Carters Lake Fishing Report – August 2023

Carters: Level: 0.9 below 1,074. Temp: 82 degrees. Clarity: 5 feet.

Bass: Guide Louie Bartenfield, of Carters Lake Guide Service, says Carters is in full summer pattern. Most anglers are going out at night to avoid the heat, but the daytime bite can be productive. Keep a walking topwater ready at all times to cast to surface schooling spots. The schooling activity is best early mornings around creek mouths and flats. After the early bite, 20- to 35-foot-deep brushpiles and standing timber are the key to finding the fish. Work a walking topwater over them. A wide variety will work, so use your favorite, and then try a drop-shot Big Bite Skinny Stick, both nose hooked and rigged weedless. At night, try a jig, Texas-rigged worm or shaky head on rock points and humps that drop into deep water. Brush on them help concentrate the fish.”

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Walleye: Eric Crowley, of Lake And Stream Guide Service, reports, “Most people don’t like August fishing, but I personally love it, especially on this deep lake. This is big walleye time for us. We are targeting the bigger fish in the depths that get very little pressure from most anglers. We are fishing 60, 70, 80 feet or even deeper some days. I’m finding the fish on the sonar holding in the trees, then targeting them as close as I can get baits to them. At these depths, it’s pretty dark, even in the daytime, so lure colors tend to be in the ‘crazy’ spectrum. We are seeing average fish in the 23-inch range, with some 27- to 28-inch fish mixed in. If you want to fill Ziplocs, now is a good time to get on the boat and take advantage.”

Stripers: Guide Eric Crowley, “The stripers are in their summer pattern, which equals a great early morning bite under the Hydro Glows, then you got about an hour to make it happen. The fish tend to go on break until about 9 a.m., then feed again for about an hour. After that, they head for the depths and hang in the cool water until it cools off a little at dusk. In the early morning, live bait is the way to go. Big alewives are always king on this lake. Downsize the leaders and let the baits swim freely. After the morning bite, the trolling bite has been pretty good. U-rigs, lures, bucktails, whatever you like to pull. Put the baits in the 35-foot range and work the shallow treelines. We have had some great days with multiple 15-lb.-class striped fish on the troll.”