Carters Lake Fishing Report – October 2020

Carters: Level: 5 feet low. Temp: 76 degrees. Clarity: 6 feet.

Bass: Guide Louie Bartenfield reports, “Spotted bass are starting to spread out from main-lake humps and points closer to creek mouths and channel swings. Expect lots of surface schooling throughout the day as we move into fall. Flukes and topwater baits like Pop-Rs and smaller walking baits will be my primary weapons. If you follow wind and bait, you’ll consistently find large groups of spots in October.”

Capt. Eric Crowley reports, “Spots are starting to feed on the giant schools of bait. We have been catching busting fish with the flutter spoons. Just get it close and let it sink on a slack line. I like the Blue Fox spoons in chrome and green for casting. Anywhere you see bait up shallow is where you need to be fishing.”

Stripers: Capt. Eric Crowley reports, “The month of October can bring the change we have all been looking for. Cooler temps, shorter days and lake turnover are all in play this month. That doesn’t mean look for a fall pattern just yet, but it’s coming. Turnover can be problematic until you find feeding fish that have moved to more stable water. As far as the stripers go, don’t expect a big change until about the end of the month or early November. They are still holding deep in the creek mouths, but in the last couple of weeks, we have been seeing some fish being caught in 40 feet of water. The hybrids have moved back in the creeks with the bait or into the lower part of the main river under huge schools of small bait. Jigging spoons, Captain Mack’s umbrella rigs and live bait are all good options this month. Take advantage of the diversity of tactics. Worley and Fisher are good starting points.”

Walleye: Capt. Eric Crowley reports, “The walleye bite continues to be good early in the morning and right at dark. Spoons have been our top producers in recent weeks, even out fishing live bait. We have had some six and seven fish days recently, all on artificial while targeting fish in the 60- to 80-foot range. After sundown, you want flashy and noisy baits. Deep water adjacent to any shallow humps or shoals that the fish use to corral bait are key locations.”