Lake Weiss Fishing Report – December 2010

Weiss: Level: 4.0 feet below full pool. Temp: 67-69 degrees. Clarity: Lightly stained.

Bass: Very good. Guide Mark Collins said, “The fish are going wild chasing and feeding up on shad before winter sets in. Look for shad in shallow flats, on secondary points and at the mouths of any shallow cove or pocket. In the upper Coosa River, starting at Three Mile Creek all the way to Mayo’s Lock and Dam, the bass are busting shad on top of the water at the mouths of any cove or pocket and any shallow flat near the main river channel. These active feeding fish can be caught on a variety of shad-imitation lures, very shallow-running crankbaits, Rat-L-Traps, spinnerbaits and smaller 3- to 4-inch swimbaits. Carolina- and Texas-rigged plastics are also catching fish. The bass are hitting topwater baits, also. Little River is also producing some great spotted bass fishing in the upper part on the old river ledges and the steep rock banks.”

Crappie: Excellent. “Fishing is great, and the crappie are very aggressive and schooled up in larger schools,” Mark said. “Crappie are being caught on structure on the drop-offs of the old Coosa River and Little River channel ledges in 12 to 14 feet of water. Spider rigging with live minnows and Jiffy Jigs is the way to catch these fall crappie. Look for structure on the edges of the old channel with schools of fish suspended around or above the structure. Fish your baits very slowly at or near the depth you are marking the schools of fish. The log jams in the upper Coosa River are producing some good crappie right now on live minnows, spider rigging and under floats. A few crappie are still being caught shooting docks with a 1/24-oz. Jiffy Jig in colors JJ13 and JJ17. Docks with at least 6 to 10 feet of water or more seem to be the most productive right now. With this low water level, you have to move around a lot and hunt for the deeper docks. Look for bigger, well-shaded docks, although the smaller docks can sometimes be very productive. The crappie will not stay under the docks much longer.”

Stripe: Fair. “They are starting to move back to the main lake on the old river ledges and main-lake flats,” Mark said. “More will show up over the next few weeks as the water cools. Slow trolling live shad 6 to 10 feet deep will produce the best until the water cools to the low 50s and below when stripes will turn on to trolled jigs.”

Catfish: Good. “They are being caught in the flats and coves in 10 to 20 feet of water on cut shad,” Mark said.