Lake Chatuge Fishing Report – December 2008

Chatuge: Level: 7.1 feet below full pool. Temp: 50-53 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Good for spotted bass, tough for the largemouths, said Heath Pack. Heath fished a two-day tournament the weekend of Nov. 22 and did pretty well, catching some good-sized spots on main-lake points and drops. “You’ve got to have a break line,” he said. “Some of them are on the bottom, and some are suspended.” Use your graph to find fish or bait on points in 28 to 30 feet of water that drop off into 35 or 40 feet. Heath said they’ve been biting best when the fish are on the bottom. Fish a drop-shot rig or a Doll Fly. On the drop shot, Heath had a lot of luck on a 3-inch Roboworm Alive Shad, bluegill in color, which is a dark worm with black, blue and white. He also caught some fish on a 4-inch, straight-tail Roboworm in Aaron’s Magic. The Doll Fly that produced was a 1/4-oz. model in white or white/chartreuse. Heath said a spoon should work on these fish, but his partner tried one the two days they went out and didn’t get a bite on it. There were a few fish breaking the surface but not a lot of schooling activity. If you notice schooling, try topwater or throw a jerkbait into the mix. Heath likes a Rapala Slash Bait, white in color. Heath saw just one largemouth weighed in at the tournament. It was a 7 1/2-lb. beast caught from brush out in front of a dock in about 8 feet of water. It hit a Texas-rigged finesse worm.