Carters Lake Fishing Report – October 2008

Carters: Level: 0.8 feet below full. Temp: 75 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Buddy Callahan at Bart’s Bait & Tackle said October is setting up to be good with anglers starting to catch lots of numbers. “You can catch buck bass in 5 feet of water,” said Buddy. “Fishing 15 to 25 feet you’ll catch a little bit better fish. When you get out to fishing in 30 feet you’ll have to fish real slow. Find some brush on a point, and work around it.” The top bait in the middle of a sunny, October day is no doubt a drop-shot. Try small worms or a shad-type bait, like the Roboworm Alive Shad. Green pumpkin, hologram shad, Aaron’s magic and baby bluegill are all good colors to start with, but color preference can change from day to day. “Fish crankbaits around points early,” said Buddy. “If it’s cloudy, the bite can last longer.” The fish could be at any depth, so start deeper with a Norman DD22 and work shallower with something like a DLN. Lavender shad will work. Just bump bottom with the plug; rocks are a plus.

Stripers: “Schooling has begun,” said Buddy. “Throw Red Fins, Spooks or bucktails. They’re not coming up in one particular spot. You just have to get lucky.” Buddy said he got lucky yesterday (Sept. 17) and had a client catch five in about 30 minutes. They were all between 9 and 18 pounds. October stripers should be down the lake and can be found between creek mouths and halfway back in the creeks. An early bite on balloons and planer boards will begin using trout. Buddy will have trout available very soon. On up in the day, you’ll have to downline trout.