Lake Blue Ridge Fishing Report – August 2018

Blue Ridge: Level: 1 foot above full. Temp: 84 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Guide Eric Welch reports, “The fishing has been tough with all the rain and storms that we’ve been getting. The bass are staying scattered all over the lake, and the bite changes day to day. There are a few fish breaking early in the morning and late in the afternoon, but you have to be right on top of them to get them to bite. They’re feeding on small herring, and I’ve not had much luck on topwater plugs. I’ve been fishing a Strike King 2.75-inch Rage Swimmer on a 3/16- to 1/4-oz. head on a St. Croix Legend Xtreme 7-foot medium-fast action spinning rod with a 2000 series Daiwa Fuego reel spooled with 5-lb. Gamma Touch fluorocarbon. This setup allows me to make long casts when they blow up. You only have about 15 to 30 seconds to hit the spot they just blowed up in, and then they’re gone. The best way to catch fish on a drop shot right now is like playing a video game. Set your sensitivity up on your bow depthfinder until you can drop your bait right beside or in front of the trolling motor head and see your line as it’s falling on your depthfinder. This will also help you catch fish that are suspending. You will be able to drop it right in the school of fish as you mark them. This time of year, I’m using the 5-lb. Gamma on my drop shot and switching between a 3/16- and 1/2-oz. weight; it just depends how fast I want it to drop down on the fish. I like to drop shot using 4- to 6-inch Roboworms. I’ve been using a shaky head with a small Zoom Shakey Head worm and a Z-man TRD worm fishing them super slow. I’m always throwing a 3.5-inch tube on points and rocks, just in case there might be a smallmouth around. A Texas-rig finesse worm, a black spinnerbait and a DD22 are still the best bets once it gets dark. Good luck.”