Georgia’s Best Spotted Bass Waters
Seeing spots before your eyes is usually a bad thing, but when it comes to fishing it is a mixed blessing here in Georgia. Spotted bass fight hard and are fun to catch and eat, but in most Georgia lakes they create problems for the largemouth population.
Spotted bass are a subspecies of black bass, first cousin to the largemouth. If you compare the two, the spotted bass has a smaller mouth, with the back of the mouth not extending past the eye when closed. Largemouth mouths will extend past the eye.
Spots have a “tooth” patch on the tongue that largemouth usually do not have. This rough patch is visible as a dark spot on the tongue and you can feel it with your finger. This rough patch is normally used to determine if a bass is a spot in tournaments.
You can see definite rows of black spots on the lower sides of the spot that are not present in largemouth. The dorsal fins are clearly connected in spots while largemouths have a definite separation of the two fins.
Spots are not native to Georgia waters except for a few streams in extreme North West Georgia that eventually lead to the Mississippi River drainage. But they are now in almost all our lakes thanks to well intentioned but misguided fishermen doing “midnight stocking” by releasing them illegally.
Since they are more aggressive than largemouth spotted bass are easier to catch under adverse conditions like cold fronts and during the winter. But that also creates problems since they out-compete largemouth for food and can take over a lake, becoming the major black bass species in a lake. They don’t grow as fast or as big as largemouth so they can severely limit the numbers of quality fish over five pounds available to fishermen in a body of water.
To show the how they spread and become prolific, and harm a lake, the Georgia Bass Chapter Federation Creel Census provides good data. My clubs fish Jackson Lake several times each year and I have been fishing with the clubs since 1974.
In the 1970s and 80s it was an unusual tournament when we didn’t have a six pound largemouth weighed in during winter tournaments. I caught my first two eight pound largemouth at Jackson in the 1970s and my biggest ever, a nine pound, seven ounce fish, was caught in Jackson at a 1991 February club tournament.
In one tournament in the early 80s I had a eight pound four ounce largemouth that was third biggest bass. In another club tournament about that time I had a seven pound eight ounce largemouth that was fourth biggest fish.
But in the early 1990s we saw our first spot weighed in at a club tournament. Before that every fish we caught was a largemouth. In the 2012 Creel Census Report half the fish caught in club tournaments were spots. And that is probably skewed toward more largemouths since spots are often culled for a largemouth.
In our club tournaments there have been only two bass over seven pounds weighed in during the past 20 years. And both clubs still fish Jackson at least twice a year. Now big fish is usually a spot weighing less than three pounds.
But spots are here to stay, no matter how they got in our lakes. Fishermen might as well enjoy catching them and not feel guilty about keeping them for the frying pan. That is why there are no size limits on spots in almost all of our lakes. Keeping them to eat is a good thing for the lake.
Spots usually like smaller baits than you would use for largemouth. So use a four inch Finesse worm on jig heads and Carolina rigs rather than a six inch worm. Try three sixteenths to one quarter ounce jig and pigs rather than half ounce ones. And try smaller topwater plugs and crankbaits. A Pop R will usually catch more spots than a Zara Spook unless fishing for bigger spots.
The following lakes have big populations of spots and you can catch them now on them.
Lake Lanier
Lake Lanier is known nationally as an excellent spotted bass fishery for a good reason. It is perfect habitat for them with clear water, rocky shorelines and deep cover. In club tournaments, 89 percent of bass are spots. Spots have been in Lanier almost since it was dammed but they were small until blueback herring were introduced into the lake.
The bluebacks have made the spots in Lanier grow big but Lanier but they create problems, too. Lanier is not the typical Georgia lake and just a few others in north Georgia are similar. So the same results when spots and bluebacks are introduced together won’t happen in most cases.
Spots are so important in Lanier that it is our only lake with a minimum size limit on them. All black bass at Lanier have to be at least 14 inches long to keep. There is no size limit on spots on any other lake. Due to the unusual conditions at Lanier, five pound spots are common and seven pounders are caught every year.
In the early spring you can sight fish for big spots at Lanier, and they are easier to catch off the bed than a largemouth. Look for bedding spots in protected pockets with rock and gravel bottoms. Spots bed deeper than largemouth so focus on water three to six feet deep.
After the bass spawn is a fantastic time to fish Lanier. Spots move out to blowthroughs – gaps between islands and between islands and the shoreline – and feed on everything that comes near. When the blueback herring spawn in those places, usually in May, the fishing can be incredible.
Fish topwater baits like Zara Spooks and poppers, and also spinnerbaits and crankbaits early in the morning. Watch for swirls on top and cast to them immediately. After the sun gets bright back off a little in the same places and fish a jig head worm or Carolina rig with a small worm, raking the bottom to find waiting spots.
Even after the sun gets high try topwater and soft jerk baits over brush piles. As the water warms later in spring back off and fish brush piles with topwater plugs and dropshot worms in deeper and deeper water.
Lake Allatoona
Allatoona shows the other side of the spot story. The lake is crowded with small spots and you can catch a lot, but you will seldom catch one over three pounds. And it is hard to catch many largemouth in the lake. In club tournaments last year no bass over five pounds were reported.
