Lake Blue Ridge Fishing Report November 2015

Blue Ridge: Level: 5.1 feet below 190 pool. Temp: 65-67 degrees. Clarity: 4-plus feet.

Bass: Guide Eric Crowley reports, “I like to fish sunny days with a slight wind. Rocky shorelines near pockets of deep water are prime areas for both largemouth and spotted bass. These are good ambush points for the bass, and they don’t just leave these places. They will move in and out of the pockets and cruise both sides of the points waiting on food. If you mark fish on the sonar, work the area thoroughly at different depths with a drop shot. The smallmouth are in open water feeding on small fry bait from this year’s spawn. You will see the schools of bait on the surface. I prefer to throw a 3-inch Rapala Floating bait in black and silver. You really need to downsize your line to be able to cast. I’m using 10-lb. Berkley Nanofil with a 6-lb. leader. The smallies are hard to catch, and the bite dies just after sun up.” Guide Eric Welch reports, “TVA is dropping the lake to its winter pool. There has been some fish breaking off and on throughout the day. I’ve been throwing topwater the first couple hours in the morning and late in the afternoon. Most of the shad the fish are chasing and spitting up are only about 2 1/2- to 3-inches long. So my topwater baits have been Chug Bugs, Pop-Rs and a Lucky Craft Sammy  65. I’m also throwing a Fish Head Spin with a Zoom Fluke Jr. The areas I’ve found the most breaking fish is around the spawning flats and down around the dam. After chasing the morning bite, I resort to fishing deep points, bluff banks and blowdowns. I’m using a drop shot with a 4.5-inch new ayu Roboworm and Texas rigging a Zoom Finesse worm. If I’m just fishing for smallmouth, I like to target rocky points and pebble gravel flats. I’m using a 3.5-inch tube bait and small crankbaits that are about the size of the bait that they’re targeting.”