Carters Lake Fishing Report – November 2019

Carters: Level: 0.6 feet low. Temp: 70 degrees. Clarity: 8 feet.

Bass: Good. Guide Bill Payne reports, “The topwater bite has been good early, especially on the cloudy days and on shady banks, but I’m getting more bites on the bank versus out deeper over cover like earlier in the fall. Walking baits like a Spook or a Vixen have worked, but a Whopper Plopper or the Berkley Choppo can be better. Some days the topwater bite just doesn’t seem to happen, and lately I’ve been relying on the shaky head. There are still some bigger fish offshore in the pallet piles and brush in the 25- to 30-foot range. I favor using 10- to 15-lb. braid with an 8- to 10-lb. fluoro leader with a Picasso Rhino head in 3/16- to 1/4-oz. with a green pumpkin or natural-colored Trick Worm. As we move into November, the shaky head bite will continue, but I’ll begin to focus more on deep pockets and ditches with brush, sometimes even out to 40 feet. This is where braided line become essential. Also, the jigging spoon bite is starting now and will only get better for the next month. Small Alabama type rigs with small swimbaits can produce some very nice spots as it gets colder.”

Walleye: Capt. Eric Crowley reports, “The fall walleye bite has been better than we have ever seen. We are catching fish with several different techniques from trolling deep crankbaits, jigging and fishing live baits on a few different types of rigs. Threadfins and alewive are the go-to live baits, and having various sizes can make all the difference. Downlines fished on the steep bank contours in 20 to 40 feet have been the go-to most days. Targeting areas that are holding schools of bait is key. If you use artificial baits, casting or trolling, look at the inside bends in the river with these same steep contour lines. Early morning and late afternoon have been best on sunny days, and on cloudy overcast days, we have been catching them all day.”

Stripers: Capt. Eric Crowley reports, “Fall means time to bust out the Cast Away planer boards and big live baits and start pulling banks and creek points. The creeks are full of baitfish, and stripers are pushing them up feeding near shoreline structure. I like to run my baits back 75 feet and run my boards 20 to 40 feet off each side of the boat. Berkely Fusion circle hooks are my hook of choice matched to the size of your baits. Vary your speed with your trolling motor until you find what they want. Typically I start around 1 mph. In the afternoon, I am still pulling Capt. Mack’s u-rigs in various colors looking for the open-water bite. Pull anywhere from 75 to 180 feet back depending where you’re seeing fish on the sonar. Worley Creek, Fisher Creek and the main river are all good places to target this month.”