Carters Lake Fishing Report – January 2010

Carters: Level: 3.5 feet above full pool. Temp: 50 degrees. Clarity: Crystal clear.

Bass: Good. Mike Bucca reports, “The fishing on Carters is outstanding for quality. The last two weeks I have been averaging a 4-lb. or better spot on every trip with some even bigger fish in the mix and sometimes even multiple 4-lb. plus spots. Most of my fish are coming on the spot sushi colored Georgia Tackle Fly from Natures Tackle Box. I am setting my 8-lb. Triple Fish leaders anywhere from 8 to 15 feet, and I vary them from hour to hour based on the areas we are fishing. Fish are biting all over the lake. Find a deep shoreline, and start casting. I am varying my cadence a good bit to find out what the fish prefer. Be sure to get your fly as close to the shoreline as possible, and work it almost all the way back to the boat. I am also keeping a 3/4-oz. spoon handy and keeping an eye on my sonar for drive-by fish so that I can drop a spoon down on them while fishing the fly. January and February are the best months of the year to fish the fly on Carters, and you have a better-than-average chance to catch a spot of a lifetime.” Eric Crowley reports, “Holy spots! There are big, fat, spotted bass all over the place. Spots as large as 7 pounds have been turning up on a daily basis. Medium trout fished just off the bottom on almost any main-lake point will catch fish. Vertical jigging 1 1/2-oz. spoons has been fooling a big spot or two, as well as the large to medium soft-body swimbaits. Silver with chartreuse has been No. 1 when it comes to the spoons, and rainbow trout is the go-to color for swimbaits. Look for this to continue until the end of January or even into February.”

Striper: Fair. Eric Crowley reports, “Fish are still all over the place. The topwater bite never really developed the way it should have in December, so look for it to happen soon. Lots of fish are still being caught on downlined trout from 20 to 50 feet. Look for fish busting in the afternoon at the mouth of the river by the big island. There’s not a lot of topwater action, but I have seen it a few times in the last few weeks. Things are kind of off with the water temps and fish activity from where they should be this time of year. The bigger baits fished on planer boards and balloons should get more attention as the month goes on. The top baits on the lake have been trout from 5 to 10 inches and medium shiners. Until the threadfins start to die from the cold water temps, this will be the way to play with the stripers. There have been nice fish caught in Camp Branch, Woodring Branch and at the mouth of the river when the bait is present.” Robert Eidson said to look in Wurley, Fisher and Camp Branch creeks from the mouth to about one-third of the way in. Early, fish downlines and planer boards. Once the sun gets up, go to a three-arm U-rig loaded with seven 1/2-oz. jigs or fish main-lake points and humps with downlines right on the bottom in 45 feet of water.