Lake Rabun is an 834-acre lake located a few miles downstream of Lake Burton near Clayton. This mountain reservoir is long and narrow with miles of steep, rocky shoreline. The upper two miles of the lake are relatively shallow and contain mud flats with weed beds along the river channel and long sections of blown down trees. Spotted bass, largemouth bass, bluegill and shellcrackers are favorite targets of local anglers.
Contact Information
Georgia Power: ph. 706-782-4014
Prospects and Fishing Tips
Best Bets
LARGEMOUTH BASS, SPOTTED BASS & WALLEYE
Largemouth Bass
Prospect
Largemouth bass account for about half of the black bass population in Lake Rabun. Recent fish sampling, however, indicated that lower numbers of catchable-sized bass will be available in the coming year. Most of the largemouth bass caught this year will be in the 12 to 16-inch size range, weighing 1 to 2 lb. Bass over 4 lb will be relatively sparse in the coming year.
Technique
Bass in Lake Rabun will take advantage of any opportunity to grab a passing blueback herring, which gives lures like the pearl-colored Super Fluke or Pointer series a unique advantage among artificial lures. During the spring and fall months, work a 3/8-oz jig-head tipped with a fluke in prime target areas. Switch to finesse worms on points, humps and creek channels when the fluke is not attracting strikes.
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. This type of habitat is plentiful in the area around Hall's marina as well as on the upper end of the lake. 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
Spotted bass numbers steadily declined over the past few years, which will definitely impact angler success in the coming year. As a result, anglers can expect to catch fewer numbers of spotted bass this year. Fortunately, there appears to be a lot of small fish in the population, which should restore good fishing within a year or two.
Technique
Spotted bass are generally aggressive feeders that will take a variety of natural and artificial baits. In the winter months, spotted bass are looking for an easy meal of blueback herring. Using live herring or their artificial imitations are your best bets during the winter months. In April and May, spotted bass will move into shallow water from 5 to 15-feet deep to spawn. Jerkbaits, shallow-running lures, floating worms, and plastic lizards are effective when cast near visible structure where there is a bass nest. You will want to make sure to cast a pearl Super Fluke this spring around boat house steps situated on rocky banks. During the fall, spotted bass gorge on blueback herring in open water during early morning and evening. During the day, bounce crayfish imitating baits down rocky points.
Target
In the winter months, spotted bass can be found holding tight to visible structure, such as fallen trees and boat houses with brush, or near the dam feeding on blueback herring. During April and May, spotted bass will seek rocky banks with overhead cover to build a spawning nest. Fallen trees, the corners of boat houses, and around their steps seem to provide all the ingredients that Lake Rabun spotted bass are looking for when choosing a place to build a nest. Maybe you have never tried "step fishing" before. Be sure to give it a go on Lake Rabun this spring. In the fall, spotted bass will be feeding on small blueback herring at the surface. Schooling fish are most abundant in the narrow section in the upper end of the lake.
Bream
Prospect
Bream fishing in Lake Rabun is generally good from April to June. Bigger bluegills up to a half pound will be more prevalent this year.
Technique
Bluegills readily take crickets, while the larger redear sunfish prefer red wigglers in deeper water.
Target
Fishing from the shore? Look for two small public fishing piers located at the U.S. Forest Service recreation area and campground located on the upper end of the lake. Cast to the small circular nests that are visible around the boat ramp and fishing pier. There also is an abundance of large bluegills that hang around the boat slips at Hall's Marina on the lower end of the lake.
Walleye
Prospect
Lake Rabun is stocked annually with enough walleye to support a fishable population. DNR sampling detected similar numbers in the population as last year; therefore, angler catches should be consistent. Small fish in the 14-inch size range (1 lb) are very abundant and so are large fish in the 20-inch size group (4 lb).
Technique
There are three seasonal patterns for catching walleye from Lake Rabun. During March and early April, walleye are in a spawning pattern. Fish the shallow headwaters at dusk and dark with floating minnow imitations, white curly-tailed grubs or nightcrawlers. Start at the Low Gap Road bridge early and work your way upstream as the evening progresses. During the day, fish the deeper sections of the river by trolling nightcrawlers along the bottom or by casting crankbaits in perch, shad or crayfish color patterns. From June to September, walleye transition into a summer pattern. As the water heats up under the summertime sun, walleye will migrate to deeper waters near the dam and in the mouth of coves in search of cooler temperatures. Troll the same types of lures and baits already mentioned along the bottom at a depth of 30 feet. When water temperatures cool back down in October and November, walleye switch to a fall pattern where they move onto shallow water points in the evening to feed. During the day, walleye hang tight to the bottom in nearby deeper water where they can be caught on nightcrawlers.
Target
During the spawning pattern, anglers can fish from the shoreline at Georgia Power's Nacoochee Park, which is located at the intersection of Low Gap Road and Seed Lake Road downstream of Nacoochee Dam. During the summer and fall patterns, troll the lower lake from Hall's Marina to the dam. DNR saturated the cove directly across the lake from Hall's Marina with artificial structure specifically placed at the critical depth range to attract walleye. Newcomers to Lake Rabun may want to explore this "Walleye Habitat Area" first by bouncing nightcrawlers along the bottom in a 100-foot wide radius around the marker buoy.
Other Species
Prospect
Yellow perch and chain pickerel are present in fishable numbers in the upper end of the lake. Troll small jigs tipped with a minnow along the river channel for yellow perch. For hard-hitting chain pickerel, cast flashy lures and spinners baits to fallen trees in shallow water. Anglers can find plenty of fish in close proximity to the US Forest Service boat ramp and fishing piers.
Additional Information
A walleye fishing guidebook was prepared by DNR staff and is available at no cost on the Wildlife Resources Division's web site, here.
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