Carters Lake Spotted Bass Mapped For June Topwater Bite

Big spotted bass will smash topwater early and late at Carters Lake this month, and they’ll also eat a spinnerbait on wind-blown structure and deep plastics once the sun is up. Bill Payne shows us 10 locations where you can find bass in June.

If you like topwater action, June is a good month to throw your favorite bait early and late. And if a good chance of hooking a 5-lb. spotted bass turns you on, plan a trip to Carters Lake this month.

Carters is about an hour north of Atlanta and is a pretty lake with steep hillsides and no development. It gets busy on the weekends, and night fishing takes over in the summer, but during the week and early mornings you can get some good topwater action. Later in the day, the big spots will hit plastics and spinnerbaits, even on the weekends.

Bill Payne grew up in the area and has fished Carters most of his life. He was a member of the Cartersville Bass Club but now concentrates on tournaments like the CBA Trail, Bassmaster Weekend Series and Triton Gold and Owners tournaments. He also fishes pot tournaments on Carters.

“In June the big spots are moving toward their summer holes, and you can catch them in a variety of ways,” Bill said.

He loves to catch them on top early in the morning and late in the day and will even follow the shady banks during the day to find active, shallow bass that will eat a topwater plug. During the day, if he is not chasing shade, he will move out to humps and points that are near deep water and work them with plastic baits. He always keeps a variety of them ready and will have a jig-head worm, Texas rig, Carolina rig and drop shot on his deck. All work, but some days one rig will work better than others.

If there is some wind, Bill will also throw a big spinnerbait across points and humps. The stronger the wind the better, but good windy days are rare in June. You can have some excellent catches if you hit one, though.

Bill and I fished Carters in mid-May on a tough day with bright sun and water that dropped 4 feet overnight. The day before, he caught a 4.71-lb. spot that looked beat up from the spawn and should have weighed close to 6 pounds. He also landed another that went more than 4 pounds.

When we fished, Bill landed six or seven spots up to 3 pounds and lost a bigger one, but it was much slower than the day before. The fishing changes so rapidly at Carters, but if you spend some time there, you will hit it right. And conditions stabilize in June, so it is more consistent.

The following 10 locations will all produce good fish this time of year and are some of Bill’s favorites.

No. 1: N 34º 36.683 – W 84º 40.142 — Facing the dam, the spillway is to your left. The point between the spillway and the dam rip-rap has an old access road coming down it and provides a ledge with big rocks. Bass often stack up here to feed on passing baitfish. Keep your boat well out off the point, and make casts across it with topwater baits early in the morning and late in the day. A big Spook, Sammy or popping plug will work well at different times. Try several baits. Later in the day, cast your plastics up near the bank, and work them across the roadbed.

Bill will usually have a Zoom Finesse Worm in pumpkin or green pumpkin on his Texas and jig-head rigs and a lizard or Baby Brush Hog in the same colors on a Carolina rig. All work, but getting hung in the rocks is a problem here. After fishing the point in the morning, Bill will go over to the rock face on the other side of the spillway and throw a topwater bait, keeping his boat right against the rocks and working the bait along the wall in the shade. The wall shades the water, and bass will hold in the shade later in the day.

No. 2: N 34º 37.179 – W 84º 33.302 — Run across to Fisher Creek, and watch for a long, narrow point on your left as you make the turn to the left. On the end of this point is a pine with a double trunk. Go past the end of the point to the next point inside the creek. It is not far away and has a big pine with a blue stripe around the trunk right on the end of the point.

Bill said there is a sharp drop on the right side of this point where the creek channel swings by it. It is a good example of the type place he likes to fish plastic baits, but this spot is not as good for topwater. It is the kind of sharp drop on a point he likes, and the flat top of the point makes it an even better feeding spot. Keep your boat on the right side, cast up onto the top of the point and pull your baits down the steep side. Bill said he tries to drag his jig-head worm instead of hopping it, since he gets more hits just crawling it along the bottom. You can work Texas- and Carolina-rigged worms here, too.

If you like topwater action, June is a good month to throw your favorite bait early and late. And if a good chance of hooking a 5-lb. spotted bass turns you on, plan a trip to Carters Lake this month.

Carters is about an hour north of Atlanta and is a pretty lake with steep hillsides and no development. It gets busy on the weekends, and night fishing takes over in the summer, but during the week and early mornings you can get some good topwater action. Later in the day, the big spots will hit plastics and spinnerbaits, even on the weekends.

Bill Payne grew up in the area and has fished Carters most of his life. He was a member of the Cartersville Bass Club but now concentrates on tournaments like the CBA Trail, Bassmaster Weekend Series and Triton Gold and Owners tournaments. He also fishes pot tournaments on Carters.

