Cates Lake in Coweta County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Cates Lake is a Coweta County water, in Georgia. Country round the bank runs to pine and hardwood. Surface area runs to about 2 acres — small enough to read in one session. It is one of the smaller waters we list in Coweta County. For supplies, Newnan is 5.8 miles out. After that come Palmetto at 6.3 miles and Chattahoochee Hills at 7 miles. Local rules may differ a few miles either side of here.

• Where to Fish on Cates Lake

  Depth figures are not published for this one. A reservoir gives you a hard edge, a shelf, and not much else. Inflow corners move water, and moving water gathers fish. Nearby survey and observation records mention eastern blackbanded darter, bluegill, redbreast sunfish, yellow bullhead and Alabama hog sucker. Presence in the area does not guarantee a fish on the day. Read Cates Lake for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  On the long-term average, July reads 78°F and January reads 42°F. Cooler months are the productive ones on most of this water. Heat pushes fish deep from June onwards, so start early. June to September is hot work, so the first and last hours are what count. Cates Lake runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. No slipway, car park or made path shows up nearby in mapping, so treat access as rough. For the catfish, fish bottom baits into the deeper holes and let them sit. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Lake Camlon sits 1.6 miles off and takes the overflow. Treat access at Cates Lake as something to verify.