Lake Chatuge Fishing Report – April 2025

Chatuge: Level: 5.1 feet below 1925. Temp: 48-51 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Eric Welch, of Welch’s Guide Service, reports, “Fishing has been good. The lake level is coming up, and on these sunny days, the baitfish are getting active, which means we’re starting to see some bass breaking on top, so you want to make sure you keep an Ima Stix and a Berkley Cane Walker on the front deck of the boat. We’ve still been catching fish on a jig-head minnow. I will watch their reaction, and if they don’t act like they want it, I will switch to a drop shot. As the weeks go on, I will target spawning banks and flats for spotted bass with a 3.5-inch tube and a Ned rig. They can not resist this coming through their bedding areas. Just take your time in these areas and work it over pretty well. Spotted bass are like smallmouth. On a good stretch of 50 to 80 yards, you might find 15 or more fish in that one area. I will also fish these areas with a firecraw color Rat-L-Trap and a squarebill. This can get them aggravated, and then you can follow it up with something slow, and they will normally attack. Look for your largemouth bass in finger pockets off the main body and creek runs, anywhere there is some kind of structure in 3 to 5 feet. I’m going to target these areas with swimbaits and glide baits, and it’s hard to beat the 3.5-inch tube. Good luck.

Lake Chatuge Page: Lake Records, Archived Articles, News & Fishing Reports