Lake Blue Ridge Fishing Report – February 2008

Blue Ridge: Level: 24.3 feet below full pool. Temp: Low 40s. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Hit or miss, said Blue Ridge guide Nathan Lewis. “One day you will do good, and then the next day nothing.” The same winter tactics are still holding up — Shad Raps on rocky main-lake banks early in the day then moving to deeper water with a hair jig or tube jig later in the morning. The smallmouth bite is off, but both spotted bass and largemouths are showing up. “A lot of the guys are catching a few more largemouths. As the lake has come up and we have had some rain, there is more dingy water and it is easier to fool them.” Nathan said the largemouths were being caught on the main-lake points and rocky banks, and also up the river and back in the creeks around rock and wood. For largemouths, a jig ’n pig is a good choice.

Walleye: Also hot and cold, said Nathan. “We went jigging for them the other day and didn’t catch any. But you might pull up on another point or channel bend where they are schooled up and catch some. Finding them is the key.” Nathan often uses a 6/10-oz. Flex-it spoon in white with silver reflective tape or green reflective tape when he is looking for walleye. Watch for bends in the river channel with stumps or rocks, or start jigging a point and gradually move from about 20 feet out to 50 or 60 feet of water. On the full moon in February and March the walleye will move to the banks and you will have a better chance of catching them on small crankbaits, curly-tail jigs or nightcrawlers.