Fishing Forecast - Oostanaula River
Overview
The Oostanaula winds nearly 50 miles from Calhoun to the city of Rome where it meets with the Etowah to form the larger Coosa River. The Oostanaula is a small boat river and anglers should be extra cautious when navigating, especially in the low water period during the summer.
Contact Information: DNR Office: 706-295-6102
Best Bets: Catfish, Striped Bass, White Bass
Oostanaula River - Black Bass
Alabama Bass
Prospect: The waters of the Oostanaula provide only fair bass fishing opportunities for largemouth and Alabama bass. Alabama bass dominate the population and most average less than 10 inches in length, but good numbers of fat 2+ pound fish can be caught in the spring months. The less common largemouth bass average 12 inches and just over 1 pound in size. Very few big largemouth call this river home.
Technique: The traditional plastic worm and grub are effective, but anglers should consider throwing jigs, crank or buzzbaits to cover more water in search of actively feeding bass. If a slower approach is preferred, fishing live minnows or shad can make for a quality day on the river.
Target: Target the shoals within the 3-mile stretch above and below for Alabama bass, as they relate more to rocky shoal habitat than do largemouth. The area around the outside the City of Calhoun can also be a good river stretch for those seeking Alabama bass. In general, debris jams and fallen trees can also produce when seeking bass in this river. Creek mouths can hold good numbers of Alabama bass, especially in the spring months. Largemouth can be found in the lower slack-water reaches of the river around shoreline cover.
Oostanaula River - White Bass
White Bass
Prospect: Spring draws white bass into the Oostanaula River each year to spawn. Numbers this year will likely be above average, having rebounded from several consecutive years of poor spawning success. The smaller and more common males will average 3/4-pound, while the larger, less abundant, females will be in the 2-pound range. Outside of the March through May period, anglers should expect to find very few white bass in this river.
White Bass from the Oostanaula River
Technique: Concentrated schools of spawn-run fish can be caught using small jigs and 1/4 to 1/2 ounce shad patterned crankbaits, such as Rat-L-Traps or Rapala Shad Raps. Hit the water later in the morning when you'll find more white bass in the warming shallows along the riverbank.
Target: Target the lowest reaches of the Oostanaula from March through April. Inside river bends with cover are typically more productive than straight river sections or the deeper water found in the outside bends of the river. Tributary mouths may also attract schools of spawn-run white bass in the spring.
Oostanaula River - Striped Bass
Striped Bass
Prospect: Striped bass migrate into this river each spring to spawn. Striper fishing can be seasonally excellent, with the best opportunity being in the months of April and May. The striped bass population in the upper Coosa River Basin (including the Oostanaula River) is one of only a handful of naturally reproducing, land-locked freshwater populations in the nation. However, DNR sampling has shown that recruitment of those naturally spawned fish is highly variable from one year to the next. For example, the population failed to produce significant year classes in 2014, 2015, and 2017, causing an overall decline in the population from 2014 to 2019. Noting this issue, DNR began stocking the Coosa River annually in 2018 with striped bass fingerlings in an effort to supplement natural reproduction, and provide for more consistent year-class production. Those efforts have paid off and the population appears to be rebounding. As a result, anglers should see an abundance of younger fish, which will be in the 2-10 pound range this year. Strong year classes produced in 2016 and 2018 will provide the majority of angler catches in the larger sizes from 10-25 pounds. As always, 30+ pound stripers are available to anglers as well, if they have the strong skill, heavy tackle, and maybe a little luck necessary to conquer these behemoths.
Striped Bass from the Oostanaula River
Technique: In the spring, live or cut shad are good bait choices. Fish live offerings on free lines with little or no added weight. Cut baits can be fished on weighted bottom rigs. Bucktail jigs, crankbaits, of surface running artificial lures can also be effective. Stout fishing gear is imperative for these powerful fish. A 7 to 7 1/2 foot rod fitted with a baitcaster spooled with 20 to 30-pound line is recommended.
Target: During the spring migration, striped bass may be encountered anywhere along this river's 49-mile length. Anglers should concentrate their efforts in areas with swift water habitats around islands or shoals. Downed trees or log jams in such areas will likely hold good numbers of fish.
Oostanaula River - Catfish
Blue Catfish
Prospect: Blue, channel, and flathead catfish are available to those fishing this river. Anglers can expect good numbers of blues and channel cats over this river's entire length. Blues average 2-3 pounds, but larger individuals between 5-8 pounds remain common. Trophy blues are less common but some can top 30+ pounds. Channel cats from 3/4 to 1 pound are the norm. Flatheads are the least common, but 10 to 15 pound or better fish can be caught.
Flathead Catfish from the Oostanaula River
Technique: Channels and smaller blue cats can be caught on bottom rigs using chicken livers, catalpa worms or prepared catfish baits. This variety of unsavory baits will produce consistent catches, but most trophy cats prefer live or cut bait offerings of shad or bream.
Target: Find catfish in deep pools, beneath undercut banks or in logjams, especially those with good flow around them. However, don't overlook swifter waters below shoals, as catfish frequent these areas to feed, especially at dusk. Good bank angling opportunities can be found at in Rome, Georgia.
Oostanaula River - Bream
Bluegill
Prospect: This river is not known for exceptional bream fishing. Expect low to moderate numbers of bluegill and even fewer numbers of redbreast and redear sunfish. Bluegill will average 5 inches and bream over 7 inches are rare.
Technique: Crickets or worms work best, though small jigs and spinners also are effective techniques.
Target: Look for bream in slow water areas around creek mouths and the slack-water behind debris jams during the spring and summer months.
Oostanaula River - Other Species
Freshwater Drum
Prospect: Other species available include smallmouth buffalo, freshwater drum, carp and suckers - all of which are quite abundant in this relatively slow moving river. Smallmouth buffalo and carp typically run 3-5 pounds in size, but larger fish will approach the 10 pound mark. Drum will average 12 inches with larger "bull" drum exceeding 20 inches in length. Look for crappie during the spring spawning run, though numbers are typically low in most areas.
Freshwater Drum from the Oostanaula River
Technique: For drum, try live crayfish, cut shrimp, or small white jigs bumped along the river bottom. Buffalo, carp and sucker species are often coaxed to bite using worms or prepared carp baits. Crappie can be enticed with white or chartreuse jigs as well as live minnows fished below a float.
Target: Target drum in the swifter waters around shoals. Buffalo, carp and sucker species may be found just about anywhere in the river. Crappie can be found schooling in creek mouths during the spring months.
Additional Information
Keep abreast of real-time river level and flow conditions for the Oostanaula River near the city of Rome at the USGS Website .
Anglers should be aware that advisories pertaining to the consumption of certain fish species have been issued for this river. Find out more about these consumption guidelines here .
The DNR lake sturgeon reintroduction program began in 2002. Since then, more than 400,000 sturgeon fingerlings have been released in the greater Coosa River basin. The species grows slowly and fish do not mature for 12-15 years, so it is important to protect them from harvest until they can reproduce and once again support some limited harvest. Anglers accidentally catching a lake sturgeon should immediately release the fish unharmed. Fish hooked deep will often survive if anglers cut the line near the hook and release the fish with the hook. If you catch a sturgeon, please contact the Armuchee WRD office (ph. 706-295-6102) to report the location from which the sturgeon was caught. Such information is helpful to biologists assessing the survival and dispersal of these magnificent fish.
Lake Sturgeon from the Oostanaula River
