Carters Lake Fishing Report February 2016

Carters: Level: 0.3 feet below full pool. Temp: Mid 40s. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Guide Louie Bartenfield reports, “Fishing has been fantastic! Tournament weights have been higher down the board the past few weeks than in a long time, maybe since 2012. All the fresh run-off rain water colored our water clarity a bit, but all the fresh water come in during our lake turn-over actually helped improve water conditions overall. The spotted bass have been feeding heavily on crayfish and bluegills the last month since the flood. This has made the Spotsticker jig bite fantastic. The 1/4-oz. Spotsticker Crawler heads and 3/8-oz. Spotsticker hand-tied casting jigs tipped with Big Bite twin-tail trailers and Real Deal Craws have been my go-to baits for the last month. Focus on steep channel banks, and look for composition changes or run-off areas. Fish the jig slowly, and work from 10 feet out to 40 feet for best results. I’m using 12-lb. Sunline Sniper Fluro and a 6-foot, 10-inch St Croix Legend Tx Rod. This helps feel some of these deep, finicky bites.”