3 Weeks Near Atl. Georgia, Bass Fishing From Shore Or A Kayak, Any Suggestions On Where To Fish?

[jignjake]

Hello all, I'm a new member to the site. I will be near Atlanta, Georgia for 3 weeks starting January 26th and I'm an avid bass fisherman from Indiana wanting to take advantage of the warmer temperatures down in Georgia while I'm visiting. I generally fish from my 10ft. fishing kayak and I plan on bringing it down with me to explore the great bass fishing opportunities of Georgia. Any tips as far as public waters, tackle tips, presentations or just general conversation about bass fishing is much appreciated. And also I'm a little concerned about alligators while fishing from my kayak. Wedon't have those critters up in Indiana. LOL

[FloridaFishinFool]

You should not have a problem with any gators in or near Atlanta. If any make it that far north, usually it means someone had one as a pet and let it go there. I just read 2 stories about this same thing from 2007 and 2013. Gators are a rare site in Atlanta:

 

"Adam Hammond, a biologist with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, told CNN that alligators are almost never seen in Atlanta."

 

"Tim Bemisderfer of the National Park Service says it's very rare for an alligator to travel to metro Atlanta. He believes someone released the cold-blooded animal into the wild after it outgrew its home.

"Almost a certainty that he was released as a pet and just has found a way to survive," Bemisderfer said.

 

 

And this time of year gators seek warm waters. To me, Atlanta is like going to New York. It is up north- way up north. Too cold!

 

I hear Lake Lanier has some nice stripers! Those are always a fun time this time of year. Bass fishing may be slower- much slower, but generally some of the same techniques used for bass will also catch stripers. Good luck and tell us how you did way down there... in the northern South!

[buzzed bait]

You won't see any gators man.  Where exactly in atlanta are you staying, that will help set you up in the right direction.  how far are you willing to drive?  do you prefer river, reservoir or big lake?

[jignjake]

Thanks FloridaFishinFool, what a relief to know there shouldn't be many if any gators on my trip. You think Atlantas' cold?  LOL

It's 19 degrees outside right now. Very much looking forward to getting some fishing in which normally is impossible at this time of the year in Indiana. 

Thanks and send some sunshine this way!

[jignjake]

buzzed bait

 

AllI know right now is that its outside of Atlanta, I wanna say southwest of ATL? I will have more details in a week.I have weekends free but wouldnt wanna drive more than an hour or so. Also would wanna try and avoid too big of water being in my lil kayak. Lakes are fine,Rivers are fine as long as the current isn't too swift.

[buzzed bait]

buzzed bait

 

AllI know right now is that its outside of Atlanta, I wanna say southwest of ATL? I will have more details in a week.I have weekends free but wouldnt wanna drive more than an hour or so. Also would wanna try and avoid too big of water being in my lil kayak. Lakes are fine,Rivers are fine as long as the current isn't too swift.

 

there's some electric only reservoirs around that are 45 minutes outside of the city.  some of the biggest bass in the state are caught out of those places.  when you find out the details, get back on here.  there's a number of places to try out on the southeast and southwest sides of the city.

[jignjake]

Ok that sounds exactly like kayak water. Thanks alot man, I'll definitely get back on here friday night or saturday and give you a more detailed locale.

[buzzed bait]

Ok that sounds exactly like kayak water. Thanks alot man, I'll definitely get back on here friday night or saturday and give you a more detailed locale.

 

ok, shoot me a message if you want as i may not see the thread in time....  happy to try and point you towards some good water although i may not be much for helping you locate or catch fish!

[Acwood04]

If your in the Atlanta area ( I live here) your two options for bassin' right now are Lanier (NE of Atlanta) or Allatoona (NW of ATL). Both have mostly spotted bass in them, not largemouth or smallmouth as you'd see in Indiana (I'm from Michigan and my uncle runs a charter service on Lake Michigan out of St. Joseph's). The thing here is that the weather can be 55 and sunny like it was today, or it can be 30 rainy, and windy the next. I have a boat in Lanier at a Marina and took it out today.. Got some on a square bill off rocks.. but the lake is 38,000 acres and you'd really have to map it out to figure out where to launch. PM me and i'll tell you some places to put in, I fish Lanier 3-5 times a week unless its absolutely pouring. 

[jignjake]

thanks for the tips Acwood04. Ok fellas turns out I will be in McDonough Georgia from January 26th to February 6th. I'm down there for training for a new career and will be busy mondays through fridays but will have weekends free. I google mapped McDonough and it's southeast of Atlanta. With this info can anybody point me towards nice bass fishing waters that are public? Lakes, Reservoirs or Rivers as long as the current isn't too fast.

Also can anyone tell me what to expect as far as weather and maybe water temperatures lately?

[Chris at Tech]

Hmmm...Henry County reservoirs only give permits to residents. Clayton County are closed til March. Try these:

Horton in Fayetteville

Kedron in Peachtree City

Varner in Covington

Black Shoals in Conyers

All are electric-only reservoirs that are well-suited for kayaks

[buzzed bait]

lake varner has some biggggg fish in it.  i've never caught them, but seen some pics from there of some whopper double digits.  though it does get some pressure.

never fished black shoals, but hear good things.

i would also throw in there high falls lake in jackson, ga.  that's a great lake for kayaks, pretty sure it's HP restricted and about 30 minutes away.  a really cool lake with a lot of standing timber is lake juliette, not far from jackson.  and there's a decent number of gar in there too.

you have lots of options.  check the Georgia DNR website too for more places.

