Lake Allatoona Blockhouse and Other Great Fishing Locations

If you live on the north western side of Atlanta and like to fish it is likely that you have heard of Lake Allatoona. One of the more popular fishing locations is the Blockhouse Day Use area.

This park located on Allatoona lake is managed by the US Army Corp of Engineers. It features bathrooms, a fishing jetty, boat ramp and is open year round. 

The blockhouse ramp is located at 36 Sandtown Road, SE, Cartersville, GA  30121 and during busier summer days can fill up and close so make sure you get there early if you plan on putting a boat in. 

(If on the water the GPS Coordinates of the Blockhouse Ramp are N 34 05 20.7   W 84 42 59.4)

Even if the Blockhouse ramp area has filled up, don’t let that discourage you. Lake Allatoona features 15 boat ramps in total and 8 marinas.

Now onto Fishing at the Allatoona Blockhouse

Lake Allatoona supports a variety of fish and it is not uncommon to see Largemouth, Spotted, White, Striped and Hybrid Bass along with Crappie, Bream, Bluegill and other sunfish. Catfish in the area include, channel cats, blue cats and brown cats in addition you can find Carp and even Gar on rare occasions. 

With that in mind you might be wondering how to go about fishing the lake.

Starting with fishing from a boat I’ll give some areas to head and check out.

Boat Fishing Allatoona from Blockhouse Ramp

Given their preference for slightly different areas I will break this down by species.

Largemouth Bass in Lake Allatoona

Largemouth tend to be somewhat lazier feeders than some of their brethren bass. Due to this look for them hanging out close to fallen trees, logs and rock jetties where they can conceal themselves and wait for prey. Oftentimes sunfish and shad can be found in these same areas and the Largemouth bass will be laying in wait for them. 

Focus your efforts on the coves and inlets of the Allatoona Creek, Etowah River and Little River. 

Hybrid Bass spots in Lake Allatoona

Hybrid bass are a bit more aggressive than their largemouth brothers, they can be found nearly anywhere in the main lake and will often be found around schools of shad. 

Due to their wide ranges you can target Hybrids in slightly different locations depending on the time of year. 

Early spring is likely to have large numbers of Hybrid bass in the southern park of Lake Allatoona with the biggest catches occurring in April and May. You can also find Hybrids in the Etowah River north of Allatoona during this time as well for spawning runs. 

In the middle of summer when it is the hottest look for the fish in nearly any location where they can hide at a 20 to 30 ft depth range.

Winter tends to be a bit variable depending on the water levels, but seek out those deeper parts of the lake.

Galts Ferry boat ramp tends to be a great spot no matter what time of the year it is, and blockhouse boat ramp is not far behind. 

Spotted Bass Locations in Lake Allatoona

Spotted bass like deeper waters and tend to remain there year round. They tend to only come into the shallower waters during spawning which typically occurs around the April to May time frame. 

During summer heat waves target the deeper water inside of coves out of the main flow of the lake. You can also try the fish attractants installed by the DNR over the last decade or so. A map of these is included down below.

In the fall the Spotted bass follow the schooling shad into creek mouths. After feeding on shad the spots head back into deeper water for the winter. Target steep channels and rocky shores during this time. 

Striped Bass Tend to Be Boat Only in Lake Allatoona

Stripers will head for the upper parts of the lake near the Etowah River for their spawning season. As the summer temperatures rise the larger stripes will head up into the Etowah River where the waters tend to be a bit cooler. Small stripes can still be found all throughout the lake during this time.

When the temperatures begin dropping back down in the fall and into the winter the stripes will act very similar to Spotted Bass and congregate in areas with large schools of Shad. Mainly near the entrances to small creek mouths. 

Finally in the winter months Striped Bass will congregate near the dam and up to the Little River.

Catfishing On Allatoona

Catfishing on Allatoona is much the same as anywhere else. They tend to prefer the rip racked banks around bridges, and the fishing piers. They will also head into the back of coves where fallen trees and debris still exist and finally the larger fish will hold on the edges of deeper river channels within the lake bed. 

The catfish tend to remain in these areas throughout the year unless water levels force them to move. Try around the dam, blockblock house jetty, and the point where the Etowah River or Little River enter into the lake.

Bream, Crappie, Bluegills in Lake Allatoona

As in most places, bream and blue gills will migrate towards shallower water of coves. Often you can see their spawning nests in these shallow waters. As winter causes lake temps to drop, Bream and Bluegill will head to progressively deeper waters. With that in mind try several depths and move towards the center of coves or cover such as docks and channel ledges. 

Crappie tend to prefer mid depth ranges of around 5 to 8 feet in summer and winter, though they will come up to shallow water to spawn in the spring. During these times you can look for them in slower waters of coves and along the crooks of rivers where the current is slower.

Bream, Crappie and Bluegill can be found throughout the lake and there is no perfect spot for them. Though I have had great luck with crappie along the Kellogg Sixes and Tanyard Creeks during their spawning season and during the winter.

