Lake West Point Fishing Reports – February 2021

West Point: Level: 6.6 feet below full pool. Temp: Low 50s. Clarity: Slight stain

Bass: Fair. Guide Keith Hudson reports, “We are looking for a gradually improving bass bite on West Point as we head into February and especially toward the end of the month. The  shallow bite for largemouth has remained decent so far this winter, with some good fish caught on baits like crawdad Shad Raps, Rat-L-Traps, squarebill crankbaits and ChatterBaits. Try fishing these baits in coves and pockets with small feeder creeks or around schools of shallow baitfish when you can find them. Fish the open water in the pockets with a Flash Mob Jr. Alabama rig. Keep  a jig or shaky head handy to pitch around any wood cover. Fishing rip-rap can also produce good results this time of year, especially after a warm rain. Yellow Jacket and Whitewater creeks continue to produce some fish. If the weather turns off cold and dry early in the month, the water should remain clear and cold. If that happens, expect big schools of spotted bass mixed with hybrids, white bass and stripers to  be caught on jigging spoons, drop-shot rigs and shaky-head rigs on humps and drop-offs. Target deeper offshore structures like brushpiles and old roadbeds in 20 to 30 feet of water. Fish near the mouths of most major creeks for the best results using jigging spoons.”

Linesides: Good. Guide Keith Hudson reports, “The downline bite with shad or bass shiners has improved as the water has cooled off  and cleared up. Freelining a live bait will also work at times. Most of the fish seem to be holding 20 to 30 feet deep when they are not schooling on the surface. Expect the topwater fishing to be sporadic. It’s usually best very early and very late, or on overcast or rainy days. Gulls and loons are here now, which makes it easier to pinpoint schooling stripers. Keep your eyes open, look for circling or diving birds. The Flash Mob Jr. has still been working on schooling fish that in the 1- to 3-lb. range, with an occasional bigger one mixed in. Casting a 3/8- or 1/2-oz. white Rooster Tail, a chrome C.C. Spoon and a number of other small shad imitators have also  been producing. And the colder it gets, the better the fishing usually is—within reason of course. Also, in  the cold water, a bucktail jig or Fish Head Spin becomes very effective, as well. The mouths of most creeks from the Yellow Jacket/Half Moon area all the way to the dam and in Maple Creek have been holding  fish. Trolling with mid-depth crankbaits and the Flash Mob Jr. continues to produce some linesides in these same areas.”

Crappie: Good. Guide Keith Hudson reports, “Try tight-line fishing with minnows or a 1/16-oz. or smaller jig around bridge pilings, brushpiles and blowdowns in 6 to 15 feet of water. Concentrate on trees and brush that are close to the old creek channels. Pitching or shooting docks with small tube or feather jigs around or under the docks can still produce this time of year. Bridge pilings also hold fish this time of year. Yellow Jacket, Wehadkee and Whitewater are producing  crappie. Spider trolling is always a good way to catch crappie this time of year and can be extremely effective. If February  turns unusually warm and wet, the crappie can show back up surprisingly shallow very quickly and can be caught by shoreline anglers. The Float-N-Fly technique works very well for the shallower fish. A minnow fished 3 feet under a float is a lot of fun for catching crappie.”