ALLATOONA LAKE
Striped bass are a coolwater fish, so it stands to reason that autumn's a great time to catch these hard-pulling saltwater transplants. Peach State anglers are fortunate to have some of the best striped bass fishing in the Southeast right at their back door. Although the linesides are stocked in many Georgia reservoirs, Allatoona Lake north of Atlanta is one of the Peach State's best striped bass fisheries.

At Allatoona, a 12,010-acre U.S. Army Corps of Engineers impoundment on the Etowah River completed in 1950, striped bass are highly mobile, being a pelagic species that stays on the move to follow the bait. A lake like Allatoona is large enough to give them plenty of places to go, but anglers have discovered a few favorites.

Local anglers Ellis and Danny Leigh, who fish the lake regularly, have developed some techniques for catching Allatoona stripers even without a boat. Both of these fishermen have caught Allatoona stripers weighing more than 20 pounds, with Ellis having landed a fish hitting the 35-pound mark -- a big lineside no matter where you go.

When asked what it takes for a newcomer to catch Allatoona stripers, Danny's reply was surprising. "Sometimes the hardest thing is catching the bait. We can usually catch shad up near Little River, or at the Highway 92 spillway."

"Getting good bait is half the battle," Ellis added.

"You don't have to have a boat to catch stripers on Allatoona," Danny continued, "The 35-pound fish I caught came off the bank. What we do is fish cut bait on bottom around points near the dam. The area between Bethany Bridge and the dam is really good.

"A heavy-duty rod, a large reel with a bait clicker, some shad for cut bait, and patience is all you need. Since you are talking big fish here, you want to go with at least 20-pound-test line, a heavy hook, and a 1-ounce sinker to hold the bait where you want it.

"The key is to pick a good point," Ellis added. "You want your bait in 15 to 20 feet of water. Once you have your spot, set out several rods in holders scattered around the end of the point; then just wait for the bait-clickers to signal when a striper has picked up the bait and is running with it. On a striper bite, there will be no mistaking it: The bait clicker will just scream out a song. A bite from a catfish, hybrid or spotted bass is not nearly as fast."

If you've never caught a striped bass, you're missing some of the best the fishing world has to offer. If any fish species found in fresh water can rival a striper for pure fighting spirit, it has yet to be discovered. Stripers have it all: strength, speed, stamina.

The great thing about soaking bait for Allatoona stripers is that you never know what you're going to catch. The lake has some monster catfish, and they find shad just as tasty as stripers do. Hybrids and spotted bass also will fall prey to a piece of bait fished on bottom.

Allatoona Lake is an easy drive from Atlanta up Interstate 75. The lake has numerous public access areas. Consult a lake map for an access area on the main body of the lake with a good point leading out into deep water. Collect some bait, set up shop and wait for the action to start.

Stripers are in their element when it's cold and nasty -- doesn't bother them a bit. In fact, it seems makes them mean and hungry. That quality makes striped bass a great choice for fishing late in the season, when the first days of winter have arrived.

This fall, don't let the best fishing of the year pass by unheralded. Autumn's a great time to be on the water all across the state. Smallmouths in mountains, striped bass in the Piedmont, bull redfish on the Georgia coast: Whatever the fish, the coming of fall signals to them that the seasons are changing and it's time to be reborn again -- to rouse themselves from sulking through the summer doldrums and to resume their roles as insatiable predators constantly on the hunt for prey.