Forest Lake in DeKalb County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Set in DeKalb County, Forest Lake is a Georgia water. It lies 853 feet above sea level. At 14 acres it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. Pine Mountain is the closest place, 1.2 miles off. Atlanta is the closest city, 17 miles away. Others within reach: 1.1 miles away is Abbot Lake, Turner Lake (1.1 miles), 1.3 miles away is Hurst Lake, Arabia Lake (2 miles) and 2.2 miles away is Stewart Lake. Local rules may differ a few miles either side of here.

• Where to Fish on Forest Lake

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. Held water runs deepest at the wall and shallows back to the inflow. Levels move with the draw rather than the rain on water like this. Records collected within a few miles name bluegill and redbreast sunfish. It reflects what has been logged, which depends on who was looking. On Forest Lake that means starting tight and working out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 79°F; the cold one sits at 42°F. The year never really closes; it just gets uncomfortable in summer. October and November give a second good stretch as it cools. The cooler months are the comfortable ones to fish here. Forest Lake runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. The nearest car park we can see is 0.9 miles out, so expect a walk with your gear. For the panfish, a small hook, a float and a piece of worm outfish everything fancy. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. For a change of water, Abbot Lake is 1.1 miles distant. Where Forest Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.