Carters Lake Fishing Report – April 2009

Carters: Level: 1.9 feet above full pool. Temp: 50 degrees. Clarity: Clear to slightly stained.

Bass: Zack Foster reports, “The fishing was good this month. I found the best fish around the dam area. The best days came with the wind blowing straight into the chunk rock of the dam. Flipping a spinnerbait or a worm on the bank and keeping it moving down the chunk rock produced really well. The fish are still in the prespawn, so the bites weren’t always consistent, but fishing the right spots will produce fish. I found them on banks with a specific 45-degree angle and in shallower water with deep water nearby. Two locations that were the best were in Fisher Creek, the banks were good and also a hill top in the middle. The right side of the dam past the cut also had numbers of fish there. The majority of the bites came on a pumpkinseed Trick Worm with brown shaky head and black spinnerbait with Colorado blade. In April, if the weather is good, look for big spots and stripers to start hitting topwater, so keep a Spook tied on.”

Linesides: Guide Robert Eidson said the striper bite down the lake is slow, but John Hembry reported a good mixed-bag bite up river. John said the spring run is starting, and he’s been catching good numbers of small fish, including stripers, hybrids, yellow bass and some good walleye and crappie, fishing where the river pours into the lake. Small 1/16-oz. white/chartreuse bucktails or crappie jigs of the same color bounced along the bottom in the current breaks and eddies are producing well. Decent stripers in the 5-lb. range are also taking small suspending jerkbaits — something like a 3-inch Husky Jerk. Robert said if you want to go after some bigger stripers, a recent shocking survey conducted by WRD found the majority of fish, and the biggest fish, at Woodring, Doll Mountain, Harris Branch and Camp Branch. The fish were either on long points or in timber. They are high in the water column or right up on the banks right now, so your electronics won’t spot them. Look for swirling fish, and pull big baits on planer boards or freelines. Robert suggested 12- to 16-inch trout or gizzard shad. WRD tagged 350 stripers. If you catch a tagged fish, cut the tag off and call the number on it. There will be a drawing for $200 for tags returned.

Walleye: The recent WRD shocking survey turned up boat loads of big 6- to 8-lb. walleye. They should be moving up the river and through the shoals on the spring spawning run. The full moon in April should be a good time to catch some big walleye.