March 11
Lake Burton Lake Rabun Lake Seed Fishing report:
FYI from Anthony.
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Warm weather persisted for another week and water temperatures in our walleye lakes hovered from 48 to 52 degrees. With stable water temperatures, more walleye migrated upstream this week. For Week 4, the shoals and pools in the headwaters of Lakes Lanier, Carters and Hartwell will be your best bets. I expect to see big numbers of walleye moving into the headwaters of our mountain lakes next week.
Walleye are finicky eaters this time of year with most bites resulting from a reaction strike rather than a predatory strike. Two big tips to improve your success are: (1) fish during low light conditions…..generally, dusk is best or when the water is stained and (2) use light line such as 6 lb test.
They are fishing in a deep pool about 100 yards below the cascading shoal that is known for holding a lot of small walleye; however, these same techniques will work in the shallow headwaters in all of our lakes. If you fish during the day, I suggest backing off into deeper holes and fish with nightcrawlers or curly tail grubs. There is a good program on summer walleye fishing techniques also filmed on Lake Tugalo entitled Trolling for Summertime Walleye.
Lake Lanier – Water temperature is 50 degrees and fish are becoming abundant in the shoals and pools upstream of Mud Creek. We are finding about four or five walleye in every little pool and more in the larger pools. I’m sure walleye can be found as far upstream as you can go in a boat. The bigger females have not moved up yet so the peak is still about two weeks away.
Carters Lake – On Wednesday (3/2), the water temperature was 51 degrees in the headwater shoals and the water color was muddy. Senior fisheries biologist, Jim Hakala, and his crew found large male walleyes ranging from 2 to 5 lbs concentrated primarily in 2 to 5-ft of water along the rocky shoal and he caught a few walleye in slightly deeper water on the rocky points downstream to the Big Island (see photo of Jim with two walleye). Jim said the density of walleye was the highest he has ever seen on Carters. Jim did not find any female walleye, which means the bulk of the population has yet to move upstream. Walleye fishing should improve substantially over the next two weeks. Ridgeway Boat Ramp is the closest ramp to these walleye honey holes.
Lake Hartwell – The water temperature was 49 degrees on Tuesday (3/1). Walleye have moved further upstream and are now mostly concentrated upstream of the Walker Creek Boat Ramp, which is located in Toccoa on Yonah Dam Road. From Toccoa, take Prather Bridge Road (Highway 184) out of Toccoa. Hwy 184 will eventually turn right, cross the river and head into South Carolina, but you should travel straight where the road changes names to Yonah Dam Road. The Walker Creek boat ramp is 2.5 miles from this point. My crew collected 8 big females up to 7 lbs a short distance upstream of the boat ramp in depths ranging from 2 to 9-ft deep (see photo). This area is a great place for anglers who fish from kayaks since the river shallows rapidly a few hundred yards upstream of the boat ramp.
Lake Yonah – The water temperature was 49 degrees on Tuesday (3/2) and my crew found our first walleye in the headwaters, a three pound male. The Lake Yonah Boat Ramp is also located on Yonah Dam Road about 2.6 miles north of the Walker Creek boat ramp. Both water bodies can be easily fished on the same day.
Lake Tugalo – Because Lake Tugalo is 9-ft below full pool, access is difficult and there are no bank fishing opportunities. This is another great place for anglers with kayaks, although the paddle can be quite far, but its a scenic trip. From the South Carolina boat ramp, paddle upstream to the cascading shoal on the Chattooga River. Walleye congregate in fairly large numbers in the pool formed by the cascade. This is the area featured in the referenced Post Spawn Walleye video.
Lakes Rabun & Seed – On Wednesday (3/2), the water temperature in both lakes was 48 degrees. Our sampling crew found a few males in the headwaters, but I’m confident that many more are not far behind them. On Lake Rabun, fish are downstream of the Bear Gap Road Bridge during daylight hours. On Lake Seed, daytime walleyes are downstream of the Burton Dam Road bridge. Your best bet is to bounce nightcrawlers along the bottom from the bridge downstream for several hundred yards. From twilight to dark, walleye will move upstream of these bridges to spawn in the shallow shoals. A floating Rapala is a must. Excellent bank fishing opportunities are available at Nacoochee Park located in the headwaters of Lake Rabun. Fishing is best at twilight and through the evening.
Good Fishing!
Anthony
Anthony Rabern
Senior Fisheries Biologist
Georgia Department of Natural Resources
Lake Burton Hatchery
3695 Highway 197 North
Clarkesville, GA 30523