Carters Lake Fishing Report August 2014

Carters: Level: Full pool. Temp: 82-85 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Linesides: Guide Eric Crowley reports, “Carters is in full-on summer pattern. Fish are deep and only eating a few hours out of the day. The striper are feeding best from 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. with a few fish being caught here and there later in the day. Live threadfins have by far been the best bait in the last few weeks. Fish these baits on small 1/0 circle hooks and a light leader from 10- to 14-lb. test fluorocarbon. Most of the fish we are marking on the sonar are in 60 feet of water, but the feeding fish seem to be the ones around 40 feet. Stagger your downlines from 30 to 40 feet, and move slowly through the area where your sonar is showing fish. The elusive Carters Lake monster hybrids are on the move from creek to creek chasing the shallow schools of baitfish. The evening and early hours of the day are the best times to find them. Look in shallow water from 15 to 30 feet where there is lots of baitfish. Try pitching out baits in the area and letting them sink slowly. After a minute or so, recast and let them sink again. The fish will almost always hit when it is falling through the water column.”