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: 82 - Low: 57
Wind: 5 - 15 mph
Lake Level: Approx. 838' (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: 'Lectric Chicken- Dagger, UV Shad - Dagger, & Watermelon Red - Dagger
Technique: Casting & Spider Rigging
Allatoona Weekly Crappie, Shellcracker & Bluegill Fishing Report:
August is behind us and we are looking forward to moving into fall crappie season! Crappie Fishing gets tough on Allatoona from Mid-July through August into Mid-September. That's just the way it is or has been our experience over the years. The good news is that September is a transitional month when the water level begins to drop after Labor Day and the water temperature begins to drop as well. The water temperature is around 80 degrees and slowly dropping. We are looking forward to water temps in the 70's, specifically 75 and below...that should get the crappie juices flowing! The cool morning temps are a sign of good things to come!
Crappie: Crappie fishing on Lake Allatoona in the month of September is hit and miss until the water temps start dropping but when the water temp hits 75 and lower the crappie will become more aggressive and start roaming around towards the end of September into October. We had mixed results this week. One day we went out and found some very active crappie and caught several on Red Rooster Daggers in UV Shad, 'Lectric Chicken and Watermelon Red. We had several nice crappie between 10" - 12" all suspended above brush from 8' to 18'. The next day we tried the same brush in the evening and only managed one hungry crappie. The difference between the two days was that the one day the fish were suspended above the brush, the next day they were tight to the brush and suspended closer to the bottom of the brush. The rule of thumb, at least from what we have seen, is that active/agressive crappie are suspended above the brush. They tend to move up and down the water column throughout the course of the day...you just have to keep moving. You will know pretty quick if they are in the mood...if you haven't caught a crappie in brush within 15-20 mins...move to another location and repeat. Spider Rigging minnows is still the best way to work the brush piles and structure for the time being. However, we caught most of our crappie using 1/16th or 3/32nd oz. jig head. We let the jigs fall down in and around the structure and counted down to 10 and slowly reeled the jigs back to the boat. Counting to 10 using a 1/16th oz. jig head should put your jig in the 10' - 12' range.
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. This past week we caught several bluegill on the Red Rooster Dagger! The bluegill were suspended above brush...we thought they were crappie! We caught most of the bluegill about 30 minutes before dark around brush, stumps and docks. We typically fish for bluegill with nightcrawlers, red wigglers or crickets but they will bite small profile crappie jigs as well. The tried and true method is to 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): We haven't fished for shellcracker too much this summer but we tried a few times this past week as the water is cooling down and caught a couple of nice ones fishing around docks and slowly dragging worms along the bottom around stumps and shallow brush. Now that the water is cooling down and the lake level is dropping we will start looking around at shallow brush to try our luck. 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 September 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: Wait[a] on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord! ~ Psalms 27:14.
Nice crappie caught on a 1/16th oz. jig head and a Red Rooster Dagger Crappie Jig in the UV Shad.
Another keeper crappie caught on the Red Rooster Dagger in the UV Shad color.
This keeper was all about a Red Rooster Dagger in the 'Lectric Chicken color.
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