Lake Nottely Fishing Report – October 2008

Nottely: Level: 12.8 feet below full pool. Temp: 77 degrees. Clarity: Gin clear.

Bass: Good. Nathan Lewis and J.R. Donalson fished the lake recently and caught 21 bass in half a day. “We didn’t have any real big fish,” said Nathan. “Almost everything was 12 to 14 inches. We had four or five largemouths and the rest were spots. Mostly we caught fish on finesse worms Texas-rigged fished on river channel ledges in brush or rocks. We just eased along and fished whatever cover we came to. If you could find something that would hold fish, you could usually catch three or four from that spot. They are starting to bite, and the fishing should pick up as the water temperature falls into the 60s.”

Stripers/hybrids: “The fish have their mouths shut,” said striper guide Adam Lavigne, who fished three days over last weekend. “It seems to be a combination of extremely clear water and maybe a thermocline that’s not in the right spot. The water is so clear you can see a bait 12 feet down. We are catching a few in the 5- to 10-lb. range, but I have had to downsize. The fish aren’t even looking at baits on 15-lb. line. I had to downsize to 6- and 8-lb. line to downline bluebacks and gizzard shad. The fish are just sitting in 30 to 40 feet of water off steep rocky banks and on the ridges, but you just have to wait until they get in the mood. We have been getting a lot of window shoppers that come up and hit soft, they aren’t slamming the baits.” Adam said he was fishing from the dam to Point 5. “The fish are scattered,” he said. “Some of the guys using umbrella rigs are catching a few by covering a lot of water.” Surface activity has been limited, he said. “The spots are going crazy on top, but there hasn’t been much surface activity from stripers, but the cooler weather should fire them up.”