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Fishing Lake Allatoona: what the data says
12,010-acre reservoir near Cartersville. Atlanta's closest big reservoir; strong striper and hybrid run each spring. The lake tops out around 145 ft. The contours are modeled from the water's real shoreline and maximum depth. Treat them as a rough guide, and never use them for navigation. What follows comes from the same scoring engine that paints the spots above.
Largemouth Bass fishing at Lake Allatoona
Start shallow in spring: largemouth bass sit in 2 to 10 ft that time of year. They move out to 8 to 20 ft in summer and finish the year down in 15 to 35 ft. The spot to know is Shallow bay flat, a weed flat in about 6 ft of water that rates prime for largemouth bass in spring. Best bite is early morning and the evening. Tie on a texas-rigged 10" worm or a deep-diving crankbait and you're in the game.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 2 to 10 ft | dawn & dusk | Spinnerbait, Chatterbait |
| Summer | 8 to 20 ft | dawn & dusk | Texas-rigged 10" worm, Deep-diving crankbait |
| Fall | 4 to 15 ft | midday & dawn | Squarebill crankbait (shad), Spinnerbait |
| Winter | 15 to 35 ft | midday | Blade bait, Jigging spoon |
Crappie fishing at Lake Allatoona
In spring, crappie run shallow here, mostly 2 to 8 ft. They move out to 10 to 25 ft in summer and finish the year down in 15 to 35 ft. Shallow bay flat is the standout, a weed flat at roughly 6 ft, rated prime for spring crappie. Plan around early morning and the evening in the warm months. Tie on a jig trolled/spider-rigged or a small crankbait (trolled) and you're in the game.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 2 to 8 ft | midday & dawn | 1/16 oz jig + tube, Curly-tail grub |
| Summer | 10 to 25 ft | dawn & dusk | Jig trolled/spider-rigged, Small crankbait (trolled) |
| Fall | 8 to 20 ft | dawn | Jig + minnow combo, Small swimbait (1.5-2") |
| Winter | 15 to 35 ft | midday | Tungsten jig + soft plastic, Tiny jigging spoon |
Bluegill fishing at Lake Allatoona
In spring, bluegill run shallow here, mostly 1 to 6 ft. They move out to 4 to 15 ft in summer and finish the year down in 10 to 25 ft. If you only fish one area, make it Shallow bay flat: a weed flat around 6 ft that scores prime in spring. Best bite is early morning and the evening. Summer baits: a small sponge spider (fly) or a micro tube jig gets it done.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 1 to 6 ft | midday & dusk | 1/32 oz jig + micro plastic, Tiny popper (evenings) |
| Summer | 4 to 15 ft | dawn & dusk | Small sponge spider (fly), Micro tube jig |
| Fall | 6 to 18 ft | midday | Micro jig + waxworm, Small spoon tipped |
| Winter | 10 to 25 ft | midday | Tungsten ice jig + plastic, Tiny spoon |
Channel Catfish fishing at Lake Allatoona
Start shallow in spring: channel catfish sit in 3 to 12 ft that time of year. They move out to 8 to 25 ft in summer and finish the year down in 20 to 40 ft. The spot to know is Feeding flat, a feeding flat in about 11 ft of water that rates prime for channel catfish in summer. Best bite is after dark and the evening.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 3 to 12 ft | dusk | |
| Summer | 8 to 25 ft | night & dusk | |
| Fall | 10 to 30 ft | dusk | |
| Winter | 20 to 40 ft | midday |
Striped Bass fishing at Lake Allatoona
Start shallow in spring: striped bass sit in 5 to 20 ft that time of year. By summer they slide out to 25 to 60 ft, and by winter most fish are in 20 to 50 ft. If you only fish one area, make it Shoreline point: a point around 11.39997520791165 ft that scores prime in fall. In summer the feeding windows fall in early morning and the evening. A flutter spoon (deep) or a umbrella rig (trolled) covers the summer program.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 5 to 20 ft | dawn & dusk | Bucktail jig + trailer, Walking topwater (dawn) |
| Summer | 25 to 60 ft | dawn & dusk | Flutter spoon (deep), Umbrella rig (trolled) |
| Fall | 10 to 35 ft | dawn & dusk | Topwater walker, Jerkbait |
| Winter | 20 to 50 ft | midday | Alabama rig (slow), Flutter spoon |
White Bass & Hybrids fishing at Lake Allatoona
Start shallow in spring: white bass & hybrids sit in 3 to 15 ft that time of year. They move out to 10 to 30 ft in summer and finish the year down in 20 to 40 ft. If you only fish one area, make it Offshore hump: a offshore hump around 25.979200429791128 ft that scores prime in summer. Plan around early morning and the evening in the warm months. Tie on a jigging spoon or a topwater (when schooling) and you're in the game.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 3 to 15 ft | midday & dawn | Rooster tail / inline spinner, Curly-tail jig (white/chartreuse) |
| Summer | 10 to 30 ft | dawn & dusk | Jigging spoon, Topwater (when schooling) |
| Fall | 8 to 25 ft | midday & dawn | Small blade bait, Jigging spoon |
| Winter | 20 to 40 ft | midday | Jigging spoon, Blade bait (vertical) |
Lake Allatoona also holds spotted bass (15 to 40 ft in summer). Pick any of them on the map above for rated spots and bait picks.
Notable structure
- Deep basin: deep basin, around 123 ft
- Break off the point: drop-off, around 65 ft
- Sharp break: drop-off, around 57.71082660391443 ft
- Sharp break: drop-off, around 51.94291119224169 ft
- Main-lake point: point, around 36 ft
- Secondary point: point, around 36 ft
- Offshore hump: offshore hump, around 25.979200429791128 ft
- Offshore hump: offshore hump, around 23.14186811680079 ft
- Shoreline point: point, around 11.804177925492727 ft
- Shoreline point: point, around 11.39997520791165 ft
- Feeding flat: feeding flat, around 11 ft
- Rock reef: rock pile, around 10.953142635414457 ft
- Shallow bay flat: weed flat, around 6 ft
- Back-bay flat: weed flat, around 6 ft
Common questions
How deep is Lake Allatoona?
Lake Allatoona is about 145 ft at its deepest point. The contours here are modeled from the water's real shape and maximum depth, so treat them as a rough guide.
What fish are in Lake Allatoona?
Anglers target largemouth bass, crappie, bluegill, channel catfish, striped bass, white bass & hybrids, spotted bass on Lake Allatoona.
Where is the best fishing spot on Lake Allatoona?
Shallow bay flat is the top-rated area: a weed flat in about 6 ft of water that rates prime for largemouth bass in spring. Open the map above to see every rated spot for each species and season.
When is the best time to fish Lake Allatoona?
For largemouth bass, the summer bite is best in early morning and the evening. Each species page section below lists the seasonal windows, and the map shows a live NOW badge when you're inside one.
Nearby waters
Chattahoochee River · Carters Lake · Lake Lanier · Blue Ridge Lake · Lake Nottely · Jackson Lake
See how Lake Allatoona stacks up: best largemouth bass lakes in Georgia · best crappie lakes in Georgia · best bluegill lakes in Georgia · best channel catfish lakes in Georgia
Browse all Georgia fishing maps or every water on DepthScout. How we build these maps. For fishing guidance only, never navigation.