Carters Lake Fishing Report – September 2009

Carters: Level: 0.7 feet below full pool. Temp: Low to mid 80s. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Danny Hall said the fish should start pulling into the creek mouths and eventually work their way to the backs. The migration should begin once water temperatures get into the 70s. Danny likes to burn a 1/2-oz. spinnerbait in shad color. He uses small willowleaf blades to match the hatch. Small crankbaits, like a Bandit 100 in chartreuse/blue, work great as fish move up. Green worms on a Texas rig, drop shot or shaky head will work when fished in brush on sunny days. On cloudy days the fish could be anywhere on their migration runs. “There’s a topwater bite, early especially,” said Danny. “Sometimes they’ll hit on top all day, usually on a windy day.” He likes a Zara Puppy, Pop-R and a Tiny Torpedo.

Linesides: Good. Robert Eidson has been catching decent numbers of good fish lately. They’re biting well on main-lake points near the dam. Areas like Camp Branch and Woodring are good places to start. The DNR fish attractors are holding fish right now, also, especially the ones at the dam, at Camp Branch and in front of the marina. Drop shad down 30 to 35 feet on those points and attractors where you mark fish. Robert said his best fish have come on the trolling bite. Pull a single 1 1/2-oz. Mack Farr Chipmunk bucktail in white with a chartreuse trailer on lead-core line. Drop it back eight colors. If you want to pull an umbrella rig, bait it with white bucktails with chartreuse trailers and drop it back 100 feet. Clip the points and humps 45 feet deep. The fish will be in the 30- to 35-foot range. Stay in sight of the dam, and fish when they’re generating.