Lake Burton is a 2,775-acre reservoir near Clayton featuring beautiful scenery and large lakeside homes. Managed by the Georgia Power Company, this lake holds an impressive quality spotted bass fishery. Burton is home to the state record spotted bass catch - a whopper caught in February 2005 that tipped the scales at 8 pounds, 2 ounces.
Guide to Lake Burton Trout Fishery available in PDF (395 kb). This guide discusses tactics and offers expert tips for fishing Lake Burton in spring, summer, fall and winter.
Contact Information
Georgia Power: ph. 706-782-4014
Prospects and Fishing Tips
Best Bets
SPOTTED BASS, LARGEMOUTH BASS & BROWN TROUT
Largemouth bass
Prospect
Largemouth bass account for about one-third of the black bass population in Lake Burton. A resurgence in largemouth bass numbers has been occurring; therefore, largemouths in the 1 to 2 lb range will be the more common in the coming year. In addition, a few lucky anglers should land some bass over 6 lb.
Technique
Largemouth bass in Lake Burton prefer blueback herring, which gives lures like the pearl-colored Super Fluke or Pointer series a unique advantage among artificial lures. When jerk baits are not drawing bites, finesse worms fished along points, humps and creek channels can be effective. During the fall and winter months, crayfish account for a greater part of their diet, which makes pig & jig combinations effective baits during the colder months. Fishing live bait around downed timber in February and March will offer the highest chance of producing the largest trophy bass of the year.
Target
Largemouth bass anglers should generally target fallen trees, creek channels and boat docks in coves and small pockets. During the spring months, largemouth bass will hold tight to visible cover with overhead protection to build their spawning nests. In the summer months, look for largemouth bass in 20 to 30 feet of water along main lake points and in creek channels. Casting soft plastics on a Carolina rig is a good choice. During the fall months, largemouth bass will more actively feed during the early morning and evening in the general vicinity of their spring and summer locations.
Spotted bass
Prospect
Lake Burton is known for its trophy spotted bass fishing. This mountain reservoir maintains bragging rights for the current state record spotted bass that weighed 8 lbs., 2 oz. In the coming year, anglers can expect to catch good numbers of chunky spotted bass in the 16-inch and 2 lb range. The number of larger spots in the 18 to 20-inch and 3 to 5 lb size range is running about average for this reservoir.
Technique
February and March are prime months to catch big bass in Lake Burton. Anglers should fish with pig-and-jig combinations, tube jigs, plastic worms, or herring imitations around woody debris and rocky points. Fishing near the dam can also be quite productive when spotted bass are feeding on herring at the surface. Spring (April and May) is the best time to catch high numbers of spotted bass. Pearl-colored Super Flukes and soft plastic worms are effective when fished around the corners of boat docks and downed trees located near deep water. Finesse worms also are effective when rigged Carolina style and dragged across rocky bottoms. After the spawning season, spotted bass will chase topwater lures, like a Sammy, Pointer 100, or Zara Spook in herring color patterns, near points and humps in open water. This technique works best around dusk and dawn. During the day, switch to finesse worms fished on rocky points in 20-30 feet of water, especially on the lower half of the lake. When the leaves change into their fall colors, anglers should pull out the Super Fluke fished on a jig-head and motor into the mouth of creeks where blueback herring congregate. If that pattern does not work, switch to vertical jigging with spoons or slow-moving crayfish imitators on points in the major cove arms.
Target
Spotted bass frequently migrate around the lake in search of their favorite prey items, including blueback herring, yellow perch and crayfish. During the winter, spring, and early fall, spotted bass primarily feed on blueback herring, which congregate in the mouths of creeks and over the creek channel in the major cove arms during these seasons. The spawning season, which generally occurs in early May, pushes spotted bass to rocky areas, especially near boat docks and downed trees in 10-15 feet of water. Target these areas exclusively during the spawning season. Warming water temperatures from June to September push spotted bass into deeper water to feed on yellow perch. Target points and humps in 20-30 feet of water along the main lake channel. By fall, spotted bass frequent rocky points in the major cove arms to feed on crayfish and will roam into the creeks in search of blueback herring. Points and creek channels in Moccasin, Dicks and Timpson Creeks hold fish this time of year.
