Lake Blue Ridge Fishing Report – June 2010

Blue Ridge: Level: 0.5 feet above full pool. Temp: 74-78 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Good. Eric Welch reports, “We’re catching a lot of fish on a variety of baits — drop shots, flukes, Trick Worms, shaky heads and tubes. The fish are on points, drops and brush. There is no real pattern right now; the fish are just eating. If you get some good wind, spinnerbaits and crankbaits will work. You may have to do some running around to find the bass, but when you do, you can catch two or three out of one area. On July 15, TVA will start pulling the lake down for their 2-year repairs, so that’s going to give everyone about one month of full-pool fishing on Lake Blue Ridge.” Eric Crowley reports, “Cover, cover, cover. If you find shade and wood, you will find fish. Trees, brush, bushes, stumps, docks, whatever it is, it will be holding fish. Early in the day, the fish will be out from the cover looking for food, but they won’t be far from it at all, maybe 25 feet or less. As the day goes on, they will pull up tighter and tighter. By noon, they will be under it or real tight next to it. Wacky-rigged worms in chartreuse and yellow, chartreuse mini lizards with glitter and smoke-colored flukes will get these fish off the cover and on the hook.”

Smallmouth: Eric reports, “The smallies are scattered — three here, four there, but they are spread out across the main lake and even up the river to Point 7. The fish are starting to feed up in the mornings, so keep a heavy topwater bait, like a Zara Spook, tied on to make those long casts to busting fish. If the fish are not up, but you find them on the sonar, throw tubes or flukes, and let them sink some before the retrieve. The fish are real aggressive and will come up 10 to 20 feet to bust on a bait. Start looking out from the marina, Point 2 and Morganton Point. These are all places the bait will gather, and you can bet the smallmouths won’t pass on it. Later in the day look for the fish to move down to the rocky bottom until evening. Fifteen to 25 feet is a good starting point. Swimbaits, weighted flukes and drop-shot minnows will all take fish this month. By far my new favorite soft bait is a Paddle Tail Fluke by Zoom in white or silver. Heath Pack said he’s been doing pretty well on the smallmouths during evening tournaments. The fish are on the secondary points off main creeks, and they’re 15 to 18 feet deep on the very ends of the points hanging right at the drops. He’s been catching them on a 1/4-oz. Coffee Tube by Strike King. Fish a crawfish pattern. Also, a Spook or a Sammy will catch them on top off the long shallow points over 10 to 12 feet of water.”

Walleye: Eric reports the walleyes are up shallow on the shorelines. “They are chasing bait and can be caught with crankbaits, jigs and jerkbaits,” said Eric. “Try darker colors early and more shiny stuff in the daytime. Look in water 5 to 15 feet deep near deeper water like 30 to 40 feet deep. Rocky bottom is a must as most walleye will not hang on a mud bank. Live-bait guys try ‘green’ nightcrawlers on a live-bait rig right on the bottom. Troll it, cast it or deep jig it where you are marking fish. Tri State Bait and Tackle on Highway 60 keeps them in the cooler. A good place to find walleye is in Star Creek. Look for the flats over by the ski-slalom course, and pull your baits very slow.”