Lake Blue Ridge Fishing Report – October 2023

Blue Ridge: Level: 3.2 feet below 1681. Temp: 77-80 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Eric Welch, of Welch’s Guide Service reports, “Fishing has been good. The lake has been dropping, and with the cooler nights and days, we’re starting to see the water temps drop. Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve started seeing a little topwater action. I like to target these fish with a Pop-R, Whopper Plopper and a Gunfish. I have also started marking a lot more bait on the main body of the lake. I’ve been fishing long points and any bank that has brush or access to a deep drop. The baits I’ve been having luck on is a drop shot, shaky head and a 3.5-inch tube. I have also been seeing a lot of fish on my Garmin Livescope. You can drop a bait down and see multiple fish move up toward the bait, but you have to work with them to get them to bite. If fishing up the river, try targeting the bends where the river turns into them, along with any deep, rocky banks and laydowns. You can use the same baits I mentioned using down on the main body. Good luck.”

Walleye: Eric Crowley, of Lake And Stream Guide Service, reports, “Ahhhhctober, with hunting season, football season, youth sports and school in session means the lakes have been pretty empty of boat traffic. This is a nice change after the last few months. This is also when we get our first real cold fronts of the year. These fronts can really fire up the bite before and during a storm and shut it down on those beautiful blue-bird days just after. With the falling water temps and working around the weather fronts, we like to fish vertical in the fall. The weapons of choice are  jigs, spoons, jig and minnows or about any sort of plastic that you can fish straight up and down in their face. Having good sonar is key. Finding fish, getting the bait to them quickly, presenting it and moving on if you don’t get bit or working the area is the plan. Cover water and move pretty quick. The fish will be on the bottom anywhere from 20 to 50 feet deep, depending on where the sun is and where the bait is holding. Humps, points, shoals, old grass flats and rip-rap structure will be holding walleye. Look for ‘bumps’ on the bottom and try to hit them. We have been seeing some really quality fish all summer and can’t wait to see them fatten up for the fall. Be cautious as water levels continue to drop.” 

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