Lake Blue Ridge Fishing Report February 2015

Blue Ridge: Level: 12.6 feet low. Temp: 42-44 degrees. Clarity: Main lake is clear; river is a little stained.

Bass: Guide Eric Welch reports, “It’s been a pretty good winter so far. We’ve really not had cold enough weather for any of the lake to freeze so far this year. I’m still catching fish in the 12- to 40-foot range on the drop shot, using 4.5 RoboWorms. The main body of the lake has been clear, and on sunny days some of the bass have been moving up around rocky banks and points. The Float-n-Fly has been working good upriver around deep rocky banks. I would suggest using bright-colored flies in the stained water on cloudy days, and on sunny days I like to use a shad-colored fly. I’m starting out with a 15-foot leader and will size down if need be. You can also catch bass by paralleling the banks with a No. 5 Rapala Shad Rap in a bream or perch pattern. If you have a day with some wind, throw a jerkbait. This time of year is a great time to get familiar with your electronics—the more you know about them, the better fisherman you will be. If you’re running some of the new Lowrances or Humminbirds, you can up your sensitivity on your graph, and lower a drop shot down by your transducer and see the bait hit in the middle of those suspending fish. It becomes as easy as playing a video game.” Guide Eric Crowley reports, “Blue Ridge Lake has been hit or miss for me since the weather has cooled off. The fish are so scattered, and the cold fronts have been coming through on such a regular basis that it’s hard to pattern the smallmouth. Some days they are in 35 feet of water on the main-lake points, and the next day they are in 15 feet on sunny flats up river. Fishing before the fronts is going to be your best bet for smallies.”

Walleye: “The walleye fishing has been about the same,” Eric Crowley said. “They are feeding on the bluebacks in the creek mouths, and your best bet is live bait fished at night on light gear, 8-lb. test line and small drop-shot bass hooks.”