Carters Lake Fishing Report – March 2022

Carters: Level: 2.4 feet below 1074. Temp: 47 degrees. Clarity: 3 to 6 feet.

Walleye: Guide Eric Crowley reports, “After a cold February, everyone including the fish are looking forward to spring. March is an exciting month as the walleye spawn kicks off. Big females full of eggs will be staging in the lower parts of the river waiting for the full moon to pass before heading way up the river to complete the spawning process. Look for them on the bottom 50 to 70 feet deep. Males are already staged from the Island to Ridgeway, mainly feeding at night on small shad and alewives on points and bends in 20 to 50 feet of water. Spoons, crankbaits or live bait will all catch fish when presented properly. After the full moon, the females will stop feeding while they spawn. They typically shut down for about two weeks while they return to the main lake and start packing on the pounds again. The males don’t get so stressed during spawning and will continue to feed while they move in and out of the river. Low light and nighttime are key feeding times in spring. The threadfin will start to school up in the shallower waters near spawning areas on the lower end of the lake.” 

Linesides: Guide Eric Crowley reports, “The bait will be on rocky shorelines and the big fish will use that to trap the bait and feed on them. Throwing topwater baits, jerkbaits or flukes against the shoreline at night will draw explosive strikes that will rattle even the most seasoned angler. Locations will vary as the shad will move around each day, but when you find feeding fish, it can be some of the best action of the year. Early morning can be productive as well, as the stripers will be in super shallow water along the shorelines waiting on unsuspecting schools of bait. Pitching live baits to shoreline structure or pulling planers really close to the bank can produce some really nice striped fish. A pitch-rod setup is typically a 7-foot medium action spooled with 15-lb. braid and a 15-lb. leader and 2/0 circle hooks.”

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