Lake Nottely Fishing Report – December 2008

Nottely: Level: 14.8 feet below full pool. Temp: Low 40s in the mornings, warming into the low 50s. Clarity: Clear in the middle of the lake; a little stained on the upper end.

Bass: Good. Nathan Lewis said the fish, both the largemouths and the spotted bass, are shallow in 8 to 12 feet of water, and there is a pretty good bite fishing mainly chunk rock on the upper end of the main lake. He has caught a few off brush, also. A shaky head or a Texas rig will work, and Nathan likes either cherry seed or green pumpkin for colors. The worms seem to be working best for spots, Nathan said, but he has been catching more largemouths on a crankbait. Try throwing a No. 7 Shad Rap in either chrome/blue or firetiger.

Stripers: Good. “The stripers are spread all over the lake,” said guide Josh Garrison. “The bite on the upper end is slowing, but look for the bite to pick back up if we get some warm days. On the lower end — below Point 7 — lots of fish are being caught in the major creeks with bluebacks on downlines and planer boards in the mornings or planers and freelines in the evenings. As for artificials, any of the standard hard baits are working on the topwater bite and mid-sized bucktails in white with white or chartreuse trailers around the rocky areas. The birds are back, so look for large numbers of seagulls around the more active fish. Water temps are everything right now, so when you get into fish, check the temp and then keep it within a degree or two the rest of the day. Jeremy Seabolt said he’s been catching most of his big fish around Flag Pole up in Jack’s Creek on big gizzard shad and trout freelined and on planer boards. Once the morning bite is over, Jeremy says to run the river channels and points with umbrella rigs 15 to 20 feet deep or 100 to 120 feet behind the boat.