Share your catch

Lake Allatoona Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Atlanta's scrappy little sister: a 12,000-acre spotted bass brawl thirty minutes from the city.

3/5
Fair. Fish early or late.Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.
Lake level
838.63 ft -1.37 vs pool
Air / High
95 / 96 F
Wind
E 3 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 02393500, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Tap a marker for today's tip
Friday
4
September 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

3/5Fair. Fish early or late.Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.

Lake Allatoona serves up more heat: the productive hours are the dim ones. The gauge reads 838.63 ft, 1.37 ft below pool, easing 0.37 over the week. Today brings a mixed sky, wind E around 3 mph, rising pressure near 1014 hPa and a high of 96. Water sits around 84 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: plan around them and beat the heat.

The plan, species by species

Hybrid striped bassGood

Schooling at first light over main-lake humps and channel edges. Slabs, tail spinners and live shad once you mark bait. It is usually over by mid-morning.

Catfish (blue, channel)Good

Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

Largemouth bassFair

Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

CrappieSlow

Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

Tomorrow: Similar at 100 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings from ALLATOONA LAKE NEAR CARTERSVILLE, GA.

Water level, last 30 days

USGS gauge 02393500. Conservation pool is 840 ft.

839.05839.84840.63pool 840838.63 ft08/0508/1508/2509/04

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp95 F
High / Low96 / 73 F
WindE 3-9 mph
Pressure1014.0 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain30% cloud, 2%
Sunrise / Sunset07:14 / 20:00
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~84 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Partly cloudy, 96/73 F, wind 7 mph, rain 2%

Fair or better. Calm and stable: plan around the solunar majors at dawn and dusk.

Species guide

The species that matter on Lake Allatoona: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: spring and fall

The headline act on most American reservoirs. Relates to cover: docks, brush, grass edges and points. Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

Hybrid striped bass illustration

Hybrid striped bass

Best: Jun-Sep

Stocked white bass x striper cross. Open-water shad chasers; birds and busting bait give them away. Schooling at first light over main-lake humps and channel edges. Slabs, tail spinners and live shad once you mark bait. It is usually over by mid-morning.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Good year-round

The most reliable bite on most southern waters. Blues run big; channels fill the cooler. Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: Nov-Mar

Brush piles, bridge pilings and standing timber. The fish fry favorite. Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

When to come: the Lake Allatoona calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Largemouth bass
Hybrid striped bass
Catfish (blue, channel)
Crappie
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 84 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~84 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Lake Allatoona today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Hybrid striped bass led the card at good. High of 97 F, wind to 11 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Hybrid striped bass led the card at good. High of 96 F, wind to 7 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Hybrid striped bass led the card at good. High of 94 F, wind to 5 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used to send you this water's report each week. No spam, ever.

Before you go

License

Georgia requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Black bass: 10 combined, largemouth 14-inch minimum (spots none). Striped/hybrid: 10 combined per day. Confirm with Georgia DNR.

Access

More than a dozen Corps ramps: Kellogg Creek, Payne, Victoria and Blockhouse are the busiest. Red Top Mountain State Park adds camping and bank access.

About this water

12,010 acres on the Etowah River, Bartow/Cherokee/Cobb counties, GA. Corps of Engineers, impounded 1950.

Fishing Lake Allatoona: the full guide

Small water, hard fighters

Allatoona floods 12,000 acres of the Etowah River northwest of Atlanta. It carries a reputation as the "Dead Sea" among bass snobs, and it is undeserved: the lake is wall-to-wall spotted bass, aggressive and abundant, plus a underrated lineup of hybrids, white bass, crappie and stripers. What it lacks in size it makes up in access and action.

Fishing the 'Toona way

Spots hold on rocky points, riprap and brush at 10-30 ft: shaky heads, drop shots and small crankbaits all day. Hybrids and whites school on the main lake at dawn from spring through fall: keep a slab rod ready. Winter drops everything onto steep bluff ends and ditches: a jerkbait and a jigging spoon cover the day. The Etowah and Little River arms add stained-water flipping when the main lake goes tough.

Timing the traffic

Allatoona may be the busiest lake per acre in Georgia: summer weekends are wake-boat water by 10 AM. The fishing answer: dawn patrol, weekdays, and the November-March window when the lake empties and the spots group up on structure like nowhere else.

Common questions

Is Allatoona really the "Dead Sea"?

The nickname is a joke that stuck: the lake holds one of Georgia's densest spotted bass populations. What it does not hold is many big largemouth: adjust expectations and it is a numbers paradise.

When can I fish without boat traffic?

November through March the lake is nearly empty and the spots school on structure: locals consider winter the real Allatoona season. In summer, be off the water by 10 AM on weekends.

Does Allatoona have stripers?

A modest but real population, plus heavily-stocked hybrids that fill the same dawn-schooling role. The dam area and lower lake points are the proven zones.

Is fishing good at Lake Allatoona right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.

Nearby waters

Chattahoochee River28 miLake Lanier32 miCarters Lake33 miToccoa River54 miBlue Ridge Lake55 miLake Oconee63 mi
Share your catch