Lake Nottely Fishing Report – November 2007

Nottely: Level: 24.7 feet below full pool. Temp: 70 to 72 degrees. Clarity: Super clear. The ramps at Johnson’s, Hannah’s and Poteets are still open.

Bass: John Hembree said in mid October that the spotted bass were breaking on top nearly everywhere. “There are spotted bass coming up just about anywhere you go,” he said. “They are breaking on main-lake points and over humps, and out in open water. They’ll hit topwater, something like a Sammy or a Spook.” John was hoping to locate stripers breaking on top, but he said that so far the fish aren’t coming up, although he had heard reports about schools holding in the area around the dam. Mountain lake guide Nathan Stuart said that Nottely has turned over already, and the fishing has picked up. “The fish are biting. They are in the mouths of the creeks, like Ivy Log, chasing bait. You want to throw something fast-moving, like a spinnerbait or a jerkbait.”

Striper/hybrids: The cool snap the week of Oct. 7 slowed the bite a little, but dropping water temperatures should fire up the topwater activity, said Nottely guide Jeremy Seabolt. He was on the lake Oct. 19 and up the river to see if the fish had moved up yet. He caught three stripers in the 10- to 12-lb. range on big bluebacks, but the bigger fish aren’t there yet, he said. Down the lake, Jeremy said he has been catching stripers in the 6- to 10-lb. range freelining bluebacks around Point 4. “The fish are holding in about 15 feet of water. There has been a little schooling going on first thing in the morning, but it ought to be getting better.” Jeremy’s favorite topwater plug is a Pencil Popper. Guide Wes Carlton said he has been catching good numbers of stripers in the 4- to 8-lb. range. The stripers are still schooling in the mornings and on some cloudy days. Booyah bucktails or Capt. Mac’s Chipmunks are working well on humps. The fish should move up the river channels the next few weeks as the water temperature drops, and the freeline bite will improve.