Lake Blue Ridge Fishing Report – April 2010

Blue Ridge: Level: 8.2 feet below full pool. Temp: 50 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Good. “Look for the topwater action to turn on with the smallmouths as the temps keep climbing,” Eric Crowley said. “Around the marina and main-lake points are a good places to start. Look for them to be chasing bait, and throw your favorite topwater as far as you can. Try a Zara Spook or a Pop-R just after sunrise. If they won’t eat the hard baits, switch up to a weightless fluke in pearl or silver with a big 5/0 wide-gap hook. Work it over the points or near any brush. As the lake starts to come back up, look for the largemouths to start pulling up on shoreline cover like brush or boat docks. I love to toss a fluke past the ambush spots and twitch it just off the edge of the cover. If there is a fish there, it will eat. If not, make a few more casts and move on.”

Walleye: Good. “The walleye run has begun, and fish are moving into the river,” Eric said. “Look for them to stack up on rocky bends and eddys in the river. Check all the way up to the shoals at the head of the Toccoa River. These fish will be more aggressive at night but can still be caught during the day on 1/8- to 1/2-oz. jigs tipped with either Gulp Minnows, chartreuse grubs or just about anything that size. To target the bigger fish throw a Shad Rap or X Rap into the moving water, and slow roll it back. If the fish are not way upstream, look for fish that have already spawned to be feeding on their way back down to the main lake. Check any break in the normal water flow all the way back to point 5. Also use a search bait to check all the flats along the river as fish will stop there to rest and look for an easy meal.”