Lake Chatuge Fishing Report – June 2010

Chatuge: Level: 0.7 feet above full pool. Temp: Low 70s. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Good. John Hembry said the bass are feeding up in postspawn patterns right now, and the bite has been pretty good, with 10 to 15 fish in half-day tournaments and sacks weighing 13 to 15 pounds. John has been catching 90 percent spots with a few largemouths mixed in. He said to try running the banks and hitting blowdowns or other cover with a white spinnerbait. If that doesn’t work, switch to a Texas-rigged worm in watermelon seed, pumpkin seed or some other green color, and fish the same areas. Also try the Texas rig on rocky points. If you get a little wind, and the fish seem to be chasing pretty well, try a jig-head fluke on wind-blown banks and points. John likes a pearl fluke on a 1/8-oz. jig-head with a 5/0 hook. On into June the fish will start to set up in their summer patterns around deep brushpiles on the main-lake points. Heath Pack said he’s already catching some fish on the summer pattern. He likes a Texas-rigged Net Baits 6-inch finesse worm on main-lake brush. In the evenings, right at dark, a crankbait bite has been going on as the fish pull up off the brush. Heath likes a Norman’s Deep Little N in either gray ghost or rubber duck, which is a yellow bait with a brown back and a white belly. After dark, go to a red and black Deep Little N. There has also been a topwater bite early on big spooks or Sammys in bone color. Pull them up off the brush.