Carters Lake Fishing Report January 2006

Carters: Level: 1.7 feet above full pool. Temp: 48 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: “The bite has finally arrived,” said Buddy Callahan of Bart’s Bait & Tackle. “Everybody has been catching fish.” Buddy said 17 pounds finished out of the money at a recent Saturday pot tournament out of Doll Mountain. Buddy said good stringers of spots are coming on spinnerbaits. “Everything is about four weeks behind normal,” Buddy said. “Run the banks with a spinnerbait.” Buddy said there is no particular pattern to look for, because the fish are scattered, but they are being caught shallow. Stay on the main lake, and stay on the trolling motor, covering as much water as possible. If the spinnerbait bite doesn’t work, throw a jig on rocky, main-lake points. Buddy said some small fish can be caught on drop-shots or jigging spoons, but the big spots are coming in shallow water.

Linesides: From the mouths of the creeks to halfway back, pull live trout for striped bass. “The fish are scattered around,” Buddy said. He said to put out a spread of baits on flatlines, downlines and planer boards. “One day you won’t get a single bite on a downline, and the next day that’s what they want,” Buddy said. Try all the tactics until you see what works best. On windy days, use your trolling motor to keep the boat straight, but sometimes just drifting with the wind can be effective. Some big stripers have been reportedly caught in the Doll Mountain ramp area on downlined trout.