Lake Blue Ridge Fishing Report – August 2006

Level: 2.0 feet below full pool. Temp: Low 80 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Summer bass patterns at Blue Ridge include some downsized topwater as the sun goes down and then working deeper water on rocky main-lake points. Topwater baits like a Sammy or Spook will work on Blue Ridge, but a Pop-R or Zara Puppy will get more strikes from smallmouth bass. If there is not any topwater activity, try a firetiger Shad Rap or a Norman’s Middle N on main-lake points that drop into deeper water. Move in close to the bank and make long casts parallel to the bank to keep the lip of the plug ticking the top of the rocks. After dark a black-skirted spinnerbait slow-rolled just over the rocks is also a good bet for a smallmouth. The finesse bait is a 1/8- or 1/4-oz. bucktail jig or three-inch chartreuse twister-tail on a lead-head jig that is also retrieved just over the top of the rocks — and the bait may pick up a walleye that has moved up to feed after dark.