Carters Lake Fishing Report – August 2017

Carters: Level: 2.2 feet below full pool. Temp: 83-85 degrees. Clarity: Clear; visibility of 5 to 7 feet.

Bass: Capt. Eric Crowley reports, “The spots have been up feeding on schools of fry bait all over the lake. It seems like every school of bait has a couple of bass right below it. Long casts will be a must to keep from spooking the bass, but if you can make a good cast from a distance with a small fluke or jig, it’s almost an instant bite.”

Linesides: Capt. Eric Crowley reports, “The heat of summer is upon us, and the fish are feeling it, too. Most all of the striped fish in the lake are holding on the thermocline. Whether it be where the deep, cool water meets the deep water edges or drop-offs, or on the submerged timber or out in open water, the key is fishing deep. Look for hybrids in 35 to 50 feet of water on the main-lake points and in the creek mouths at daybreak. Or, look in the backs of the creeks for fish chasing bait just before dusk. Live bait is key—4- to 5-inch threadfin and alewife are the baits of choice for hybrid bass, the smaller of the two striped species. The striped bass are deeper, but catching them that deep is really hard on the fish. Our preferred method of catching them is at night under the Hydroglow lights. These fish are more than willing to come up and eat bait in 40 feet or less depth range in the dark, and this makes for a much better release with the fish swimming off healthy and not exhausted or bloated. For night fishing, we like the biggest alewife possible on 2/0 circle hooks and 20-lb. mono leaders. This allows us to get the fish in the boat faster, get a pic, and release the fish quickly.”

Walleye: Capt. Eric Crowley reports, “The night bite is good for walleye. We have seen some really nice ’eyes showing up in the hours just before dawn. Believe it or not, they like the biggest baits available. Big alewife and even dollar-bill-sized gizzard shad seem to be irresistible to the big-eyed bottom dwellers. We have seen Carters Lake walleye up to 8 pounds in the last few weeks. These are not the hardest-fighting fish, but they are the fish of choice for the table.”