Carters Lake Fishing Report July 2015

Carters: Level: 0.4 feet below full pool. Temp: 83-86 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Spotted Bass: Good. Guide Louie Bartenfield reports, “The bite seems to be getting better as the bass make their way into a full summer pattern. However, this is the slowest early June bite I remember over the past 8 to 10 years. The bass are feeding heavily on tiny shad and herring all across the lake. Almost every fish I’m seeing is spitting up lots of these small young-of-the-year shad. I’m using small Big Bite Jerk Minnows on a drop shot for almost all my deep fish right now. I’m using small topwaters like a Pop-R and small walking baits for the schooling fish. Keeping your eyes open is key right now. Bass are coming up all over the lake at random, and having a topwater or fluke-style bait ready to cast has helped me pick up a few more fish lately. As we move into July and the water continues to hold in the mid-upper 80s, fish will keep pushing deeper. Fish breaklines from 18 to 35 feet with drop shots, Spotsticker jigheads and finesse jigs.”

Stripers: Guide Eric Crowley reports, “Carters Lake is back to a ‘normal’ summer pattern, with striped fish feeding early in the morning and again at dusk and early evening. The stripers and hybrids are moving in and out of the creeks following the bait on their nightly migration. Look for fish shallow just before dawn and at first light in the very backs of the creeks. As the sun comes up, the bait and its pursuers will move to deeper water. The stripers will stop at humps and points waiting on the bait to pass by to be ambushed. Pulling flatlines and downlines will allow you to find where the linesides are feeding and concentrate your efforts in that zone. Typically, my downline setups are a 1 1/2- to 2-oz. sinker with a long 6- to 8-foot section of 14-lb. fluorocarbon and a 1/0 to 2/0 in-line circle hook with the largest live alewife or threadfin you can get a hold of. When you mark fish on the sonar, let the bait down and keep it just above the fish. These fish will almost always feed up, not down. The bite has been best from 5 a.m. until about 9 a.m., and then they seem to shut down for the day and are more concerned with staying cool then feeding.” Guide Louie Bartenfield reports, “Stripers have been extremely hard to come by. Like the spotted bass, I’m seeing stripers feeding heavily on small shad that are scattered throughout the upper part of the water column. If you’re going to catch stripers here during summer, you’ll have to fish the deep timber lines and do so with large herring or threadfin shad. Key on the shallower edges that top out at 40 to 50 feet, and look for bends or turns in the timber edge. These areas take time to find, but Humminbird and Lakemaster make it easier by using your depth highlight feature. Find the depth of trees you’re looking for, and follow that highlight. Points and bends in timber 80 to 90 feet deep are usually the key. These trees will top out in the proper depth to fish over with your downlined bait.”

Walleye: Guide Eric Crowley reports, “The walleye bite has been getting better by the day, and we are catching them with good results. Fish from 3 to 8 pounds have been caught on live herring fished on the bottom and with jigging spoons fished in the 20- to 50-foot range at night under Hydro Glow lights. Walleye fishing in any lake in Georgia takes patience and persistence, but the payoff can be great with some really nice table fare.”