West Point Fishing Report January 2011

West Point: Level: 4.8 feet below full pool. Temp: Low to mid 50s. Clarity: Stained up the Chattahoochee; clear on the main lake and creeks.

Bass: Good. Micah Frazier said the best numbers are going to come from the deep bite on drop shots and jigging spoons. The fish will be bunched up wherever the bait is, which should be in the 20- to 35-foot range around timber on creek-channel bends and ledges. On the drop-shot rig, Micah likes to fish a NetBait finesse worm or their new Slim Shake Worm. Green pumpkin is always a good color. For the spoon, any 1/2-oz. white spoon should do the trick. On warmer afternoons, some fish should move up shallow to feed on rock, where the water warms quicker. Rip-rap or any other type of shallow rock on the banks will draw fish, and Micah likes areas where the channel swings up close to the bank, making it easier for the deep fish to move shallow. Fish a crankbait like a Bandit 200 Series or a No. 7 Shad Rap in either a shad or crawdad pattern. Also, slow it down with a NetBait Paca Jig in brown or green pumpkin.

Linesides: Paul Parsons reports, “We have been catching limits of small- to medium-sized stripers on live shad on the main-lake humps and flats.”

Crappie: “Crappie are being caught fishing with small threadfin shad and minnows 25 to 35 feet deep around the standing timber in the mouths of the major creeks,” Paul said.

Catfish: Good. “Blue and channel catfish are biting all over the lake on cut shad,” Paul said. The best time to catch big blue catfish is in the winter. Fishing for flatheads has slowed with the colder water temperatures.