Lake Burton Fishing Report March 2015

Burton: Level: 5.1 feet below full pool. Temp: 42 degrees. Clarity: 7-foot visibility.

Bass: Guide Wes Carlton reports, “The largemouth bite is good on the warmer days. Try fishing flats or ledges. Most of the fish we have caught have been big—5 to 7 pounds. The 1/2-oz. herring-colored Super Spin tipped with a white-pearl Zoom Paddle Tail has been working great. When retrieving this lure, keep the line tight, and try rolling it just above the bottom or just above the grass. The largemouth bite will continue to get better. These fish will be aggressive as the water temps head towards the 50-degree mark. The worm and jerkbait bite will be the ticket in a couple of weeks.”

Brown Trout: Good. Wes Carlton reports, “The brown trout bite has really picked up over the last few days. The majority of the trout population is out over the main-lake channel. Trolling small 2 3/4-inch jerkbaits in a herring color and 1/4-oz. Super Fish Spins tipped with an albino fluke has been producing the bigger trout. Try maintaining a speed of 2.8 mph. Freelining blueback herring is starting to work and will continue to get better over the next few weeks as these fish rise in the water column with increasing water temps.”

Walleye: Excellent. “Wow! Where do I start? The walleye bite has been awesome the last few weeks,” Wes Carlton said. “The size of the fish this year has been impressive, with several over the 8-lb. mark and one over 9 pounds. The best bite seems to be medium and large bass minnows Carolina rigged just up off the bottom. Most of the fish we have been catching have been in the 35-foot depth range. Look for these fish to start heading up in the creeks and tributaries to spawn in the next few weeks. Small colorful crankbaits work great in this shallower water.”