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Carters Lake

Located in the north Georgia mountains in Gilmer and Murray counties, Carters Lake is the deepest of Georgia's reservoirs. The spotted bass fishing at Carters is nationally known, and the lake also produces trophy striped bass, as well as a unique Georgia fishery for trophy walleye. Relatively small with 3,200 acres and 62 miles of shoreline, Carters Lake has an average depth of 200 feet and is also more than 450 feet deep in places. Carters is a Corps of Engineers impoundment that is unique that there are no private docks or houses along its shore. This lake is fed by the Coosawattee River.

Carters Lake Resources

Carters Lake Fishing Report – March 2024

By GON Staff | February 28, 2024

Carters: Level: 2.6 feet below 1074. Temp: 52 degrees. Clarity: 4 feet. Bass: Guide Robbie Linginfelter Carters Lake Guide Service reports, “Fish are slowly making their seasonal transition to the bank. March is possibly the best month to catch your spotted bass of a lifetime. Look for prespawn fish on transition banks leading into spawning pockets. They will hit jerkbaits, crankbaits and worms. On windy days, the old standby spinnerbait will catch fish on wind-blown banks. You can still catch deep fish. Use your electronics to find bait and fish around it with drop-shot worms and jigging spoons or any other vertical bait you like. This is the time of year you can catch fish pretty much any way you like.” Stripers: Guide Eric Crowley of Lake And Stream Guide Service reports, “The striper bite has been good and will continue to improve as the water warms and the bait starts to…

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Carters Lake Fishing Articles

Carters Lake Slab Crushes White Crappie Record

Twelve-year-old Chandler Watkins, of Ellijay, knocked the old Carters Lake white crappie record clear out of the water with a 3-lb., 4.9-oz. slab he caught on Feb. 28. The old record was a 2-lb. crappie caught in 2019 by Joshua Higgins. Chandler isn’t exactly a stranger when it comes to catching big fish. “We are…

September Plan For Carters Lake Spots

Carters Lake is arguably Georgia’s prettiest reservoir, with undeveloped shorelines, steep hills surrounding the pristine water, rocky shorelines and clear, deep water. But more important for anglers than the beauty are the spotted bass swimming in Carters. As we transition into September, the Carters Lake bass feed more heavily as the water cools, and they…

Ellijay Teen Owns New Carters Lake Flathead Record

Ellijay’s new hometown hero is 13-year-old Wyatt Stokes, who recently added his name to GON’s Georgia Lake & River Records listing with a Carters Lake flathead catfish that weighed 41-lbs., 12-ozs. “He was ecstatic. He couldn’t believe it, I couldn’t either, we were both excited,” said Jamie Stokes, Wyatt’s dad. The two were bank fishing…

Carters Lake Anglers Face Possible Boat Ramp Closures

Carters Lake anglers who fish during the fall and winter for trophy-sized stripers and fat spotted bass should strongly consider making an appearance at tomorrow night’s, Oct. 16, 2019, Gilmer County Board of Commissioner’s meeting at 6 p.m. in Ellijay. A shrinking budget for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers could mean seasonal boat ramp…

North Georgia Stripers

As summer hits us Georgians in full force this month, you can bet anywhere you decide to fish it’s going to be hot, and I mean hot. About the only thing in the northern portion of our state that you can expect to be hotter than the sweltering daytime highs is the striper fishing. As…

Carters Lake Records