They will also tend to gather at the various fish attractors scattered around the lake in warmer months.

Bank Fishing at Lake Allatoona, It Doesn’t Have to be a Waste of Time

Oftentimes, many anglers will avoid fishing in larger lakes if their only option is to fish from the bank. However, with a knowledge of the water you can still catch plenty of fish in these larger waters. Let’s look into some tips to help improve your odds. 

Allatoona Bank Fishing for Largemouth Bass

While the habits remain much the same, there are some locations in which you can improve your odds by focusing on areas you can reach from the shore.

With that in mind, the area just below the Lake Acworth Dam, Payne Day Use Area, Blockhouse Fishing Jetty and Cherokee County park all provide excellent locations to give it a try. 

Using a decent spinner bait, work the areas just off of the rocks or along the brush piles near the shore. If that fails then perhaps try rigging with a small shad to entice that bigmouth into coming out.

White Bass Fishing Allatoona

White bass tend to be a bit smaller than the other bass, however they put up a heck of a fight. You can luck up on these feisty fish during the spawn run by fishing Olde Rope Mill Park on the Little River. After that they will head into the deeper waters of the lake and may be difficult to find. 

Hybrid Bass from the Bank at Allatoona Lake

The Etowah River provided your best chance of catching Hybrids near Lake Allatoona. This is especially the case in April and May when they run into the lower reaches of the river. Fields Landing and the Sweetwater Day Use area both make good spots for this.

Bank fishing for Spotted Bass at Allatoona

Spotted bass are found in abundance in Lake Allatoona and because of this shore anglers are likely to encounter them in just about any part of the lake. 

Nearly all of the public fishing jetties have intentional brush piles deployed around them and make great places for Spotted Bass. If you choose to head to a less popular spot then seek areas with downed trees in the water.

Bank Fishing Catfish on Allatoona Lake

Bank fishing for catfish is one of my favorite nighttime activities. The area above and below Allatoona Dam and Acworth Lake dam both provide excellent catfishing. You can also fish in the various channels. This makes the Blockhouse Day Use area a great option for catfishing. 

Rig for a slip sinker at least 2 to 3 feet from the end of your line and bait with anything from chicken liver to shrimp and toss towards the far bank letting it settle to the bottom and fish with a taut line. 

Crappie and Bream

Both of these fish abound and you can easily catch them from the banks during the spring and early summer. Bream remain reachable from the shoreline as they tend to only move to the middle of their coves and will be around 5 or 6 feet deep.

Crappie on the other hand will head to deeper waters during the summer; However, they can still be found from the shore by selecting areas with steep drop offs such as channels and narrow parts of the lake. Night fishing with a light and light tackle near the bridges and docks can also yield great results for crappie during the summer months. 

Cherokee County park, Payne Day Use Area, Blockhouse and Proctor Park all provide good crappie and bream fishing opportunities. 

Additional Fish Species found in Lake Allatoona

As mentioned earlier Lake Allatoona also features Carp, Gar and even Lake Sturgeons. Both Carp and Gar can be taken and are generally found in shallow flats.

However, Lake Sturgeons are being reintroduced to the area and it is currently illegal to keep one. They should be released as soon as possible to avoid harming them.

Check for Limits and Restrictions Georgia Fishing Regulations

Blockhouse Specific Fishing Instructions

Fishing from the Blockhouse Jetty can yield some decent catches. For bream, crappie and bass I would focus on the left side of the jetty. Bream and crappie can be found along the shoreline all around the small cove there. 

If you want to weed Bream out of the mix try fishing for crappie using Minnows. A size 2 to 4 hook is perfect for this and will prevent some of the smaller bream from biting your line.

For bass I tend to have better luck going to the end of the jetty and if alone fishing the edge of the jetty from the road towards me. If others are there and I have to worry about their lines then I use a bait caster and cast along the bank on the other side of the little cove. From the end of the jetty you can actually reach the face of that bank.

Fishing for catfish I prefer the right side where I use a slip weight and fish from the bottom using chicken livers. I have found the blood on the livers cause the scent to carry in the current there and I have had good luck catching channel cats. 

Link to the Maps of Fishing Attractants and Fishing Notes

For your convenience I am including a link to the Georgia Wildlife Divisions Fishing Forecast which includes a map of all of the fish attractants put in place by the DNR and when they were installed. 

If fishing from a boat I prefer those locations that are 2 or 3 years old. You can find these newer ones based on their numbers. The higher numbers are the most recently installed attractants. But don’t let that discourage you from the older sites, some of those are PVC and are still intact. 

Georgia Wildlife Division Fishing Map for Allatoona Lake

Conclusion

Hopefully you have found some useful information here and you can use it to hit the lake and catch a few fish. In the meantime make sure to check out some of our other articles. 

So in conclusion; Whether fishing for catfish, bass, bream or crappie Cherokee County park, Payne Day Use Area, Blockhouse and Proctor Park all provide excellent fishing opportunities on Allatoona Lake and the Upper Etowah River.