West Point Fishing Report August 2012

West Point: Level: 6.4 feet low. Temp: Mid 80s to low 90s. Clarity: Stained.

Bass: Poor. Chris Bell reports, “The bites offshore have scattered a bit with the higher water, cooler temperatures and rain. The topwater bite in the early morning is good right now. Use topwater walking baits such as Heddon Spook or Lucky Craft Sammy in a shad pattern around laydowns and brushpiles lakewide. Once the sun is above the trees, move out deeper on the humps and roadbeds, and use Carolina rigs and shaky-head worms in green pumpkin. Fish are not relating as deep on offshore structure, so look in depths from 10 to 15 feet.”

Linesides: Good. Chris reports, “It is time to begin focusing on humps and roadbeds down the lake in depths from 12 to 20 feet deep. You will spend more time looking at your depthfinder than actually fishing. The other pattern is trolling Norman Deep Little N crankbaits in a shad pattern. Troll your bait along contour lines. Throughout the day, pay attention for schooling fish as well. Look in areas around the mouth of Wehadkee Creek first thing in the morning. Large groups of schooling fish are coming up in these areas. Use 1/4-oz. chrome Rat-L-Traps with a steady retrieve amongst schooling fish.”

Crappie: Fair. Chris reports, “Crappie have moved out to standing timber. But with recreational activity, positioning your boat either with downlined minnows or trolling can be difficult. For catching crappie, the best fishing has been at night below floating lights around bridges. Good numbers are coming on downlined minnows 10 to 12 feet deep beneath lights. It takes a little time for bait to group around lights, and the fish will be soon to follow.”