Lake Nottely Fishing Report – June 2008

Nottely: Level: 0.3 feet below full pool. Temp: Low 70s. Clarity: The main lake is clear, but the back of the creeks are stained.

Bass: Good. The fish are showing up on top early and late, and sometimes you will have hybrids and stripers mixed in, said mountain-lake fishing guide Nathan Lewis. “A good place to look for surface activity is around Point 3 and the beach.” Sammys, Spooks, flukes, Pop-Rs and Gunfish will catch fish on top. After the topwater dies down, Nathan says to run boat docks with a fluke. Still later, slow down and throw a finesse worm in green pumpkin around brush in 10 to 12 feet of water to catch spots. Nottely is above full pool, and the button bushes are flooded, said Nathan. “The largemouths are having a field day in the bushes,” he said. “Throw a buzzbait around the flooded brush. If you can find some stained water, a floating worm in white or black will work, too. Let the worm sink out of sight, and you will catch more fish. You have to be ready to hit a spotted bass, but a largemouth will usually hold on longer, and you can let them run until you feel them.” In the late afternoon, if a breeze comes up, a spinnerbait will catch fish, then before dark switch back to some kind of topwater and watch for breaking fish. That time of day a buzzbait thrown over main-lake points will often catch spotted bass, he said.

Stripers: Good for small fish, said guide Jeremy Seabolt. “We are catching a lot of fish in the 6- to 8-lb. range, but the big fish have left out. The river run has shut down, and the fish have gone.” Jeremy said the hybrids are schooling strong early and late in Young Cane Creek. He has been catching them on bluebacks on freelines or on planer boards. “Last week we had two fish in the boat at the same time that both would have broken the lake record for hybrids. The clients were from England, and they had no interest in the lake record,” said Jeremy. Both fish weighed more than 9 pounds. Once the sun comes up, Jeremy moves off the flats to downline live herring over channel ledges in the 15- to 25-foot range. Umbrella rigs have also been producing. Jeremy pulls white jigs with chartreuse trailers on his U-rig, and he pulls it 120 to 150 feet behind the boat. As the water warms, the fishing will improve, he says. “In the next couple of weeks the fish will be back down the lake between Point 2 and Point 3, and they should be schooling hard core.” If you are looking to cast net your own bluebacks, Jeremy said there are millions of bluebacks near the penstock intakes at the dam.