Carters Lake Fishing Report – December 2024

Carters: Level: 2.4 feet below 1074. Temp: 63-66 degrees. Clarity: 6 to 8 feet.

Bass: Guide Robbie Linginfelter, with Carters Lake Guide Service, reports, “The colder weather that will extend through December started the week before Thanksgiving, with steadily dropping temperatures. December is a great month to get out on the water for numbers and size. There are two main ways to catch bass this time of year. There will be fish on bait on the main lake and some others moving into the ditches following bait. Bait is the key to your December fishing. Fish your favorite cold-weather techniques, like spoons, drop shots, jerkbaits and underspins, but my go-to is a 2.8 swimbait on a jig head around balls of bait. Swim it under the balls of bait where the bass hold.”

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Walleye: Guide Eric Crowley, of Lake And Stream Guide Service, reports, “Old man winter finally showed up. Cold fronts are the name of the game now. Pre-frontal days are the time to hit the lake. Dropping pressure and an overcast sky are go time for feeding walleye. This time of year, we like to vertical jig for big walleye. Spoons, blades and jigs of all sizes are the go-to options right now. On cloudy days, try some of the crazy walleye colors, like firetiger and chartreuse or Wonder Bread patterns. On sunny days or in post-front conditions, go smaller and use natural colors like herring or crawdad, and slow the presentations way down. Target depth is 35 to 90 feet, with the bigger fish typically being deeper. Vary your jigging rhythm and distance from the bottom until you find what they want. Location isn’t a thing as the fish are simply following the bait around, so the familiar technique of finding the bait and finding the fish will hold true this month. We are targeting the biggest fish of the year right now. It’s big fish fishing and not a numbers game, but if you’re going to see a 10-lb. walleye, it will be in the next couple of months.”

Stripers: Guide Eric Crowley, of Lake And Stream Guide Service, reports, “The stripers are being pretty cooperative and feeding good in the mornings on a variety of live baits. Gizzards, alewives and shiners have all put fish in the boat recently. We are pulling planers with flatlines in conjunction with our downlines. Most bites are coming within 35 feet of the surface over various bottom depths. If you want to do away with the live bait, trolling Captain Mack’s Mini Mack’s are a great option. I pull the full-sized rigs behind the boat and the Minis off the planers, and 2 to 3 mph seems to be working just fine. Anywhere you see bait on the graph with fish near it is the place to fish. Work the area around the bait and then move on. Good luck and stay warm.”