Carters Lake Fishing Report – December 2006

Carters: Level: 4.2 feet below full pool. Temp: 58-62 degrees. Clarity: Relatively clear.

Bass: Good. Daniel Davenport won a pot tournament over the weekend with 12 pounds. “Most of the guys are using Spotstickers with green-pumpkin worms in 20-foot brush,” said Buddy Callahan at Bart’s Bait & Tackle. The lake has come back up since last-month’s report, so brush is really holding some fish now. There’s a small crankbait bite first thing in the morning if you just run the banks. If you don’t know where any man-made brush is located, look on points. Also, the DNR fish attractors are holding fish. As the weather cools off more, look for the bite to move out into 30 and 40 feet of water. Try jigging spoons, drop-shots, Spotstickers and jigs.

Stripers: Mike Maddelena and Bill Young said live trout fished on planer boards, freelines, downlines and downlines with a bobber are great ways to catch stripers in December. Mike said a 60-degree water temperature is optimum, and by the beginning of December the water temperature at Carters should be about right. Since stripers will be schooling toward the backs of creeks this time of year, Mike says anglers should idle about halfway back in a creek arm looking for bait on their electronics. The hump at Doll Mountain is a great place to look. Also, go up the Coosawattee River and fish points and bends. Mike said stripers will cruise the river channel as they move, and they often pull up on these points at outside bends to see if there’s something to eat. Guide Robert Eidson said the Carters’ striper bite is usually excellent in December. “Doll Mountain is just loaded with fish. Launch at Doll, and fish the reef markers right out there in the center,” Robert said. “Everybody’s fishing them, but they’re loaded. Also try up the Coosawattee, and Worley had a good topwater bite in the afternoon.” Buddy Callahan said the biggest striper he’d heard of recently was a 23-pounder. He said in December the fish will stay shallow longer, which means you can run balloons and planer boards up into the day. For more on Carters striper fishing, turn to page 42.