Lake Blue Ridge Fishing Report – May 2023

Blue Ridge: Level: 5.4 feet below 1681. Temp: 64-66 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Eric Welch, of Welch’s Guide Service reports, “Fishing has been good. The lake has been coming up over the past month. There are still some fish trying to spawn, but the majority are done. There are some still guarding fry around docks and brush. These fish I will target with a Zoom Trick Worm or a Fluke. You also have the earlier fish that spawned that are making their way to areas where they will spend the summer, which is around laydowns and points that have access to deep water. I will target these areas with a Texas-rigged worm, shaky head and spinnerbait. There will also be fish staging around offshore structure and ditches. On these areas I will use my Garmin Livescope. I normally will target these fish with a drop-shot rig, using a hand-poured worm or a Roboworm. Good luck.”
Capt. Eric Crowley, of Lake And Stream Guide Service, reports, “The bass are thick but mostly of the spotted variety on the main lake. We have seen a couple of smallies this year, which is hopefully a good sign of things to come. The only pattern I’ve been fishing for the bass is a topwater bite around Point 5 at dawn or back in Star Creek. By the time this report goes out, the herring will be spawning and that will change a lot of things.”

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Walleye: Guide Eric Crowley reports, “May opens up a lot of fishing opportunities on this lake. The walleye are still holding near the grass and shoreline cover relatively shallow. Slow-trolling crankbaits or worm harnesses will be a great bite this month. Starting shallow and working out to 18 to 25 feet as the day goes is a great way to start. Finding the areas holding fish that particular day is key. Then focusing on that area will put numbers in the boat.”

Trout: Guide Eric Crowley reports, “The trout bite will turn on this month. They tend to hold pretty deep most of the year but come up this month to feed on the shallow bluebacks at daybreak. There are some bigger fish mixed in, but most are around 18 inches. Don’t be surprised if we see much bigger ones this year as the conditions are really good.”