Lake Blue Ridge Fishing Report April 2016

Blue Ridge: Level: 3.4 feet below full pool. Temp: 58-62 degrees. Clarity: Clear in the river but stained in the mid lake.

Bass: Guide Eric Welch reports, “The bite is picking up. The smallmouth and spotted bass have moved up around the spawning flats and long pebble-rock points and bank lines. I’ve been targeting these fish with tube baits, drop shots, crawbugs and jigs. A lot of buck bass have moved up the past week with the full moon. The better bite has been midday to afternoon once the sun gets up. The spawn should really be on by the second week in April. There has been some largemouth starting to cruise in the backs of pockets and creek runs. I’m targeting these fish with Trick Worms, flukes, crawbugs and swimbaits. They’re not locked down on beds yet, so keep a ways out of the pocket, and make long, blind casts so not to spook them. You can also still find some fish hanging in that 20-foot-plus mark that have not moved up yet. If it’s a windy day, throw a spinnerbait around in pockets and mudlines.” Guide Eric Crowley reports, “The smallies are scattered as always in March and April, but we have found a good number in the river along the main river channel and in the big bends in the river. We have started trolling for them with Rapalas since they are not grouped up and have been having good success trolling 2 to 3 mph adjusting line length until the lures are ticking the bottom. Zigzagging back and forth changes the speed and depth of the lures and gives them a better presentation than simply driving in a straight line. Black and silver, black and gold and red and white have been our best colors. Another key is going back to the spots you’re catching fish trolling and really working that area with a vertical jig. Use your electronics to locate nearby submerged structure that may be holding other fish. Another thing I love about April is fishing the backs of the creeks with a bright wacky-rigged worm. Green Creek, Star Creek and even some of the pockets around Morganton Point all have some shallow grass areas in the backs of them, and in April they tend to hold some big largemouth.”

Walleye: Guide Jeremy Seabolt reports, “Walleye have been doing good but not as many big fish as I thought we would be catching. They are running in the 2- to 6-lb. range. We’ve been catching them on live herring and curly tail jigs. Black and pink has been the best. I have caught a good mixed bag of fish from the shoals all the way down to Point 5. Herring are doing the best. You can get all your herring and walleye stuff from Paradise Bait in Blairsville.”