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Lake Burton Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Lake Burton: a 2,775-acre Georgia Power lake near Clayton that holds Georgia's spotted bass record.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Water temp
~62 F est.
Air / High
66 / 66 F
Wind
ESE 3 mph

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

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 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 the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Lake Burton is in transition: bait on the move and predators following. Today brings clear skies, wind ESE around 3 mph, steady pressure near 1022 hPa and a high of 66. Water sits around 62 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 10:09 AM-12:09 PM and 10:37 PM-12:37 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Brown troutExcellent

Close to Vermont's 53-66Β°F optimum, browns feed more freely; in fall, pre-spawn fish move toward tributaries and gravel, so fish streamers and keep off the redds.

Largemouth bassGood

In spring, pre-spawn bass push shallow as the water climbs through the mid-50s; in fall they feed actively until the water cools into the low 50s, then drop back toward deeper structure.

Yellow perchGood

Spring and fall: perch hold shallower and, by Michigan DNR's account, feed through the day, so shoreline weed edges, flats and the shallows near spawning areas are worth searching.

Tomorrow: Similar at 64 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

Georgia requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $15.00 for residents. What a Georgia licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing largemouth bass here? Check the size and bag limits with GA DNR before you keep anything. The season dates for Georgia, read off the agency, are on the Georgia seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings.

No live gauge on this water

Conditions here are modeled from weather, season and the nearest stations. Water readings appear when a USGS gauge is available.

4050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~62 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp66 F
High / Low66 / 45 F
WindESE 3-5 mph
Pressure1022.3 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:46 / 18:49
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~62 F est.

Bite planner

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

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Lake Burton this week

The best day on Lake Burton this week looks like Saturday Oct 24, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Saturday, Oct 24 β€” good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
10:09 AM-12:09 PM and 10:37 PM-12:37 AM
Minor period
4:31 AM-5:31 AM
Sun
07:46 to 18:49
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Clear, 6 mph
Rain chance
0%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

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

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: the spring pre-spawn and the fall feed

A warm-water sunfish of lakes, reservoirs, ponds and slow river backwaters that holds tight to cover: weeds, logs, rock ledges and docks. In Texas, TPWD surveys rank it "by far" the freshwater fish anglers most want to catch. In spring, pre-spawn bass push shallow as the water climbs through the mid-50s; in fall they feed actively until the water cools into the low 50s, then drop back toward deeper structure.

Yellow perch illustration

Yellow perch

Caught all year, including under the ice through winter

Yellow perch are schooling panfish of the Great Lakes and northern lakes, and Michigan DNR calls them the game fish most often caught in that state. Spring and fall: perch hold shallower and, by Michigan DNR's account, feed through the day, so shoreline weed edges, flats and the shallows near spawning areas are worth searching.

Brown trout illustration

Brown trout

Spring along Great Lakes shorelines; low light and overcast days in rivers; fall spawning runs

A European trout first stocked in the US in 1883 and now fished in rivers and lakes nationwide; it tolerates warmer water than other trout, and mature stream fish feed mostly at night. Close to Vermont's 53-66Β°F optimum, browns feed more freely; in fall, pre-spawn fish move toward tributaries and gravel, so fish streamers and keep off the redds.

When to come: the Lake Burton 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
Yellow perch
Brown trout
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 62 F (estimated, not a reading).

4050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~62 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 Burton today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Brown trout led the card at excellent. High of 71 F, wind to 7 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Brown trout led the card at excellent. High of 71 F, wind to 7 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Brown trout led the card at excellent. High of 69 F, wind to 6 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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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

Georgia license. On Burton, largemouth have no minimum length (statewide is 12 inches) and spotted bass have none either; black bass 10 a day; trout 8 a day (Georgia rules updated August 27, 2026).

Access

Free: Moccasin Creek ramp (Hwy 197 N, by the trout hatchery and Moccasin Creek State Park) and Georgia Power's Murray Cove ramp. Fee: LaPrade's Marina and Timpson Cove Marina.

About this water

2,775-acre Georgia Power reservoir near Clayton, Rabun County, Georgia.

Fishing Lake Burton: the full guide

Georgia Power's mountain lake

Georgia DNR describes Lake Burton as a 2,775-acre reservoir near Clayton, managed by Georgia Power, with an excellent spotted bass fishery. The state record spotted bass, 8 pounds 2 ounces, came from Burton in February 2005 (Wayne Holland), and Burton shares the state yellow perch record of 2 pounds 9 ounces from February 2024.

Spotted and largemouth bass

DNR says Burton's spots usually top out around 6 pounds, with a few to 8. It calls February and March the prime months for big bass and April and May the time for numbers, with spots following blueback herring offshore in summer and into the coves in fall; Moccasin, Dicks and Timpson coves hold good numbers from October to December. Largemouth are more common in Murray, Perrin and Cherokee coves on the lower lake.

Brown trout

DNR restarted brown trout stocking in 2023, releasing catchable fish from a nearby state hatchery each fall. Recent stockers gather near the dam and the Murray Cove and Moccasin Creek ramps in October and November; in summer the trout go 30 to 60 feet deep over the river channel on the lower lake.

Launching

There are free ramps at Moccasin Creek, next to the Lake Burton Trout Hatchery and Moccasin Creek State Park on Highway 197 North, and at Georgia Power's Murray Cove ramp on Murray Cove Road. LaPrade's Marina on Highway 197 North and Timpson Cove Marina on Charlie Mountain Road launch boats for a fee.

Common questions

Did Georgia's record spotted bass come from Burton?

Yes. Wayne Holland's 8-pound 2-ounce spotted bass from Lake Burton in February 2005 is still the state record.

Is there a bass size limit on Burton?

No. Burton is one of the lakes where Georgia sets no minimum length for largemouth, and spotted bass have no minimum here.

Is Burton stocked with trout?

Yes. Georgia DNR resumed stocking catchable brown trout in the fall in 2023.

Is fishing good at Lake Burton 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 the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Lake Chatuge14 miChattooga River15 miChatuge Lake17 miLake Nottely28 miNantahala River28 miLake Hartwell31 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 34.8330, -83.5500 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 8, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 8, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.