“In June the big spots are moving toward their summer holes, and you can catch them in a variety of ways,” Bill said.

He loves to catch them on top early in the morning and late in the day and will even follow the shady banks during the day to find active, shallow bass that will eat a topwater plug. During the day, if he is not chasing shade, he will move out to humps and points that are near deep water and work them with plastic baits. He always keeps a variety of them ready and will have a jig-head worm, Texas rig, Carolina rig and drop shot on his deck. All work, but some days one rig will work better than others.

If there is some wind, Bill will also throw a big spinnerbait across points and humps. The stronger the wind the better, but good windy days are rare in June. You can have some excellent catches if you hit one, though.

Bill and I fished Carters in mid-May on a tough day with bright sun and water that dropped 4 feet overnight. The day before, he caught a 4.71-lb. spot that looked beat up from the spawn and should have weighed close to 6 pounds. He also landed another that went more than 4 pounds.

When we fished, Bill landed six or seven spots up to 3 pounds and lost a bigger one, but it was much slower than the day before. The fishing changes so rapidly at Carters, but if you spend some time there, you will hit it right. And conditions stabilize in June, so it is more consistent.

The following 10 locations will all produce good fish this time of year and are some of Bill’s favorites.

No. 1: N 34º 36.683 – W 84º 40.142 — Facing the dam, the spillway is to your left. The point between the spillway and the dam rip-rap has an old access road coming down it and provides a ledge with big rocks. Bass often stack up here to feed on passing baitfish. Keep your boat well out off the point, and make casts across it with topwater baits early in the morning and late in the day. A big Spook, Sammy or popping plug will work well at different times. Try several baits. Later in the day, cast your plastics up near the bank, and work them across the roadbed.

Bill will usually have a Zoom Finesse Worm in pumpkin or green pumpkin on his Texas and jig-head rigs and a lizard or Baby Brush Hog in the same colors on a Carolina rig. All work, but getting hung in the rocks is a problem here. After fishing the point in the morning, Bill will go over to the rock face on the other side of the spillway and throw a topwater bait, keeping his boat right against the rocks and working the bait along the wall in the shade. The wall shades the water, and bass will hold in the shade later in the day.

No. 2: N 34º 37.179 – W 84º 33.302 — Run across to Fisher Creek, and watch for a long, narrow point on your left as you make the turn to the left. On the end of this point is a pine with a double trunk. Go past the end of the point to the next point inside the creek. It is not far away and has a big pine with a blue stripe around the trunk right on the end of the point.

Bill said there is a sharp drop on the right side of this point where the creek channel swings by it. It is a good example of the type place he likes to fish plastic baits, but this spot is not as good for topwater. It is the kind of sharp drop on a point he likes, and the flat top of the point makes it an even better feeding spot. Keep your boat on the right side, cast up onto the top of the point and pull your baits down the steep side. Bill said he tries to drag his jig-head worm instead of hopping it, since he gets more hits just crawling it along the bottom. You can work Texas- and Carolina-rigged worms here, too.

No. 3: N 34 37.637 – W 84 39.245 — Go back into Fisher Creek, and stop out in the middle just outside the big cove on your left, right before the creek narrows down a lot. There is a hump a little to the right of the creek channel when facing the back of the creek, but near the middle of it. The corps put out some brush here, and the hump comes up to about 20 feet deep at full pool.

Bill will “outline” places like this, keeping his boat out in deep water and casting up on top of the hump. He will work all the way around it, hitting it from different angles. Probe for the brush with different plastic-bait rigs. By going all the way around the hump, you offer bass holding anywhere on it a look at your bait.

No. 4: N 34º 36.616 – W 84º 38 806 — On the upstream point of Woodring Branch is a small swimming area with a cement sidewalk going to the water. There is an orange buoy line across the cove and in front of the beach that the high water had broken loose in mid-May.

Start at the point just outside the swimming area, and work out around that point and the next point. This is a good area to throw topwater in the shade in the morning since the trees shade it. It is where Bill caught the 4.71-lb. bass in mid-May. Keep your boat fairly close, and make angled casts to the bank to keep your bait in the shade during most of the cast. After working topwater, back out some and cast your plastic baits in close to the bank and work them out, fishing them slowly down the drop to deeper water.

No. 5: N 34º 36.741 – W 84º 38.798 — When fishing hole No. 4, you will be near the dock and ramp at Woodring Branch Recreation Area. Out from this dock are two shoal markers that sit on a ridge that comes up into two humps. Bass hold on these humps all summer long, and you can catch them early on topwater and later in the day on plastics. Fish all the way around both humps, outlining them and probing for cover like rocks and brush. When you catch a bass, remember the area, and work it hard. Bill says the fish school up in tight groups on spots like this, and if you catch one, there should be others there.

