Carters Lake Fishing Report – April 2025

Carters: Level: 0.3 feet above 1074. Temp: 62 degrees. Clarity: Stained.

Bass: Guide Robbie Linginfelter, with Carters Lake Guide Service, reports, “Shad and spot spawns are the key. Fish rocky, main-lake points early with topwater, jerkbaits and spinnerbaits around shad and bass hitting them. Move fast until you find activity. After the sun gets up and stops the shad spawn, target clay and rock banks with nail-weight stick worm for spots in all stages of the spawn. Fish slowly and carefully. Details and good spots for both patterns are in this month’s Map of the Month article.”

Walleye: Guide Eric Crowley, of Lake And Stream Guide Service, reports, “With the walleye spawn wrapping up in the river, we are focusing our walleye efforts back on the main lake. Early morning the toothy fish are up shallow feeding on the shallow bait. These fish will get back to depth after sunrise, so the shallow bite doesn’t last long, but while they are up there, they are susceptible to live baits, as well as artificials. Jerkbaits, crankbaits and soft plastics can all be worked over rocky bottom shallow points and shoals to pick off the ambushing walleye. A slow, steady retrieve is the ticket to keeping your bait on the bottom. After sunrise, the fish will slide down to that consistent 50-foot range where we find them in. After they go deep, you need to  adjust your presentations to their depth. Live baits can be fished shallow early and then deeper as the day goes on. Light leaders and small hooks will up your success rate regardless of bait choice. The night bite will pick up again on the full moon when the bait spawn is in full swing mid month. After the bait spawn, look for these fish to head offshore and stay deep again until fall.” 

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Walleye: Guide Eric Crowley, of Lake And Stream Guide Service, reports, “The striper bite has been cranking up for the last couple weeks. April is big-fish time for us. Targeting big fish with big baits is the pattern. As the water warms and the bait gets shallower, the big striped fish will follow. This month is typically when we see fish in the 30-lb. range come to the boat. Planer boards and flatlines with fresh caught bait early in the day will be the go-to presentation this month. Keeping the baits up shallow is key. This allows the predator to silhouette the baits on the surface and ambush them from below. Stripers hunt from below, so make it a little easier for them, and you’ll be rewarded. Start near the shoreline at sunrise and work out to deeper water as the day goes on. If the bite slows, try pulling umbrella rigs. The big rigs from Captain Mack will put fish in the boat. Trolling 3 mph about 150 feet back has been pretty consistent. The HydroGlow bite is underway, as well. Hanging the green lights off the boat will attract all sorts of life from baitfish to predators. This is a great way to load up on bait and get some fish in the boat early. About 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. is prime time, so you need to be set up by then to draw in the life. Again light leaders and smaller hooks will let the bait swim more naturally enticing more bites.”