Fishing Forecast - Lake Burton
Overview
Lake Burton is a 2,775-acre reservoir located near the City of Clayton. This mountain reservoir features beautiful scenery and exquisite lakeside homes. Managed by the Georgia Power Company, this lake supports an excellent spotted bass fishery and is home to the current state record - a whopper caught in February 2005 that tipped the scales at 8 pounds, 2 ounces. In addition to spotted bass, anglers also enjoy catching largemouth bass, yellow perch and bream.
Best Bets: Spotted Bass, Largemouth Bass
Lake Burton - Largemouth Bass
Prospect: Catch rates for Largemouth Bass in Lake Burton were consistent with past averages for the reservoir. The population’s size structure predominately consists of individuals in the 8 - 16 inch range which generally fall between 1 - 3 pounds in total weight. While big bass might be harder to come by, there will be some lucky anglers who will land a few of Burton's trophies like the 8 pound bass caught a few years ago during GA-DNR's annual spring boat electrofishing sampling.
6 lb Largemouth Bass from Lake Burton
Technique: Largemouth bass in Lake Burton prey mostly on blueback herring and the trophy bass pictured above was feeding in a school of herring that were spawning against a rock wall during mid-April. Fishing with live herring is naturally the best bait, but soft-bodied jerk baits that mimic herring have a unique advantage over other artificial lures. Other proven tactics include drop-shotting with finesse worms, bouncing Carolina rigged worms or pig-and-jigs along points, humps, brushpiles and creek channels. Crankbaits and spinner baits attract strikes at certain times of the year.
During the fall and winter months, herring and crayfish account for the bulk of the bass’ natural diet. Fishing with live herring, shiners or trout are effective cold weather baits, but pig & jig combinations are the best artificial bait. Anglers should always have a big swim bait ready in case sudden and spontaneous topwater activity erupts nearby. In the springtime, slow rolling spinnerbaits and jerk baits in creek channels and around docks and trees are good approaches for catching bass in shallow water.
Target: Largemouth bass are structure oriented; therefore, anglers should target visible structure like fallen trees and boat house pilings as well as underwater topographic features like channel edges, points, humps and brushpiles. Largemouth bass are more abundant in the coves on the lower end of the lake, including , and . The Murray Cove boat ramp is the closest access point to these areas. During the spring months, largemouth bass will hold close to visible structure with overhead cover under which they build their spawning nests. In the summer months, largemouth bass will feed on top in the early morning and evening hours. Cast big swim baits, a Spook or a Sammy into the surface frenzy. During the heat of the day, largemouth bass will hold up on top of structure in 20 to 30 feet of water along main lake points and the edge of creek channels. Drop-shot finesse worms on top of brushpiles in 20-30 feet of water can be very effective. During the fall months, largemouth bass will actively feed at the surface over the open water near the back of most coves. Topwater lures and crank baits that mimic blueback herring are effective this time of year. A fall back strategy is to bounce crayfish imitations on the bottom along rocky points.
Lake Burton - Spotted Bass
Prospect: The Spotted Bass population of Lake Burton is stable and shows similar catch rates compared to last year’s sampling efforts, with individuals around the 1 - 2 pound mark being abundant this year. Spots in Lake Burton typically top out around 6 pounds, but a few fish weighing up to 8 pounds have been caught. The 6 pound Spotted Bass pictured below was caught by GA-DNR staff during a past annual spring population survey.
6 lb Spotted Bass from Lake Burton
Technique: February and March are prime months to catch big bass in Lake Burton. Pig-and-jig combinations, drop shot finesse worms and live herring or trout are excellent bait choices during the winter months. Anglers should target downed trees and rocky points, but fishing along the face of dam can also be productive on warm winter days.
April and May are the best months to catch high numbers of spotted bass. Jerk baits in herring color patterns, floating worms and spinnerbaits are effective this time of year when fished around the corners of boat docks and downed trees. Finesse worms also are effective when rigged Carolina style and dragged across rocky bottoms. After the spawning season, spotted bass will chase big topwater lures near points and over humps in open water. This technique works best around dawn and dusk. During the day, try drop-shoting finesse worms or down lining live herring on rocky points or brush piles in 20-30 feet of water, especially on the lower half of the lake. When the leaves change into their fall colors, spotted bass will aggressively feed on blueback herring in open water and in the creek mouths. Pulling planer boards or live lining blueback herring near the surface is the best way to catch high numbers of spotted bass during the fall. Among artificial lures, a weighted fluke or white crankbait are the best baits to cast on main lake points. If that pattern is not working, then switch to drop-shoting finesse worms into brushpiles, vertical jigging with spoons on rocky points or flipping a pig-and-jig into downed trees. Fishing on the bottom with live crayfish and nightcrawlers are also good live bait choices for fishing bottom structure during the fall months.
