): The Shellcracker bite has slowed down quite a bit as the water temps have risen. We are not finding as many as we did a few weeks back. Also, the catfish are real aggressive right now and are eating up our worms! The shellcracker in 10' - 12' of water around points and rocky humps but so are the catfish so if you like shellcracker and catfish it is your lucky time of the year! 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. The bait of choice is either a red wiggler or nightcrawler...they will eat either one!
Lord willing we will have a another good report for you next week!
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 July 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: By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host. He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. ~ Psalm 33:6-9.
A nice white crappie caught on a 3/32nd oz. jig head and a Red Rooster Dagger Crappie Jig in the UV Shad Color.
Nice 10" crappie on a Red Rooster Dagger in the Motor Oil Red color on a 3/32nd oz. jig head