No. 6: N 34º 36.168 – W 84º 38.997 — Across the lake at Carters Lake Marina, the ramp sits on a point that runs out. It holds lots of 3- and 4-lb. spots. Bill told me about catching two 4-lb. spots on one cast on a Spook here one morning. He will often start here in the morning first thing, fishing his topwater bait over the ramp and point. Fish all around the point, and then work the boat houses, especially after the sun gets up. You can also fish plastic baits on the ramp and the rocks around it.

No. 7: N 34º 38.177 – W 84º 38.802 — On the point between Lewis Branch, where the marina sits, and the next creek upstream, is a hump that is way off the point. If you line up the right end of the dock to the left of the ramp with the right side of the brown house on top of the hill, you will idle across the hump. At full pool this hump comes up to about 20 feet deep. Outline it with your plastic baits. Bill says you can also catch some bass here by deep cranking a big plug. And for some reason this hump also tends to hold big largemouths with the spots. It is rough on top with brush for cover. Bill says the best spot on the hump is right on the top.

On this spot and others, as you outline it watch your depthfinder. If you see any fish on or near the bottom, send a drop-shot worm down to them and twitch it in place. Bill likes a finesse worm on his drop-shot rig and puts the weight about a foot below it. He keeps this rig ready at all times. Most of the fish he catches are from 12 to 20 feet deep, but at times they can be deeper.

No. 8: N 34º 36.478 – W 84º 38.335 — Across the lake and upstream of the marina, a long point runs out at Woodring Branch. There is a saddle between the end of the point and a small island with a danger marker. The island had about five little pine trees on it, and there are two more shoal markers off the end of the island. Bill says this is a numbers hole where he catches a lot of bass but few bigger ones. He starts on the outside of the end of the point and fishes it, the saddle between the point and island, the island itself and then around the two shoal markers off the end of the island. Topwater works well here early and late, and then he switches to plastics. This is a good area to find fish schooling, too.

No. 9: N 34º 36.336 – W 84º 37.662 — The point on the upstream side of Camp Branch, the one between the creek and the cove with the swimming area at Harris Branch, is a narrow, steep rocky point. It runs way out and has three danger markers on it. Bill says lots of big bass are caught here on a regular basis. Start near the bank on the Camp Branch side, and work all the way out and around the last shoal marker, and then fish back to the bank. Fish topwater early and late and also plastic baits. Bill says the top of the ridge is like a roof top covered in rock, and it is very rough.

This point sits in a good spot to get the full effect of a west wind and is a good spot for spinnerbaits when the wind is blowing. The wind got up after lunch the day we fished, and Bill caught three good keeper spots and lost a 3-lb. fish here on a spinnerbait. Cast your spinnerbait across the ridge, and slow-roll it, getting it down near the bottom. Bill likes a big, heavy double-willowleaf spinnerbait with a natural-colored skirt for slow-rolling in deeper water. He also runs a trailer hook when there is no wood cover to hang.

No. 10: N 34º 37.429 – W 84º 38.026 — Run to the mouth of Wurley Creek, and you will see a long, narrow point on the downstream side of the mouth of Wurley. The bar from the point runs way out and drops off fast. You will see a road on the point people use to get to the end of it to fish from the bank, and this old roadbed runs out into the water on the point.

Fish all around this point with plastics. Bill said he does not do as well here on top as in other spots, but he catches a lot of bass here on plastic baits. It is also a good spot to slow-roll a spinnerbait.

Bass will hold on all these spots this month, and you are likely to see Bill fishing them from his Triton. Check them out, and then find other similar places on Carters to land your biggest spotted bass ever. It may happen on any cast at this lake.

— Go back into Fisher Creek, and stop out in the middle just outside the big cove on your left, right before the creek narrows down a lot. There is a hump a little to the right of the creek channel when facing the back of the creek, but near the middle of it. The corps put out some brush here, and the hump comes up to about 20 feet deep at full pool.

Bill will “outline” places like this, keeping his boat out in deep water and casting up on top of the hump. He will work all the way around it, hitting it from different angles. Probe for the brush with different plastic-bait rigs. By going all the way around the hump, you offer bass holding anywhere on it a look at your bait.

No. 4: N 34º 36.616 – W 84º 38 806 — On the upstream point of Woodring Branch is a small swimming area with a cement sidewalk going to the water. There is an orange buoy line across the cove and in front of the beach that the high water had broken loose in mid-May.