The best way to catch numbers of spots on Allatoona is to fish rocky bluff banks with jig head worms, small jig and pigs, jerkbaits, small crankbaits and topwater baits. Fish the outside bends of the river channels where rocks drop almost straight down to 20 feet deep.
Fish from a couple of feet deep down to 25 feet deep, but concentrate on the six to 15 foot range. Browns and greens are usually the best color for worms and jigs. A crankbait with some chartreuse in it is good.
To catch quality spots try a big hard or soft swimbait. Fish it over brush piles in 6 to 20 feet of water. You will have to make a lot of casts to get a bite but if you hook a spot on a ten inch swim bait it will probably be a good one.
Lake Burton
Another north Georgia lake that has the right conditions combining blueback herring and spots is Burton. It produced the state record eight pound two ounce monster in 2005 and it has a lot of quality fish in it. Five pound spots are fairly common.
Like Lanier, the clear water in Burton makes sight fishing for bedding spots good. They will bed as deep as nine feet so it can be difficult to spot them but worth the effort. Drop a small jig and pig or jig head worm in the bed and let it sit until the spot can’t stand it and eats it.
After the spawn follow the blueback herring schools to spawning areas on gravel points and humps. Fish topwater baits, soft jerk baits, spinnerbaits and crankbaits where the bottom rises to a few feet deep.
When the herring spawn is over target brush piles in 15 to 25 feet of water and blowdowns on steep banks. Fish dropshot worms, a jig and pig and jig head worms in and around the brush. But don’t hesitate to throw a big topwater plug over the brush for explosive bites.
Carters Lake
Carters Lake rivals Lanier for numbers of big spots. It regularly produces five pounders and some say the next world record is swimming in its waters. It has herring but one of the key baitfish in Carters is alewives, one of the few lakes in Georgia with this baitfish.
Louie Bartenfield guides on Carters and is well known for catching big spots there. He often fishes deeper than most bass fishermen realize and catches spots as deep as 50 feet deep. Alewives tend to school deep so he targets them and drops a spoon or drop shot worm to the bass holding around them.
Topwater lures, swim baits and jerkbaits are good before and after the spawn, too. Fish humps and deep banks and points. During the spawn look for bedding fish. There are also herring in Carters so watch for blowthrows when those baitfish spawn.
After the spawns are over look for fish in deep water on humps, in standing timber and on points that run out to very deep water. Any drop on a point or hump will attract the spots so fish them, casting to more shallow water and working a jig and pig or jig head worm across and down the drop.
West Point
Further south West Point is quickly becoming overcrowded with spots. Once known as a quality largemouth fishery, now you are more likely to catch a dozen one-pound spots than a three pound largemouth. In club tournaments, 63 percent of bass are spots and the average size is 1.58 pounds.
In the spring topwater plugs will catch a lot of fish on shallow gravel points. During the shad spawn topwater and spinnerbaits fished on riprap draw many strikes. Gravel humps and points are good year round.
Spots love rocks and a jig head worm or small jig and pig fished on any rocks on the lake will catch spots. The best fishing is on the main lake, from the junction of the Chattahoochee River and Yellowjacket Creek to the dam.
Fish points near the mouths of creeks and smaller pockets back to the secondary points half way back in them. Also try main lake points and humps that have gravel or rocks on them. Until it gets hot in the summer target water from six to 15 feet deep.
Jackson Lake
As mentioned, Jackson has become overcrowded with spotted bass. Its rocky shorelines offer them perfect habitat and they have thrived as the water has become clearer and less fertile over the past 20 years.
Bedding spots are harder to find at Jackson but you can catch them. Look for beds in gravel coves and protected areas from three to six feet deep. The lower lake near the dam and Tussahaw Creek usually have the clearest water making it easier to find them there.
After the spawn fish rocky points and banks with smaller baits. Poppers like the Rebel Pop-R work well for them. Also try jig head worms and a small jig and pig in the same areas. If the water is clear stick with browns and greens like green pumpkin and watermelon. In stained water try Junebug and black and blue.
Lake Russell
Russell is our newest lake and is full of spots, thanks to stocking by fishermen. There are some quality spots but most will weigh about a pound, so try your smaller baits for them.
Beaverdam Creek and the lower main lake are excellent for spots. And places to fish are easy to find. Channels are marked by big poles and most are on the ends of shallow points and humps. Fishermen have put brush on most of them and many are rocky. Spots love them.
Fish topwater baits around the poles then probe the bottom for the rocks and brush with a jig head worm or small jig and pig. The water is usually clear so stick with browns and greens. Fish shallow, in water from three to ten feet deep, early in the spring then work deeper and deeper as the water warms.
Many coves and small creeks on Russell have standing timber in them that hold spots and they bed on the banks in those places. Go into the smaller creeks and fish near the backs of the deeper ditches and pockets in them that have gravel or rock bottom.
Tie on your smaller baits and head to Allatoona, West Point, Russell or Jackson to catch a lot of spots. For quality fish use bigger baits on Lanier, Carters and Burton. Keep spots, even those shorter than 12 inches, everywhere but Lanier for the frying pan. They taste great and you will help the lake.