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Carters Lake
Located in the north Georgia mountains in Gilmer and Murray counties, Carters Lake is the deepest of Georgia's reservoirs. The spotted bass fishing at Carters is nationally known, and the lake also produces trophy striped bass, as well as a unique Georgia fishery for trophy walleye. Relatively small with 3,200 acres and 62 miles of shoreline, Carters Lake has an average depth of 200 feet and is also more than 450 feet deep in places. Carters is a Corps of Engineers impoundment that is unique that there are no private docks or houses along its shore. This lake is fed by the Coosawattee River.
Carters Lake Resources
Carters: Level: 2.4 feet below 1074. Temp: 63-66 degrees. Clarity: 6 to 8 feet. Bass: Guide Robbie Linginfelter, with Carters Lake Guide Service, reports, “The colder weather that will extend through December started the week before Thanksgiving, with steadily dropping temperatures. December is a great month to get out on the water for numbers and size. There are two main ways to catch bass this time of year. There will be fish on bait on the main lake and some others moving into the ditches following bait. Bait is the key to your December fishing. Fish your favorite cold-weather techniques, like spoons, drop shots, jerkbaits and underspins, but my go-to is a 2.8 swimbait on a jig head around balls of bait. Swim it under the balls of bait where the bass hold.” Carters Lake Page: Archived Articles, News & Fishing Reports Walleye: Guide Eric Crowley, of Lake And Stream…
Read MoreCarters Lake Fishing Articles
If you like topwater action, June is a good month to throw your favorite bait early and late. And if a good chance of hooking a 5-lb. spotted bass turns you on, plan a trip to Carters Lake this month. Carters is about an hour north of Atlanta and is a pretty lake with steep…
Fishing on Carters Lake in the wintertime can be summed up into one word — cold. However, those who brave it can reap hot striper and hybrid action as a result of being on the water this month. It may be freezing outside, but “the lake is absolutely on fire,” said Carters Lake striper guide…
If you have spent any time at all on Carters Lake, I’m sure you have developed the same love-hate relationship most all of us have for this spotted-bass sanctuary. There’s no other place I know where an angler can position his boat in 80 feet of water and actually be fishing 18 feet deep in…
The state record for yellow perch, held jointly between Lake Burton and Clarks Hill for nearly 20 years, has been tied again, and from an unlikely location: the Savannah River. On Feb. 24, Larry Poole of Martinez was on the river below the Clarks Hill dam fishing for yellow perch with Albert Moody, who operates…
Georgia’s worst drought in more than 100 years is beginning to take its toll on lake levels. In an unprecedented move, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has “temporarily” closed all boat ramps on a Georgia lake due to low water levels. On Friday, September 7, the corps issued a press release announcing the closure…
Carters Lake Records
| Largemouth Bass | 13-lbs., 1-oz. | Jimmy Dixon | 04/11/87 |
| Spotted Bass | 7-lbs., 3-ozs. | Leonard Lawson | 12/05/92 |
| Hybrid Bass | 14-lbs., 6-ozs. | Hunter Bruce | 04/03/12 |
| Black Crappie | 2-lbs., 1-oz. | Brian Childs | 05/20/00 |
| Striped Bass | 36-lbs., 0-ozs. | Angela Hawes | 08/22/09 |
| Walleye | 8-lbs., 11-ozs. | Gary Hawkins | 03/09/03 |
| Bluegill | 1-lb., 11-ozs. | Jonathon Sutton | 04/12/98 |
| Rainbow Trout | 3-lbs., 12.48-ozs. | Mike Guthrie | 04/28/17 |
| Flathead Catfish | 41-lbs., 12-ozs. | Wyatt Stokes | 05/06/20 |
| Blue Catfish | 17-lbs., 4.64-ozs. | Gary Turner | 08/17/14 |
| White Crappie | 3-lbs., 4.9-ozs. | Chandler Watkins | 02/28/21 |