West Point Fishing Report January 2012

West Point: Level: 12.1 feet below full pool. Temp: 54 degrees. Clarity: Stained.

Bass: Great. Chris Bell reports, “With some of the warmer days mixed in, fish have continued to stay shallow. Lake conditions right now are really low. Use extreme caution when navigating the lake right now. With the lower water, stay within channel markers when navigating areas that you are not familiar with. The best ramps still available are located at Yellow Jacket Creek access. These conditions, although difficult to run, have made for some great wintertime offshore fishing. Catching 30-plus fish a day is very possible. The two best baits are a jigging spoon and drop-shot rig. For a jigging spoon, use silver or gold 1/2-oz. jigging spoons. On sunny days use silver, and on cloudy days switch to gold. For drop-shot rigs, use a No. 1 Gamakatsu drop-shot hook tied 18 inches above a 1/4-oz. drop-shot weight. Locate bait offshore in 18 to 20 feet of water. Fish are positioned on structure relating to the main river channel. Once you have located fish, stay put as catching numbers is very possible.”

Linesides: Great. Chris reports, “There are two patterns dominating right now. You can catch fish by downlining live shad on humps and roadbeds. If fish have scattered from offshore structure, switch to trolling medium-depth crankbaits such as a Bomber Fat Free shad in a shad pattern. Troll baits near the main river channel. As you begin trolling these areas, look for bait that is grouped up, and fish will not be far behind them.”

Crappie: Fair. Chris reports, “Troll a 1/8-oz. Jiffy Jigs with black/chartreuse curly tail jigs. Troll in the 10- to 12-foot range going into creeks like Half Moon and Whitewater creeks.”