I spent some time researching Georgia fishing and got excited about the possibility of catching an endemic bass—the Shoal Bass—in the Chattahoochee River in northern Atlanta. A true river bass. That idea alone was motivating enough to push me into action.

The night before, I struggled to get my Georgia fishing license online. After some frustration, I finally completed the process around 11:30 pm.

I got up very early the next morning—around 5:30 am—with the goal of reaching the river by sunrise, which was at 6:53 am and supposedly the ideal time to fish for Shoal Bass. Unfortunately, between Atlanta traffic and my growing frustration over not having the recommended swimbait lures (which Copilot had suggested were effective for Shoal Bass), things didn’t go quite as planned.

I stopped first at a shop that was supposed to have lures but had only bait. Then I tried a Walmart, which unlike some Walmart’s I have been to, had a very poor fishing gear selection. In the end, I bought the one lure that looked remotely like a swimbait and headed to the Chattahoochee anyway, fishing along the Cochran Shoals River Trail.

I started fishing at about 8:00 am. I completely blanked—no Shoal Bass, no bites at all. It was also hard to find really good access points along the river, though I’m not convinced I would have caught anything even with better spots. That said, it was a beautiful morning, and I genuinely enjoyed walking along such a scenic stretch of river.

After no action, I gave up around 11:00 am and decided to head northeast to Lake Lanier in hopes of salvaging the day by catching something.

On the way, I stopped at a Bass Pro Shop in Lawrenceville. Wow. I had spent about ten minutes the night before watching a helpful YouTube video explaining different types of lures—swimbaits, crankbaits, spinnerbaits, spoons, and so on—which helped a little, but standing in the store surrounded by thousands of lures was still completely overwhelming. I grabbed a variety of lures somewhat haphazardly and wished I’d had more time to be more deliberate. Next time.

Lake Lanier is about 45 miles northeast of Atlanta. It was created in 1956 by damming the Chattahoochee River, with the Buford Dam constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for flood control, hydroelectric power, water supply for metro Atlanta, and recreation. It’s a huge lake—about 38,000 acres, nearly 690 miles of shoreline, and a maximum depth of around 150 feet (average depth closer to 60). It’s also very beautiful.

The lake primarily contains Striped, Spotted, and Largemouth Bass, Black and White Crappie, Channel and Flathead Catfish, and Sunfish. I fished below the dam for about 30 minutes with no bites, then moved up to the main lake above the dam.

I threw a deep‑diving, colorful Rapala lure into the water repeatedly, and for a while it didn’t seem promising. But eventually I caught something. It was clearly a bass, though I wasn’t certain which kind. It wasn’t huge—probably around 12–14 inches—but I was excited nonetheless. When I later identified it using iNaturalist, it turned out to be an Alabama Bass—a new fish for me, and a satisfying way to end an otherwise challenging day.