Start at the point just outside the swimming area, and work out around that point and the next point. This is a good area to throw topwater in the shade in the morning since the trees shade it. It is where Bill caught the 4.71-lb. bass in mid-May. Keep your boat fairly close, and make angled casts to the bank to keep your bait in the shade during most of the cast. After working topwater, back out some and cast your plastic baits in close to the bank and work them out, fishing them slowly down the drop to deeper water.

No. 5: N 34º 36.741 – W 84º 38.798 — When fishing hole No. 4, you will be near the dock and ramp at Woodring Branch Recreation Area. Out from this dock are two shoal markers that sit on a ridge that comes up into two humps. Bass hold on these humps all summer long, and you can catch them early on topwater and later in the day on plastics. Fish all the way around both humps, outlining them and probing for cover like rocks and brush. When you catch a bass, remember the area, and work it hard. Bill says the fish school up in tight groups on spots like this, and if you catch one, there should be others there.

No. 6: N 34º 36.168 – W 84º 38.997 — Across the lake at Carters Lake Marina, the ramp sits on a point that runs out. It holds lots of 3- and 4-lb. spots. Bill told me about catching two 4-lb. spots on one cast on a Spook here one morning. He will often start here in the morning first thing, fishing his topwater bait over the ramp and point. Fish all around the point, and then work the boat houses, especially after the sun gets up. You can also fish plastic baits on the ramp and the rocks around it.

No. 7: N 34º 38.177 – W 84º 38.802 — On the point between Lewis Branch, where the marina sits, and the next creek upstream, is a hump that is way off the point. If you line up the right end of the dock to the left of the ramp with the right side of the brown house on top of the hill, you will idle across the hump. At full pool this hump comes up to about 20 feet deep. Outline it with your plastic baits. Bill says you can also catch some bass here by deep cranking a big plug. And for some reason this hump also tends to hold big largemouths with the spots. It is rough on top with brush for cover. Bill says the best spot on the hump is right on the top.

On this spot and others, as you outline it watch your depthfinder. If you see any fish on or near the bottom, send a drop-shot worm down to them and twitch it in place. Bill likes a finesse worm on his drop-shot rig and puts the weight about a foot below it. He keeps this rig ready at all times. Most of the fish he catches are from 12 to 20 feet deep, but at times they can be deeper.

No. 8: N 34º 36.478 – W 84º 38.335 — Across the lake and upstream of the marina, a long point runs out at Woodring Branch. There is a saddle between the end of the point and a small island with a danger marker. The island had about five little pine trees on it, and there are two more shoal markers off the end of the island. Bill says this is a numbers hole where he catches a lot of bass but few bigger ones. He starts on the outside of the end of the point and fishes it, the saddle between the point and island, the island itself and then around the two shoal markers off the end of the island. Topwater works well here early and late, and then he switches to plastics. This is a good area to find fish schooling, too.

No. 9: N 34º 36.336 – W 84º 37.662 — The point on the upstream side of Camp Branch, the one between the creek and the cove with the swimming area at Harris Branch, is a narrow, steep rocky point. It runs way out and has three danger markers on it. Bill says lots of big bass are caught here on a regular basis. Start near the bank on the Camp Branch side, and work all the way out and around the last shoal marker, and then fish back to the bank. Fish topwater early and late and also plastic baits. Bill says the top of the ridge is like a roof top covered in rock, and it is very rough.

This point sits in a good spot to get the full effect of a west wind and is a good spot for spinnerbaits when the wind is blowing. The wind got up after lunch the day we fished, and Bill caught three good keeper spots and lost a 3-lb. fish here on a spinnerbait. Cast your spinnerbait across the ridge, and slow-roll it, getting it down near the bottom. Bill likes a big, heavy double-willowleaf spinnerbait with a natural-colored skirt for slow-rolling in deeper water. He also runs a trailer hook when there is no wood cover to hang.

No. 10: N 34º 37.429 – W 84º 38.026 — Run to the mouth of Wurley Creek, and you will see a long, narrow point on the downstream side of the mouth of Wurley. The bar from the point runs way out and drops off fast. You will see a road on the point people use to get to the end of it to fish from the bank, and this old roadbed runs out into the water on the point.

Fish all around this point with plastics. Bill said he does not do as well here on top as in other spots, but he catches a lot of bass here on plastic baits. It is also a good spot to slow-roll a spinnerbait.

Bass will hold on all these spots this month, and you are likely to see Bill fishing them from his Triton. Check them out, and then find other similar places on Carters to land your biggest spotted bass ever. It may happen on any cast at this lake.