Gilbert Lake in Walker County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Walker County, Georgia, is where Gilbert Lake sits. Beyond the shoreline you have pine and hardwood. The water measures roughly 3 acres, so nothing here is far from anything else. It is a small entry by Walker County standards. LaFayette is the closest place, 3.5 miles off. After that come Chickamauga at 8 miles and Chattanooga Valley at 13 miles. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Gilbert Lake

  The records we hold are silent on depth, so plan to find it yourself. Draw-down through summer strips the margins, so follow the water out. The old creek line under the surface is the feature worth finding. Survey and observation records for Walker County include redbreast sunfish, green sunfish, bluegill, snubnose darter and redline darter. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Anyone new to Gilbert Lake should walk it once before setting up.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 77°F in July and bottom out at 38°F in January. Fishing runs all year, with summer the awkward season. October and November give a second good stretch as it cools. The cooler months are the comfortable ones to fish here. Expect Gilbert Lake to follow that timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access status is simply unknown for this water. Access is unmapped, which usually means a farm track and a walk. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. The nearest alternative is Gordon Lake, 0.9 miles out. Check the current arrangement for Gilbert Lake.