Lake Blue Ridge Fishing Report March 2011

Blue Ridge: Level: 61.9 feet below full pool. Temp: 44 to 47 degrees. Clarity: Partly clear to stained.

Bass: Fair. Eric Crowley reports, “Look for climbing temps and sunshine to wake up this lake. Even with the lake being down, the fish are still here, and the month of March is usually a good month. Areas to keep an eye on are Star Creek, Morganton Point, the area around the marina and surrounding islands. The shallow water will warm faster and draw these fish to the rocky bottoms that hold heat from the spring sunshine. Smallies and spots alike will be in these areas waiting for an easy meal to swim by. The water is still a little on the cold side, so smaller baits worked slowly will get more attention than anything that requires a chase. These fish are going to feed when they get the chance, so move around and cover water from 6 to 18 feet with a variety of baits such as a suspending jerkbait with a stop-and-go retrieve. On sunny days I like red, blue or even black lures, and on the overcast or windy days go with a little shine such as chrome or gold. The full moon in March should start the crawfish hatch, and those little crustaceans will be moving all over the lake bottom. Fish jigs such as the finesse jigs from Daves Lures. These crawfish jigs seem to be the ticket when this event happens. The lake is scheduled to come up 10 to 15 feet in the next month, so look for good cover that is exposed now to be under water by the end of March. This will give the fish good ambush points as April approaches. There are still a lot of underwater structures that are dangerously close to the surface, so be careful when moving across the lake if you’re unfamiliar with the terrain of this mountain reservoir.” Eric Welch, with Reel Job Fishing reports, “We’re catching more fish on float-n-flies and also on regular fly rods using float-n-flies. You can also catch some on tubes. I have also seen some fish breaking early in the morning, so keep a Sammy or Zara Spook handy. With the bright sunny days and warmer weather, the smallmouth should start moving up and feeding for prespawn. My go-to bait this month is a Strike King Series 4 crankbait in rootbeer or black-back/chartreuse color and also a tube in rootbeer color. There are no spawning flats, so you’re going to have to search for the smallmouths this year. The spotted bass should start biting a drop-shot rig using a Roboworm in neon green pumpkin. This month is also a good month for the jerkbait bite to start. I like a Pointer 97 in new ayu.”