Lake Chatuge Fishing Report – June 2009

Chatuge: Level: 0.9 feet above full pool. Temp: Low 70s. Clarity: Very clear.

Bass: Excellent. John Hembry said a win at the night tournaments going on right now takes 14 or 15 pounds, and the vast majority of the fish are spotted bass. The big fish has been averaging 3 or 4 pounds. “The fish are still shallow in less than 15 feet of water,” he said. With all the overcast skies and rain, the spots are not yet moving toward a summer pattern, and they are hanging in the pockets and moving out shallow on a few of the main-lake points. John has been catching most of his fish before dark on a jig-head Fluke. When it gets dark, he likes to throw a black spinnerbait. Some of the other anglers he’s talked to have been doing well on Texas rigs, either a mini-lizard or a U-tail worm. John said the summer pattern should come on in the middle of June when 90-degree days start lining up. Then it will be time to fish brushpiles in 15 to 20 feet of water with Texas-rigged worms. Guide Nathan Lewis said the daytime bite is really good, with half-day trips boating 25 to 30 fish and full-day trips boating 50 to 70 fish. The fish are postspawn and feeding heavily. They’re not huge fish, but there’s a ton of action for spotted bass up to 3 pounds. The topwater bite on rocky main-lake points has been incredible early in the morning. Throw a Sammy or a fluke, and keep a spoon tied on for when the fish break a long way off and a long cast is needed. Once the schooling bite finishes, switch to flukes and floating worms. Nathan said he’s catching a bunch of fish on 10- to 12-foot flats and on deep banks with these floating baits late in the morning. A small 1/4-oz. Terminator spinnerbait in white or white/chartreuse is producing well for this bite on windy days when you can’t fish a floating worm very well. Another option for later in the day is to fish a Carolina rig on main-lake rocky points. Nathan likes a green-pumpkin, twist-tail worm. If the action slows down, he’ll also try vertical jigging a Texas rig over deep brush. This postspawn pattern should be over by the middle of June, Nathan said. Then he’ll look for the fish to set up in 28 to 30 feet of water on the developing thermocline, and he’ll troll DD22s or Mann’s Stretch 20s for a mixed bag of hybrids and spots.