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: 95 - Low: 73
Wind: 5 - 10 mph
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, BlueGrass - Dagger & Chartreuse Pepper - Dagger
Technique: Casting & Spider Rigging
Allatoona Weekly Crappie, Shellcracker & Bluegill Fishing Report:
It's getting hot out there on Lake Allatoona and we are moving in to the dog days of summer. Our advice is to get on the lake as early in the morning as possible and get in on the morning bite. The afternoon/evening bite is really hit or miss right now. We were on the lake early and late and by far the morning bite is where it's at right now. It's great to get out on the lake any time you can to enjoy the great outdoors but there is a night and day difference between the morning bite and afternoon bite 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. You can still catch a few if you hit several locations but you have to keep moving 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): The Shellcracker are getting harder and harder to find. 9 times out of 10, if we drop a nightcrawler down on the bottom we are catching catfish! The shellcracker are in 10' - 12' of water around points and rocky humps but so are the catfish so if you like shellcracker and catfishing you will have some great days! 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 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: The Lord is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. ~ Psalms 103:8-12.
Hot Water Crappie caught on a 3/32nd oz. jig head and a Red Rooster Dagger Crappie Jig in the Chartreuse Pepper Color.
Jeff "CrappieMan" Albright had a couple of good early morning outings spider rigging minnows over brush piles! If you are looking to catch some crappie this summer get in touch with CrappieMan, he will put you on some fish!
