October Allatoona Bass
with Brian Cox
October is a great month to go bass fishing anywhere in our state. But mention Lake Allatoona and most fishermen will give you a strange look and ask why go to the “Dead Sea.” That misconception about Allatoona keeps many from enjoying the great fishing there.
Allatoona gets crowded since it is just outside Atlanta. On the weekends in the summer pleasure boaters make it hard to fish during the day. But right now the lake is not nearly as crowded and the spots are biting. Largemouth can be caught this month, too.
Brian Cox grew up in Woodstock and his father and grandfather taught him to fish. He got the bass fishing bug at 12 years old and started fishing Allatoona when he was 15. He now lives near the lake, guides on Allatoona and fishes several tournament trails and pot tournaments on the lake.
Three years ago Brian was won the point standings for Angler of the Year in the ABA trail, winning about ten tournaments that year. He also fishes the Bulldog BFL and AFT tournaments and does well in them. For the past year he has taken some time off from tournament fishing to spend more time with his kids but is getting back into it now
Kids are important to Brian. He loves taking them out on trips and seeing their delight in catching fish. He hopes to start a fishing camp for kids, where they will go for a day camp or for a multi-day camp and learn about fishing.
“October is great on Allatoona,” Brian said. The bass are moving more shallow and feeding, and you can catch them on a lot of patterns and baits. Brian’s favorites include a buzzbait, Zara Spook, crankbait, Fluke, jig and pig and jig head worm. With those baits you can cover any condition any day in October.
Rocks, from pea gravel to chunk rocks are a key, and brush piles and blowdowns increase your odds that bass will be feeding on a spot. Wind makes a big difference and it helps all kinds of places, but clay banks can also be good when the wind is blowing in on them. Points and banks in the mid lake area are where he concentrates his time.
Brian took me to Allatoona in early September to show me the following ten spots and how he catches bass on them. The fish were just starting to hit on some of them but by now all will hold bass.
1. N 34 08.088 – W 84 40.365 – Bass follow the shad and the shad move into creeks and cuts during October, especially later in the month. A good place to check for shallow bass is in the back of the creek just downstream of the Bartow-Carver Camp ramp. This creek goes back and splits into several fingers. Brian likes the one to the right going into the creek.
There are many trees in the water cut by the Alltaoona Tree Cutting Project and by fishermen back in this creek. Brian starts near the mouth of the fork and works all the way around it. He fishes an Albino Shad Zoom Fluke over the trees and along the bank in here. You can keep your boat near the middle of the cut and fish all the wood in the water.
After working the wood with a Fluke, Brian will follow up with a shaky head worm. He likes a one quarter ounce head with a green pumpkin Finesse worm on it. A jig and pig will also catch fish in the trees. Dip the tails of the jig trailer and the Finesse worm in chartreuse JJ’s Magic to make the fish bite better. Spots seem to love a flash of chartreuse.
If you see shad on the surface or balls of them on your depthfinder fish the area slowly and carefully. Brian says this time of year find the shad and you will find the bass, so if baitfish are present the bass will be, too.
2. 34 08.415 – W 84 40.116 – Come out of the creek and stop on the downstream point of the second pocket below the ramp. This bank is shady in the morning and Brian says it is a great place to throw a buzzbait. He will start at the point and work all the way down the bank to the back of the pocket.
For some reason the fish here will put their nose right on the bank so Brian casts so his Strike King white one half ounce buzzbait hits on the bank. He pulls it off the bank without a splash and is ready for a bite as soon as it gets in the water.
If wind is blowing in on this bank it is even better. Some chop on the water really helps the bite anywhere you are fishing on Allatoona. Also keep a watch or surface activity here and be ready to throw a Spook or Sammy to them.
3. N 34 09.512 – W 84 39.881 – Another good bank for topwater and a jig and pig or jig head worm is in Illinois Creek. Go past the buoy at the bend and watch the right bank past it. There are big rocks on this bank and it drops off fast, and bass hold on it and feed on passing shad.
There are some key spots along this bank where big boulders are under the water. Keep your boat out in 30 feet of water and work the jig and pig or jig head worm from the edge all the way out to the boat. When you see or hit the big rocks with your bait out in 15 to 20 feet of water fish that spot carefully.
Fish a topwater bait along this bank, too. With all your baits cast at an angle ahead of the boat. The bank is so steep you will be fairly close to the shore even in 30 feet of water so cast to the bank ahead of the boat and work your bait back at an angle to hit the big boulders.
4. N 34 07.848 – W 84 39.712 – Run up to the Atlanta Yacht Club and go into the creek on the downstream side of it. Go all the way to the split in the back and fish the right side split of it. Start near the point and keep your boat out in the middle of the cove and cast to the bank. There are stumps, brush and rocks back in here that hold the bass.
