Lake Nottely Fishing Report February 2017

Nottely: Level: 13.2 feet below full pool. Temp: 48 to 53 degrees. Clarity: The creeks are stained.

Stripers: Guide Jeremy Seabolt reports, “The striper fishing has been of the hook. We have been catching fish all over the bottom end by pulling planer boards and freelines. On long points, the stripers have been aggressive, but you have to be willing to change up on baits. One minute they want large herring, and then the next they are on shad. We have been running a mixed spread of both. If you are wanting to just catch small fish, you can also set up on humps with a 20- to 30-foot bottom and downline herring anywhere from 15 to 20 feet. When we find the schools of fish, we been catching them on small shad on downlines. We have even been catching fish in the afternoons schooling on top. They have been eating double fluke rigs and jerkbaits. We have also been catching fish on swimbaits in shad colors and bucktails by working points after the sun comes up. We also have a good u-rig bite midday. We been pulling u-rigs across humps and points. Once you find fish, just keep working them, and remember to practice catch and release on the bigger fish.”

Crappie: Guide Jeremy Seabolt reports, “The Nottely crappie fishing has been good the last few weeks. We been catching them all over the lake. You can catch crappie by working docks and brush with jigs and minnows. We have been doing better catching them at night on rocky banks with brush. The crappie are still a little deep, but when you find them, you can catch 15 to 30. Paradise Bait on Lake Nottely has all the live bait I have mentioned, so you can have a successful day of catching fish on the lake.”