Carters Lake Fishing Report – March 2006

Carters: Level:  .9 feet above full pool. Temp: 44-45 degrees with some water up to the upper 40s in the backs of pockets late in the day. Clarity: Slight stain from recent rains.

Bass: The prespawn bite is just around the corner. Right now, the spotted bass are on a jig bite. “The green pumpkin jig of your choice will work well,” said Buddy Callahan of Bart’s Bait & Tackle. The fish are right up on rocky points, and Buddy said the bite is strongest in the middle of the day. “From 10 o’clock in the morning on is when it is best,” Buddy said. You can catch some fish way back in the pockets with spinnerbaits. “You won’t catch a bunch doing that right now, but it’s something to try,” Buddy said. The spinnerbait bite will pick up considerably later this month.

Linesides: The striper bite has been strong lately up shallow on main-lake points. Pull live trout on planer boards across points. Buddy says if you catch a fish, don’t hesitate to go over the same area with another bait. Later in the day, switch over to an umbrella rig.

Walleye: The marble-eyes are moving shallow. Take your worms and head to shallow water up the river or where creeks dump into the lake. “Where there is moving water coming into the lake, you should be able to find some walleyes,” Buddy said.

Crappie: Carters isn’t known as a crappie lake, but there are some good-sized fish in there. Buddy said to fish minnows or jigs, especially where there’s some standing timber, to fill a cooler with crappie this month.