Lake Blue Ridge Fishing Report – October 2009

Blue Ridge: Level: 3.8 feet below full pool. Temp: 72-76 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Good. Eric Crowley reports, “Smallmouths are feeding on topwater and chasing bait all over the main lake. The fish will be off the Morganton Point beach early and late in the day. The smallmouths are keying on the bluebacks, so I suggest throwing a fluke in pearl white or blue flake, and also a medium to large Rapala jerkbait. If you can’t find surface action, use your electronics to find the schools of bait, and throw your flukes and lures over the top of them and come back through the school with a heavy twitch. With the amount of rain and muddy river water dumping in to the lake from all the storms, some people will think this is bad for fishing. If you know how to fish this muddy water, it can pay off. The baitfish will stay in this nasty water and the gamefish will hold just at the break line of clean and dirty water. If you head up river and find the mud line, you can throw just about anything with a yellow or chartreuse tail or trailer and get bit.”

Walleye: Fair. “The deep summer bite has been slow but will get better as the water temp gets to the low 70s,” said guide Eric Crowley. “The fish will then head to the shoreline to chase baitfish. This is the time to catch a true monster walleye. A Shad Rap or medium swimbait will draw the attention of the wallhangers. You can’t start too early in the morning — two even three hours before sunrise is the best time to fish depending on the moon. October should be a good month to fish the full moon at night.”