Lake Chatuge Fishing Reports – January 2021

Chatuge: Level: 7 feet below full pool. Temp: 55-56 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Guide Eric Welch reports, “We’ve finally been getting some cooler weather, which is helping bring the water temps down. Still not seeing any topwater action, and the bait we’ve been marking is still deep. It’s that time of year to get out the 1/2-oz. spoons and start dropping down on fish you mark on your depthfinder. I’m still catching fish on a 3/16-oz. shaky head with either a Zoom or Strike King finesse worm. This time of year it’s also hard to beat a Ned rig with a Z-Man TRD. On sunny days, the fish will pull up on any type of rock or laydowns due to these areas warming up quicker. You can still catch fish on a drop shot with a 4.5-inch Roboworm and on a Texas rig. You just want to slow down on how you work it. This time of year I like a 3/8-oz. jig. My three colors are black/blue, pb/j and green pumpkin. I play around with different trailers, like a twin-tail grub, craw and a chunk. It just depends on how cold and what kind of action I think they’re looking for. Wintertime is always a good time the throw a crankbait, like a Rapala No. 5 Shad Rap, a DT6, a Bandit 300 and a Strike King 1.5 deep squarebill. Once the water gets down in the mid 50s, it’s a good time to throw the A-rig. Now’s a good time to fish the Float-n-Fly around deep, rocky banks and points. I always downsize on my line in the winter months. I like 7-lb. Gamma Touch fluorocarbon for the shaky head, Ned rig, Texas rig and tube. I like 10-lb. Gamma Edge fluorocarbon for jigs, 14-lb. Edge for the A-rig and 12-lb., 10-lb. and 8-lb. mono for crankbaits.”