Carters Lake Fishing Report June 2018

Carters: Level: Full pool. Temp: Full. Clarity: Mid 70s.

Bass: Capt. Eric Crowley reports, “The spotted bass bite has been better than I’ve seen in a few years. We have put more big spots in the boat this past month than I thought was possible. For all of May, there was a fish on every piece of shoreline structure and submerged structure. There are lots of 2- and 3-lb. fish, but what really has been impressive is the number of true 4-lb. fish we have seen. The artificial bite has been good on swimbaits, drop shots, flukes and jigs.”

 Linesides: Guide Robert Eidson reports, “The schools of the big hybrids are showing up at the pumpback and at the mouth of Fisher Creek. We’re catching them on downlines about 24 feet deep over a 40-foot bottom. Flatlines and planer boards are working real well early in the morning, too. Once the sun comes up, move out to the main-lake points, and drop big alewife and big gizzard shad down 40 to 45 feet over a 60- to 70-foot bottom for the big stripers. Stripers are in full spawn on the main lake. The last two weeks have been the best two weeks I have seen in a long time on Carters Lake. Once the live bait bite is over with, start pulling your Mack Farr umbrella rigs, clipping the points 30 to 40 feet deep, along with the humps out in front of the Marina dam, the mouth of Harris Branch and the mouth of Wurley. These areas are all holding good fish once the sun gets up, especially from about 11 a.m. to noon. Striper Soup in Acworth has everything you need to get yourself started on trolling.” Capt. Eric Crowley reports, “The stripers and hybrids have been doing exactly what they should be doing for this time of year, and that’s eating. Look for the hungry fish from the backs of the creeks out to the points, depending on the time of day. Early mornings they seem to be in the very back chasing herring and big threadfin. A typical spread of two to four planers, flatlines and at least one down rod at 25 feet is the standard right now. I like to run my baits from 25 to 75 feet back. After you find what is getting bit, adjust accordingly. We have seen some nice stripers and hybrids this spring, with some really fat, healthy fish coming to the boat to be released.”

Walleye/Catfish: Capt. Eric Crowley reports, “The walleye bite has been decent from day to day. One day you can catch five, and the next day you catch zero. We caught them on live shad and flukes the past few weeks, with the bigger fish coming on live bait. Shallow at night and deeper in daylight is their style. Look for them from 3 to 30 feet before lunch and then they go deep and disappear, not to return until dark again. The big catfish bite has been solid, with fish up to 32 pounds being caught and released this past month. We fish for these big catfish day and night with both live and dead bait.”