A jig or jig head worm works well but this is a good crankbait area, too. Brian likes a chartreuse and brown crankbait that will hit the bottom when fishing this area. Fish all your baits all the way to the middle of the creek and make some casts ahead of the boat to cover the channel, too.
5. N 34 08.431 – W 84 38.211 – Running up the river, channel maker 19.5 will be on a point on your left. There are several pockets along this bank across from Gault’s Ferry ramp but Brian likes to fish the upstream point of the second one upstream of the channel marker.
It is ideal, with deep water just off it and clay and rocks on the bank and a blowdown you can see half way into the cove. There are also some trees and brush out from the bank underwater that hold bass.
Start with a buzzbait or Spook casts to the bank and worked out, then go back over the area with your crankbait. Fish over the tip of the blowdown you see and try to find the hidden brush. You can also probe the brush with a jig and pig or jig head worm.
Brian says there are three kinds of rock that hold fish right now. Pea gravel is good, especially when wind is blowing on it. Chunk rocks the size of softballs are good as are boulders. Banks like this one where there is a transition from one kind of rock to another is even better. Fish the edge of the rock change hard.
6. N 34 07.595 – W 84 38.053 – Across the river and upstream is Harbor Town Marina. In a cove just upstream of it is a youth camp with a dock on the downstream side. The point across from the dock is a good one, with clay, rock and a few boulders on it. There are also some blowdowns on the downstream bank..
Start on the point and fish topwater, crankbaits and jigs from the point about half way into the cove. You will be fishing the bank across from the dock. The transition areas are key places and you want to make sure shad are in the area. Also keep an eye out for surface activity.
Work the tips of the blowdowns, too. Try topwater and crankbaits over them then probe them with jigs and jig head worms. Try to hit the ends of the limbs and raise your bait up and let it fall back several times, and jiggle your rod tip to make the bait dance.
7. N 34 08.179 – W 84 38.146 – Just upstream from #5 the river makes a big bend and a huge flat runs out from the left bank going upstream. The flat has small islands on it and some danger markers. If you idle parallel to the flat near the channel, out from the shoal marker near the willow tree on an island just underwater, you will cross a point running off the flat downstream.
This point has pea gravel and other rock on it. The point runs out 30 to 40 yards and drops off into very deep water. It is ideal since it comes out of deep water and leads to a good feeding flat. And there is usually some wind here.
Keep your boat out in 25 to 30 feet of water and make long casts across the point with jigs and worms. Work the bait up one side, across the top and down the other side. If this doesn’t work, cast your jig so it falls straight down on top of the point. Brian says those two methods, working your bait to and through cover or letting it fall straight down into it, are both good.
8. N 34 08.412 – W 84 37.574 – Above the channel bend there is a huge flat off the left bank going upstream. A key area on this flat is a ditch that comes out of a small cove near a danger marker on top of a hump way across the river from channel marker 22 E. The ditch runs out to the river and offers the bass a perfect path.
When wind is blowing across this flat Brian will fan cast it with a crankbait, staying out inabout 15 feet of water. You can catch fish from the danger marker all the way back to #7 working it with a crankbait. Make long casts and try to hit bottom as much as you can with your bait.
Also keep a topwater ready. Brian says fish school up in this area a lot. If you have your Spook or Sammy ready and hit where they are breaking you will catch fish. Some may be hybrids but bass school up here all over this flat.
9. N 34 08.025 – W 84 37.323 – Across the river a big clay bluff point sits on the upstream side of Kellog Creek. There are laydowns and boulders on it as well as clay. Channel marker 22 E sits on the point and it is an excellent one to fish this time of year.
Brian keeps his boat in about 15 feet of water on the downstream side of the point and casts across it with a jig and pig. Most of the boulders are on the upstream side of the point so casting past them and working back through them moves the bait in a natural way. Also fish the blowdowns on the point.
10. N 34 07.948 – W 84 36.843 – Go into Kellog Creek and watch for a big block rock seawall on your left past the first couple of coves. It is just upstream of a house with a huge catfish replica on the roof of the garage. The seawall point holds a lot of big spots and Brian says he has caught several four pounders here.
Start with topwater here and fish all the way around the point to the next small cove. Work it carefully and give the big fish time to chase down your bait. You can also probe it with a jig and pig or jig head worm, or run a crankbait on it.
All these places are great right now throughout October. Try Brian’s favorite baits and your own, and you can find similar places to fish these patterns, too.
To see first-hand how Brian fishes Alltoona call him at and check his website at 770-855-7388 http://www.metroatlantafishing.com/ for more info.