Photo: Thomson200, public domain (CC0), via Wikimedia Commons
Allatoona is an 11,860-acre U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lake on the Etowah River, about 30 miles north of Atlanta. It is one of the busiest lakes in the Southeast, and it fishes better than its traffic suggests: huge numbers of Alabama bass, a growing crop of big largemouth, good hybrid fishing and record-breaking crappie in recent years.
- Size11,860 acres
- OperatorU.S. Army Corps of Engineers
- Best betsAlabama bass, hybrids, largemouth, crappie
- ContactsCorps 678-721-6700; Red Top Mountain SP 770-975-0055
Getting on the Water
Corps, state, county and city ramps ring the lake, and many Corps day-use areas and campgrounds charge launch or parking fees. Red Top Mountain State Park sits on a peninsula mid-lake.
Bank anglers have more than half a dozen public fishing jetties, most with Christmas-tree brush piles within casting range: Blockhouse, Galt’s Ferry, Proctor Landing, Bethany Bridge (brush refreshed January 2026) and Victoria Marina, plus the Payne Campground ramp area in Kellogg Creek. Good largemouth bank spots include below the Lake Acworth dam, the Payne day-use area and Cherokee Mills Park. Near the Corps project office, a bank fish attractor in Coopers Branch off the Ga. 20 spur was replenished in 2026.
2026 Fishing Outlook
Summarized from Georgia DNR fisheries biologists’ 2026 forecast for Lake Allatoona, based on their sampling.
| Species | Outlook | Where and how |
|---|---|---|
| Largemouth bass | Only about 11% of tournament bass but usually the big fish. DNR stocks Florida-strain fingerlings, and 7- to 9-pounders have become more common; 12 to 16 inches is typical. | Shallow coves and backwaters of the Little River, Etowah River and Allatoona Creek; new habitat in McKaskey Creek, Red Top and Clear Creek; more than 1,200 toppled shoreline trees, the newest in Kellogg Creek. Spinnerbaits, crankbaits, jigs, swimbaits, worms or live bait. |
| Alabama bass | 80 to 90% of the black bass, with numbers well above average in 2025. Average about 12 inches, and size should improve now that blueback herring and alewives are established. | Secondary points and pockets in spring; 75-plus deep fish attractors in summer (stay above the 25- to 30-foot oxygen line in August); schooling shad in creek mouths in fall; bluffs and chunk rock in winter. Shaky heads, drop shots, spoons, crankbaits and float-and-fly. |
| Hybrid bass | Stocked yearly and on the rise: lots of 16- to 18-inch (2 to 3 pound) fish, a few to 7 or 8 pounds. | The mile above and below Galt’s Ferry year-round; 20 to 30 feet in summer; south of Allatoona Pass and the Etowah flats in spring, with runs up the Etowah in April and May. Live shad on free lines or down lines, umbrella rigs, spoons and topwater over breaking fish. |
| Striped bass | Modest numbers, average in 2026. Big fish suffer after hot, dry years like late 2023. | Main lake from the dam to Little River in winter, tributary headwaters in early spring, the Etowah River in summer for big fish. Slow-troll live bait in the morning, umbrella rigs later; best October to June. |
| Catfish | Channels most common at 1.5 to 2 pounds (lake record 7 lb 9 oz, October 2025); flatheads usually 5 to 10 pounds; blues big enough to break the lake record twice in 2020. | Rocky banks of the Etowah arm, riprap at bridges and jetties, debris jams in the backs of coves; upper Etowah and Little River for blues. Livers, worms and dough baits for channels; big cut or live bait for blues and flatheads. |
| Bream | Bluegill average about 5 inches; redear are fewer but often over a pound. The lake-record shellcracker, 2.3 pounds, was caught in April 2024. | Bedding colonies in the backs of quiet coves in early to mid summer, redbreast in sandy, rocky coves near the main river; brush piles and points in winter. Crickets, worms, micro-jigs and small spinners. |
| Crappie | Average numbers, about 10 inches, with 1- to 2-pound slabs. Lake records for black crappie fell in 2021 and 2022, and for white crappie in 2022. | Jigs or minnows under a float set just above the school; troll or cast jigs to find fish. |
| White bass, carp and gar | White bass are declining. Carp run about 5 pounds and gar 3 to 4 feet; the lake-record gar weighed 27 lb 4 oz in 2023. | White bass run up the Etowah and Little River from mid-March (bank access at Olde Rope Mill Park in Woodstock). Dough bait or corn for carp on shallow flats; rope lures or live shad for gar. |
Lake Sturgeon: Release and Report
DNR has stocked lake sturgeon in Allatoona since late 2008 to restore this native fish to the upper Etowah. If you catch one, release it right away (cut the line if it’s hooked deep) and report the location to the DNR Armuchee office at 706-295-6102. Blueback herring are now established in the lake, and since January 2023 anglers may legally use and possess them here.
Lake Allatoona
Lake AllatoonaContact: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Allatoona Lake, 678-721-6700. Red Top Mountain State Park, 770-975-0055. DNR Law Enforcement, 770-529-2424.
More nearby: Allatoona Lake overview, the lower Etowah River, Carters Lake and all Georgia lakes.
Not just fishing? See our guide to things to do at Lake Allatoona.
Sources we checked
Facts in this guide were checked against the agencies and operators that run these places:
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