Lake Blue Ridge Fishing Report – January 2021

Blue Ridge: Level: 15 feet below full pool. Temp: 55-56 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Guide Eric Welch reports, “Fishing has been up and down the past couple of months, but the water temps are now down where they need to be. We’ve been catching bass on deep, rocky banks and long points using the Z-man Ned rig with a TRD in green pumpkin, a 3.5-inch tube, a 3/16-oz. shaky head with Strike King 5-inch finesse worm. I also like throwing a 3/8-oz. jig around rocky banks and any brush you can find. If you mark fish on your depthfinder, try throwing a Flex-it spoon or a drop shot with a 4.5-inch Roboworm. This time of year is also a good time to throw a small crankbait like a Shad Rap, a Strike King 3X and a Bandit 200. Also try throwing a jerkbait like a Lucky Craft Pointer in a shad pattern. If you have never tried fishing the Float-n-Fly, now is a good time to throw it around deep, rocky banks. Fishing should be good all month. Good luck.”

Stripers: Guide Capt. Eric Crowley reports, “Blue Ridge is cooled off, and the fish are feeding. The bass bite has been on and steady for a few weeks now. Schools of fish are cruising in 20 to 30 feet of water looking for pods of baitfish. Our best bite has been on the edges of the creek and river channels in 40 feet of water. Live bait has been putting good numbers in the boat, as well as some quality spots and a few smallmouth mixed in. The spoon bite is still solid, as well. Two to 4-inch spoons dropped right in the school has been the deal. Be ready to drop the spoon as soon as you mark the fish. Work the spoon for a few minutes, and if nothing bites, keep it moving and find the next school. The bait is moving in and out of the pockets and creeks at night, so look in these areas at first light and locate the big schools of herring. Some days you can fish one school for hours and never have to move. Other days it’s one and done on each school as the fish seem to scatter after the first bite or two.”

Walleye: Guide Capt. Eric Crowley reports, “The walleye are a bit more scattered this year than normal and seem to be in pods of less than a dozen fish. This not only makes them harder to find but harder to stay on top of. Live minnows are the go-to right now on 8-lb. leaders and small circle hooks. Small spoons and other vertical-type lures are working, as well. I like chrome, white or a combination of either with green. Most of the bigger fish seem to still be in 40-plus feet during the day holding on the drop-offs. With either species of fish, the nastier the day is the better the bite. Unfortunately this time of year that’s the case. Cloudy, rainy days seem to produce more fish, while the windy days have put the bigger fish in the boat working the same areas.”