The several public access areas scattered around the lake, including sites near the dam and at Morganton Point, make it easy to find somewhere to go catfishing. Lake Chatuge

A little farther east in the mountains is Lake Chatuge, which offers some decent possibilities. About half of the lake, a 7,050-acre TVA reservoir in Towns County, spills across the state line into North Carolina.

Chatuge supports a respectable population of channel catfish, and although the lake’s not known for big cats, anglers should find plenty of action from smaller fish. Bank access is good. Areas you might want to try out: Towns County Park at the Georgia Mountain Fairgrounds; the county park at the U.S. Highway 76 crossing east of Hiawassee; and the U.S. Forest Service’s Lake Chatuge Recreation Area on SR 288. Allatoona Lake

Another choice for North Georgia catfishing is Allatoona Lake, near Cartersville. This 11,860-acre U.S. Army Corps of Engineers impoundment on the Etowah River boasts numerous channel and flathead catfish.

Channel cats can be caught all over the lake, but areas near submerged channels hold the most and biggest fish. Chicken livers, stink bait or a gob of night crawlers will all prove good choices for catching a mess of fiddler-sized catfish.

Allatoona flatheads are a little more challenging, but the species receives almost no fishing pressure, so you should have them to yourself. Focus on presenting live bait near the channel ledges, main-lake points and other offshore structure in the vicinity of which flathead catfish like to loaf.

Assuming that you’ve found the right spot, a small sunfish or shad anchored near bottom with a heavy slip-sinker rig should eventually get some results -- if, that is, the angler’s willing to wait the fish out.

Another workable tactic: Drift or use a trolling motor to move very slowly along a depth break or other offshore feature and downline your baits so that they stay just off bottom. This tactic is a savvy way of evaluating a large structural feature and keying in on the few small areas that hold the most fish.

Public access to Allatoona Lake is excellent, numerous day-use areas and boat launches being present.