Carters Lake Fishing Report – June 2019

Carters: Level: Full. Temp: 75 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Guide Bill Payne reports, “The spawn is over for spotted bass, and topwater walking baits like a Super Spook and wake baits have been working good during the past several days. We’ve also had great success with Picasso shaky heads and their Rhino heads around cover in the 15- to 24-foot depths. As we progress into June, many fish will move a little deeper around the steeper drop offs with good cover nearby. As the spawn is completed, the fish are transitioning out of the shallows and are recovering from their spawning activities. Now we are seeing the spots moving toward deeper cover and beginning to gather into small schools. Continuing into June, a good plan of attack may be to start early with top water lures early morning and then transition to offshore brush or corps planted pallet piles in the 20- to 30-foot range with shaky heads and drop shots. After the morning bite, I like to focus exclusively on offshore structure with good cover like brush or the Corps placed pallet piles.  This cover holds fish throughout the summer and will be home to schools of larger fish.  Top water lures, swimbaits, and other moving baits will draw strikes even from these deeper fish located in the cover out deep.  You may be surprised to see how these fish react to lures worked at an extremely fast pace over the top of them. After casting over these offshore structures, I like to work my way closer with shaky head and then even closer with a drop shot. You really need a sensitive rod for the finesse techniques and my G Loomis NRX is unbeatable. Other baits that I often use in this scenario are: Spot Sticker underspins, Picasso Suijins and when the fish are really finicky, Duo Realis spy baits reeled over the tops of the deeper water cover. Finally, my favorite tactic for June is to avoid the heat of the day and heavier boat traffic altogether and go fishing at night.  For those in the know, after dark is the best time to chase spotted bass in the summer. Cooler temp, less boat traffic, bigger fish…..what’s not to like!!!!! Use your favorite plastics just like in the day time, Crankbait and spinnerbaits work on the night feeding sots too. You can find out even more about night fishing on my website www.billpayneguideservice.com in the articles tab.

Linesides: Guide Eric Crowley reports, “Summertime oh summertime, what can we say except we love summer here in the mountains. Cool mornings, warm days and afternoon showers are a way of life here and these conditions make for a great early morning bite on Carters. The striped fish are eating early and I love it—5 a.m. till 10 a.m. is prime time this month and the rest of summer really. A lot if people don’t like this pattern, but I do. Big baits, long leaders, light line are the winning combo this month. Get out early and be done early is how we fish all summer. Look for fish to be schooling in deeper water say 50 to 65 feet as the water warms. Finding them can be easy, getting them to eat can be the trick. Some days it doesn’t seem to matter, and some days you almost have to hit them in the lips with the bait. Being quiet and consistent is the key. Sometimes leaving a school to let them resettle is needed. They don’t move very far in the summer but still get spooked easily. Look for fish on main-lake humps and big points. Areas with large schools of shad and herring are key. Find the bait and find the feeding fish is still a good theory here. Good electronics are a must when trying to ID fish stuck to the bottom. I typically focus on the bottom 1/4 of the sonar reading and look for slight rises or separation marks on the bottom. Sometimes it’s the smallest marks that make the biggest difference.”