Cherokee Lake
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Cherokee Lake Fishing Reports
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Reports from all past years within a 60-day time frame
Species
Largemouth BassSeason
Fall
Technique
Structure Jigs
Structure
Points
Forage
Crawfish
Water Temperature
65°
Species
Largemouth BassSeason
Fall
Technique
Spinnerbaits
Structure
Rock Pile
Forage
Shad
Launched out of 25E Boat ramp and fished the western end of the lake primarily in coves. Air temperature was 27 at launch and rose to around 38 before starting to drop at 3 or so. Winds went from 0 to 10 mph throughout the day. Water temp ranged from 54 to 55 degrees. Found plenty of baitfish schooled and sporadically was able to find a few smallmouths hugged to the bottom below the schools in 5 to 12 feet of water. Was able to catch a short smallmouth on a 3/8 oz Damiki Vault in Black Halo color by casting out and after it reach bottom, I would slowly raise it off the bottom maybe a foot or two, flutter down on semi slack line and let it sit a few seconds before repeating. Bass would hit it on the bottom. Bottom composition was red clay with small rock intermixed. After a few hours we parallel the bank in a cove that had large rocks in 1 to 5 feet and I would cast a 1/2 oz River2Sea Bling spinnerbait with a 3.8 Keitech in electric shad as a trailer. Caught my 1st 4lbs 8 oz Largemouth keeper 2 reel turns into my retrieve as it came over a large rock. 3 casts later with same bait on the inside corner of a floating dock I was able to catch a 1 lbs. 9 oz Largemouth. Ended up with 6 more bites continuing this pattern until it was time for weigh-in. The Vault worked well with little to no wind, but the spinnerbait was the key when the wind started to pick up.
Species
Striped BassSeason
Fall
Technique
Topwater Walking
Structure
Shad
Forage
Shad
Cherokee is loaded with huge Stripers and Hybrids and fall is a great time of year to catch them using conventional bass tackle. Focus on looking at main lake points and islands around creek mouths. I have had the best luck riding and looking for schooling fish gorging on shad around the dam area. Mornings and evenings are best, some anglers even sit still on the main lake looking for schoolers, kind of like hunting. Grab you a topwater and go find them. Once you found them, keep you bait wet and have fun!
Species
Smallmouth BassSeason
Fall
Technique
Finesse Jigs
Structure
Boulders
Forage
Shad
Cherokee lake is without a doubt a challenging fishery in the fall. I just finished up a tournament where we found the bulk of our action on the main lake. We concentrated on areas where the river channel swung against rocky shorelines. Islands and sharp points were areas where smallmouth could easily ambush shad or feed on the many crawfish that live around the rocks.
Shaun Potter
Bronze Ambassador
10/16/22
Species
Smallmouth BassSeason
Fall
Technique
Soft Swimbaits (Sm/Md)
Structure
Boulders
Forage
Minnows
Chasing bait balls of shad and throwing a keitech up into boulders while those smallmouth is laying there ambushing shad! Great way to land some of those smallmouth.
Species
Smallmouth BassSeason
Fall
Technique
Soft Swimbaits (Sm/Md)
Structure
Boulders
Forage
Shad
Smallmouth are starting to get active as the water temperature goes down. Early fall, main lake points, and boulders, rock veins are all key areas to concentrate on. Fluke style baits in white, chartreuse and bubblegum have all been hot tickets. Work them 6”-12” under the water with short pauses between twitches. It is an absolute train wreck of a bite when you can see those smallies crush it.
Species
Smallmouth BassSeason
Fall
Technique
Soft Swimbaits (Sm/Md)
Structure
Boulders
Forage
Shad
Fishing has been slow during the early fall on Lake Cherokee, however quality 3+ pound bites are still fairly common. Try targeting tapering rock points with small swimbaits and jerkbaits in order to call up smallmouth from the rocks. Bluff walls during the heat of the day can also generate quality bites this time of year. As the water cools, follow the baitfish to the backs of pockets and use rattletraps, swimbaits, and jerkbaits to target the feeding fish chasing the abundant amount of shad that Lake Cherokee supports this time of year. Topwaters such as whopper ploppers and spooks can also be huge producers this time of year when fish are feeding up for the winter months.
Species
Smallmouth BassSeason
Fall
Technique
Topwater Walking
Structure
Boulders
Forage
Shad
Neil
Bronze Ambassador
9/22/21
Species
Largemouth BassSeason
Summer
Technique
Neko Rigs
Structure
Humps
Forage
Crawfish