Pickerel
Prospect
Lake Burton has a sizeable chain pickerel population with many fish in the trophy category. Chain pickerel are exciting to catch because they aggressively attack a variety of baits and lures and they put up a hard and sometimes acrobatic fight. They are relatively easy to catch in the spring and early summer months if you target the right areas.
Technique
Chain pickerel will attack a variety of artificial baits, including Shad Raps, Rapalas and Flukes, but they cannot seem to resist a flashy spinnerbait. Anglers should not be timid about casting into thick tangles of woody debris for pickerel. Heavier lines will endure the abrasion of this type of fishing and help prevent break-offs by these sharp-toothed critters. An alternative technique is to troll perch-colored crankbaits above the weed line along the edge of shallow creek channels in Mocassin, Dicks, and Cherokee Coves.
Target
Chain pickerel prefer to ambush their prey from visible structure in very shallow water. Their favorite habitat in Lake Burton is woody debris piles along a shallow flat in close proximity to a creek channel. They also can be found cruising the edges of creek channels. These kinds of habitats occur in the back of almost every cove on Lake Burton.
Brown Trout
Prospect
Lake Burton supports Georgia's only large reservoir trout fishery. Anglers reported good success last year and expect the same this year. The lake is annually stocked each fall with approximately 20,000 ten-inch brown trout. By spring, fish average 15 inches in length and weigh approximately one pound. Trout will approach 20 inches in length and weigh nearly four pounds by the following spring. The current lake record is 11 lbs., 3 oz.
Technique
July through September is the best time to catch brown trout. During the summer, troll live bait, spoons or shad-imitating crankbaits over a 50 to 100-ft bottom at depths rangings from 30 to 60-ft. Trout will typically be concentrated from the dam to the first safety marker from August to October. Burton trout will also feed at the surface during the summer months about an hour or two before daybreak. Surface plugs and live baits are both effective when the pre-dawn bite is on. In November, cast in-line spinners around the dam, Murray's Cove boat ramp and Moccasin Creek boat ramp to catch recently stocked trout. The winter months can also produce nice stringers of trout. Anglers should fish around the face of the dam and downline live herring from 15 to 30-ft deep.
Target
In the winter months, search for trout around the dam in 15 to 30 feet of water and around Jones Bridge at the upper end of the lake. During the spring, trout will move closer to the backs of coves and feed on the surface during early morning. Moccasin Cove is a great place to start looking. Trout move to deeper water in the summer months on the lower end of the lake. Start trolling at the safety marker located near Moccasin Cove and work your way toward the dam. In the fall, trout are widely scattered around the lake and become more difficult to catch. Try the mouth of creeks, like Moccasin, Timpson, and Dicks Creeks, as well as around the Murray Cove boat ramp and around the dam.
Yellow Perch
Prospect
Lake Burton provides anglers with the opportunity to catch yellow perch of quality size. The population density appears to be declining, but the average size of the catch is definitely bigger.
Technique
With a good depth finder, search for small schools of fish hovering near the bottom in about 30 feet of water along the main lake channel. Once a school is located, attach a fragment of nightcrawler or small minnow on a 1-0 or slightly smaller hook and bounce it along the bottom through the school. Thoroughly sweep the area with bait until the location of perch is pinpointed. If there are no bites within 15 minutes, continue the search for other schools of fish at another location. When a school of hungry perch is located, expect to catch a dozen fish or more in rapid succession. Cull the smaller fish and take home the bigger ones because yellow perch are excellent to eat.
Target
During the summer months, perch congregate on rocky bottoms adjacent to the main lake channel and near weed lines along the major creek channels in about 30 feet of water. Use a depth finder to search for schooling fish near the bottom in this depth zone. Start the search in the middle section of the lake from Murray Cove to Dicks Creek.
Additional Information
The publication, "An Angler's Guide to the Lake Burton Trout Fishery" contains more detailed information about the seasonal patterns and techniques of this unique fishery. This free publication is posted on the Wildlife Resources Division Web site, here.
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