West Point Fishing Report February 2012

West Point: Level: 3.9 feet below full pool. Temp: 52 degrees. Clarity: Stained.

Bass: Good. Chris Bell reports, “Patterns have remained consistent with continuous cool evenings and periodic rain. Offshore hotspots for spotted bass have continued to produce with drop-shot rigs and jigging spoons. If largemouths are your focus, you are going to need to cover a lot of water with shallow crankbaits and spinnerbaits. Look for red-clay points and rocky banks with sunlight on them most of the day. Most of these points and banks will be northeastern shorelines. Make long casts with crankbaits and spinnerbaits on the shallow ends of points. Slowly reel baits making sure to keep continuous contact with the bottom. The best crankbaits are a Bomber 4A and Bandit 200 series in a red craw pattern. Spinnerbait patterns can be limited to a 1/2-oz. War Eagle in white with double-willowleaf blades gold and silver.”

Linesides: Great. Chris reports, “Hybrid and striper fishing is great. Fish have positioned on top of humps and roadbeds. Using live shad dropped down to schools of fish is working the best. Use your depthfinder to locate fish. You may have to check multiple areas before locating fish with the recent changes in water levels.”

Crappie: Great. Chris reports, “Crappie are beginning to show up midway in pockets on cover and points. For your trolling bite, troll Jiffy Jigs in a black-chartreuse pattern to depths of 10 to 12 feet. Cover like brushpiles and laydowns will hold multiple crappie this time of year. Use live minnows downlined to depths of 10 to 12 feet in and around cover.”