Lake Burton Fishing Report April 2011

Burton: Level: Full pool. Temp: 55 to 56 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Excellent. Capt. Wes Carlton reports, “The largemouth bite has been the best I have ever seen. We have been averaging 6-lb. fish with one this week just shy of 13 pounds. Swimbaits (shadalicious) and worms (green pumpkin) have been working great with an occasional fish on a jerkbait. The spotted bass are gorging themselves on as much as they can eat before the spawn. We have been catching the bigger spots on jerkbaits and a Fish Head Spin with a white fluke. Blueback herring always work well if you have access to these. La Prades Marina at Lake Burton will have these soon. Eric Welch, of Reel Job Fishing, reports, “The past month has been on fire. We’ve boated a 9.1-lb. walleye and a 9.1-lb. largemouth. We’ve had multiple trips with spots over 5 pounds and one that went 6.3 pounds. The fish are starting to move up around the docks and spawning flats and are feeding for the spawn. We’ve been catching fish on drop shots with 4.5-inch Roboworms, shaky heads with Zoom Trick Worms, Pointer 97s and Strike King 5XD crankbaits.”

Walleye: Very good. Wes reports, “The walleye spawn has come and gone in record pace. The fish are on their way back down the lake. We have been catching big fish this year with the average size up from last year (3.5 to 4 pounds). Last week we had two fish over 8 pounds. The fish are biting jig heads with grubs in chartruese/pumpkin colors or small crankbaits in firetiger patterns. Most fish are in the 18-foot range over a 25-foot bottom. (Wes said this report also holds true for Lake Rabun).

Trout: Good. Wes reports, “The trout bite is starting to warm up with the bigger fish hanging around the mouths of creeks. Most of the trout we have been catching on live bluebacks. Small crankbaits (Pointers 68s in blue prism), and Little Cleo spoons have been working also. The trout have been gaining weight throughout the years and are getting trophy size. We caught a 9-pounder last week with several in the 3- to 5-lb. range.”