Lake Blue Ridge Fishing Report – April 2009

Blue Ridge: Level: 8.3 feet below full pool. Temp: Low to mid 50s. Clarity: Clear on main lake; slight stain up the creeks and up the river.

Bass: Good. Nathan Lewis said the spotted bass are biting pretty well in the 15-foot range on main-lake rocky points. A calm day and a drop shot are the tickets to this bite. A Roboworm in Aaron’s magic is the preferred worm. Some fish have already pulled up, so if it’s windy you can go to the banks with a crankbait or spinnerbait to catch spots, smallies or largemouths. Also, flipping shallow wood with a 1/4-oz. jig ’n pig on light line will produce some good largemouths right now. The trick is to let it fall slowly. For the smallmouths, Nathan said the biggest fish have already moved up on the beds. Look for red-clay flats in 8 to 15 feet of water and adjacent to rock points or banks. Fish a 1/4-oz. orange or yellow Doll Fly. Let it sink to the bottom, then drag it very slowly across the bottom. Nathan said you have to be very patient and really slow down.

Walleye: Good. Nathan said the walleye have already moved up the rivers to spawn, and people are catching some big fish coming back down the the river on rocky points and banks. “They’re catching them on Shad Raps, grubs, Doll Flys, curly-tail jigs, anything fished real slow on rocky banks and points,” Nathan said. “It’s still best at night with a good moon.”