Target: For most of the year, spotted bass roam the open waters of Lake Burton in search of their favorite food - blueback herring. If you can find a school of herring, then spotted bass will likely be nearby; however, knowing their predictable seasonal tendencies will help narrow your search area. During cold weather when the water temperature is in the mid-40s, large schools of adult herring hold tight to the and that’s where you will find the trophy spots. Drifting live herring around the face of the dam is very effective during cold weather but the bite can be slow. If spots are not willing to take your bait, then fish the rocky points and humps at the mouth of Murray Cove or the downed trees near Jones Bridge. In April and May, spotted bass move into shallow water nesting areas located on rocky banks along the main shoreline as well as around boat docks located on steep, rocky shorelines. Cast toward these structures using jerk baits, floating worms or plastic lizards. Other effective techniques that work well on rocky banks during the spring are a wacky-rigged Senko worm and Carolina-rigged finesse worms. Warming water temperatures from June to September motivate spotted bass to follow the schools of herring offshore into deeper open water. At dusk and dawn, spots will chase bait on the surface over main lake points and humps but during the day, they retreat into the cover of brushpiles that are scattered along the bottom of the lake in 15 to 30-feet of water. In the fall months, spotted bass frequent rocky points in the major cove arms to feed on crayfish or yellow perch and will frequently cross over rocky points in search of a school of young, three-inch long blueback herring. Points and creeks in , and hold good numbers of fish from October to December.
Lake Burton - Brown Trout
Prospect: Lake Burton has the unique capacity to support a reservoir trout fishery and can produce some really big fish, as seen in the picture below. Back in 2023, Brown Trout stocking efforts were restarted in Burton with catchable-sized Brown Trout raised nearby at the state hatchery and then stocked out during the fall. This influx of new fish should raise catch rates and improve conditions for anglers hoping to land a trout out of Burton.
Lake Burton record Brown Trout weighing 11 lb 14 oz (2018).
Technique: The best bait for catching brown trout in Lake Burton is live blueback herring; however, trout will also take trolling spoons and small crankbaits all year long. From late-winter into spring, trout will frequent the shallow backwaters of the major coves and cruise along rocky seawalls feeding on blueback herring. In the summer months, trolling very slowly with live herring or spoons on the lower half of the lake over the river channel at depths from 30 to 60-feet is generally the best approach. From October to December, anglers should cast in-line spinners around the dam, Murray's Cove boat ramp, and around the Moccasin Creek boat ramp to catch recently stocked trout.
Target: In the winter months, most trout will be found near the but some fish also find their way to the upper end of the lake around . During the spring, trout will move closer to the backs of coves and feed on the surface during early morning. is a great starting place to look but also look at all the way to the dam. During the summer months, trout move to deeper, cooler water on the lower end of the lake. Troll along the river channel from the safety marker located on the main lake near Moccasin Cove and work your way toward the dam. In October and November, trout can be widely scattered around the lake. Recent stockers will be abundant around the dam and near the boat ramps in Murrays Cove and Moccasin Cove. Anglers may also want to fish the mouth of other creek channels like and , in hopes of catching a trophy brown that is making its way into the shallow streams to spawn.
Additional Information
Lake Burton 2024 Angler Card
Yellow perch fishing has improved over the last two years and trophy-sized fish, like the one pictured below, are being caught in early-spring. A few walleye occasionally show up in an angler's live well.
2 lb Yellow Perch from Lake Burton
Free boat launching facilities are available at Moccasin Creek next to Lake Burton Trout Hatchery and Moccasin Creek State Park located on Highway 197 North, as well as at Georgia Power's Murray Cove Boat Ramp located on Murray Cove Road. For a small fee, boats can be launched at two private marinas located at La Prades Marina on Highway 197 North and at Timpson Cove Marina located on Charlie Mountain Road. A Lake Burton trout fishing guidebook is available at no cost on the Wildlife Resources Division web site. This guide discusses tactics and offers expert tips for fishing Lake Burton in spring, summer, fall and winter. Lake level and other information about Lake Burton is available on the Georgia Power website at http://georgiapowerlakes.com/northgeorgialakes/
Contact Information:
Georgia DNR (770) 535-5498
Georgia Power Company (706) 746-1450