[jignjake]

Thanks alot for all the water to explore but I cant find lake varner, what town is it near?

[buzzed bait]

Thanks alot for all the water to explore but I cant find lake varner, what town is it near?

Look up Cornish creek reservoir near Covington, Ga. That's varner's official name.

[buzzed bait]

Varner is also a pretty easy paddle as well as far as getting around the lake!  you have a ton of options really.  i highly suggest looking on the georgia DNR site as well because they list a lot of the lakes/reservoirs and details on there. 

small note too, most of these public lakes will require a small cash fee for parking/launching.  like $2 - $5 but just take some cash because they will write you a ticket if you do not pay the fee.

[HoosierHawgs]

Thread hack, but is there any good water for kayaking/on foot in the Marietta/Kennesaw Mt area? I know Spro is down their so I'm assuming there should be some decent water around. I don't mind taking the Yak on big water, as long as its safe, and has some no wake zones.

[Chris at Tech]

I moved to Marietta ~2 years ago but unfortunately haven't found much in the way of small pond fishing.  I recommend you try one of the lakes I mentioned as they're all ~1 hr drive from Marietta.

[buzzed bait]

^^ what chris said

[jignjake]

varner looks like a great lil lake, would anyone know what road he launch is on? or the address of it?

[jignjake]

nvm found the launch on google maps

[HoosierHawgs]

I moved to Marietta ~2 years ago but unfortunately haven't found much in the way of small pond fishing. I recommend you try one of the lakes I mentioned as they're all ~1 hr drive from Marietta.

Thanks, ill check them out the next time I make the trip!

[jignjake]

Ok fellas, got to lake varner around 8am, cold and CROWDED! Holy crap, not a parking spot to be had. Got on the water and worked a good portion of the first half of the lakeshore before the bridge. Shoulder to shoulder fishing, just a line of boats shuffling down the shoreline in the same direction. Not my style but a gorgeous lake, lots of rock and clay shore, some wood mixed in. Needless to say....................... not even a bite after 4 hours of fishing hard, I will say I didnt see anyone else catch anything, and there were at least 5 boats within eyesight at all times. I threw a jekbait for a while, shaky head finesse worm, slow rolled a swim jig with minnow trailer and also tried a green jig n trailer. Cold water, TONS of pressure and clear water made for a rough day. Still beats a bad day at work gents. 

I'm lookin at trying lanier or juliette this coming saturday in the afternoon. Gonna let that water warm up first.

[buzzed bait]

Ok fellas, got to lake varner around 8am, cold and CROWDED! Holy crap, not a parking spot to be had. Got on the water and worked a good portion of the first half of the lakeshore before the bridge. Shoulder to shoulder fishing, just a line of boats shuffling down the shoreline in the same direction. Not my style but a gorgeous lake, lots of rock and clay shore, some wood mixed in. Needless to say....................... not even a bite after 4 hours of fishing hard, I will say I didnt see anyone else catch anything, and there were at least 5 boats within eyesight at all times. I threw a jekbait for a while, shaky head finesse worm, slow rolled a swim jig with minnow trailer and also tried a green jig n trailer. Cold water, TONS of pressure and clear water made for a rough day. Still beats a bad day at work gents. 

I'm lookin at trying lanier or juliette this coming saturday in the afternoon. Gonna let that water warm up first.

 

where are you staying at?  maybe i can offer a couple more suggestions.

not surprising that varner was crowded, that's how i've found it each time i've fished there.  but the draw is the fact that there are some monsters pulled out of there regularly.

[RoLo]

When we lived in Rico, Georgia (border of Fulton & Cowetta counties)

I mainly targeted Lake Lanier (to the north) & West Point Lake (to the south).

 

From a kayak or from the bank, I would probe Georgia's myriad of farm ponds.

Georgia has many pay-ponds that are slap-full of bass, and for a very small fee

you'll have legal access to great bank fishing.

 

Roger

[buzzed bait]

Ok fellas, got to lake varner around 8am, cold and CROWDED! Holy crap, not a parking spot to be had. Got on the water and worked a good portion of the first half of the lakeshore before the bridge. Shoulder to shoulder fishing, just a line of boats shuffling down the shoreline in the same direction. Not my style but a gorgeous lake, lots of rock and clay shore, some wood mixed in. Needless to say....................... not even a bite after 4 hours of fishing hard, I will say I didnt see anyone else catch anything, and there were at least 5 boats within eyesight at all times. I threw a jekbait for a while, shaky head finesse worm, slow rolled a swim jig with minnow trailer and also tried a green jig n trailer. Cold water, TONS of pressure and clear water made for a rough day. Still beats a bad day at work gents. 

I'm lookin at trying lanier or juliette this coming saturday in the afternoon. Gonna let that water warm up first.

 

just saw where there was a jonboat tournament on varner this past weekend, certainly why it was so crowded!  you decide where you're fishing this weekend?