March 2023 Carters lake

Temp 54

Level full +/- 6 ft

Clarity 2 feet on surface

    Almost spring , been hearing it for weeks but March can be deceiving.  Cold nights, still pretty chilly water, and cold fronts still moving through can really turn the bite on and off . The best advice is to find a pattern that works for your style and stick to it. If you fish and don’t have any luck don’t get discouraged as the very next day that pattern might be hot again. The walleye are preparing to spawn and moving into those prespawn areas . These areas include the back of every creek ,the rip rap on the dam wall and in the river . Because these fish are stocked in various locations they also spawn in various locations . This time of year the fish are focused on spawning at night so any feeding will usually happen right before dawn or at dusk . Because they spawn is their main focus make your bait selections on the smaller side . Easy meals tend to get more attention then big ones this time of year . Slow moving, small to med size shad imitations are they way to go. Most of the fish we catch this month ,unlike last month will be males. The females won’t be super active again until mid to late April after they recover from the stress of spawning at the end of the month . No matter where you’re fishing a few staple baits will help . These include original floating Rapalas ,dt6 and 10 crank baits ,and 1/4 Oz. Jig n minnow rig . Fish slow and be very thorough remember feeding isn’t their top priority right now ,but they still have to eat.

     The striper bites been good the last couple weeks. Live shad or alewives on 50ft down lines seems to producing fish there’s also a decent shallow bite early in the creeks like Worley and the beach creeks pulling boards with slightly weighted lines approximately 50ft back. We’re also catching striped fish both stripers and hybrids at night throwing artificials on points  and shallow water markers on the main lake or in the backs of the creeks in less then 25ft of water .   This will get better as the month goes on and the 3 or 4 kinds of baitfish present in the lake prepare for their annual spawn . Sometimes we get this early by mid March and some years not till mid April but keep an eye out for it.

  The spotted bass bite we are working is an open water bite targeting fish suspended chasing bait balls . Spoons are my preferred tactic on these fish as it matches the hatch perfectly.  Krocodile spoons or Hopkins spoons are my first choice I like the 1/2 Oz variety.  Chrome, gold , or white have been the go to with various other colors producing as well . Look for big schools of bait over 100+ft of water . There’s schools of spots feeding near-by all of them .