Lake Nottely Fishing Report June 2017

Nottely: Level: 1.2 feet low. Temp: 75-79 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Big Ol’ Fish Guiding Service reports, “Spotted bass fishing has been outstanding. These fish are finally off the beds and are schooled up. We’ve been wearing out some nice spots every trip lately. Work shallow humps, creek mouths and clay banks. Also, target brushpiles throughout the lake. The early morning topwater has been great. We are picking up some quality fish on jerkbaits, flukes and Spooks. Look for these bass to continue to school through the rest of next month.”

Stripers: Guide Jeremy Seabolt reports, “The striper fishing has been good. We have been catching good numbers of fish around Point 8. The trick is pulling large herring. The bigger bait is the key. We have been pulling freelines at first light and switching over to downlines about 8 a.m. We have a good downline bite going on. You need to know how to read your fish finder. The fish have been moving out over the river channel, and the fish are on the move. If you are marking fish, you better get baits down to them fast, or they are going to be gone. Going into June, look for the stripers to be getting set up on the downrod bite. They should be moving toward the lower end of lake by mid June. The trick is going to be finding the fish and getting set up on them. It will be time to go back down on line size. I will have all my reels spooled with 12-lb. test and at least an 8-foot fluorocarbon leader. The u-rig bite is getting good. You need to pull them 120 feet behind the boat at 2 mph. Work humps on the river channel. As the water warms, don’t keep the fish out of water any longer than you have to. Get a picture, and get it back in the water asap. Now get out, and take a kid fishing.” Big Ol’ Fish Guiding Service reports, “Striper fishing remains excellent. We have been loading the boat with some big fish in good quantities. The early morning and evening bites are your best times to see action. In the early morning hours, we are still pulling planer boards and freelines with live blueback herring. Keep your freelines 100 to 150 feet behind the boat, and stagger your baits behind the boards. As the sun comes up in the later morning hours, start to focus on deeper water. Switch to downlines, and add a little split-shot to your freelines. Target creek mouths, points off the main channel and areas holding a lot of bait—typically in the 20- to 35-foot range. Mid-lake from Point 7 to the dam have been the best areas to focus on. As the topwater bite has also been excellent, keep a Spook or a Red Fin ready to throw to those surface-busting fish. By mid-month, these fish will start to school up even more, and we’ll switch to an all downline bite. Just remember to keep an eye on your electronics, and watch for schools of stripers.”