West Point Fishing Report January 2013

West Point: Level: 11 feet below full pool. Temp: Upper 40s to low 50s. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Fair. Guide Keith Hudson reports, “A few good largemouths continue to remain shallow even on cold days. Try using Little John crankbaits, Shad Raps and Rat-L-Traps along rip-rap banks and in the backs of deep pockets, especially first thing in the morning or late afternoon. As the day goes by, the key to catching them is to find deeper structure and schools of baitfish. Try deeper diving crankbaits and Football Head jigs around old roadbeds, ditches and brush 10-15 feet deep for a few big largemouths and magnum spots. As usual, some can be caught around blowdowns and brushpiles in 10-12 feet of water on jigs. Now is the best time of the year to catch some nice spotted bass mixed with linesides by using spoons. Shaky heads and drop-shot finesse worms will also work on these fish. Look for schools of bait on the bottom in 18-25 feet of water. The spoon bite will only improve as the water temps continue to fall. Remember this—a warming trend of several days in a row, especially this time of year, can really turn the bite on.”

Linesides: Good. “There has been fair schooling activity, especially on cloudy days in Maple, Yellow Jacket and Whitewater creeks, among other places,” Keith said. “Casting topwater plugs or one of Russ’ hand-tied bucktail jigs or downlining bass shiners or shad has been producing. Look for schools of shad and seagulls diving at the surface to help you figure out where the fish are as the stripers are usually nearby when you find bait and birds. On sunny days the fish will stay near these same areas, but they will move deeper and suspend. Also, you can try trolling bucktail jigs or small Bandit 300 crankbaits in shad-colored patterns. The spoon bite has also kicked in on most of the humps and roadbeds.”

Crappie: Fair. “Try pitching the bridge pilings with Jiffy Jigs or tight-lining with minnows for some nice slabs,” Keith said. “Casting around brushpiles, shooting boat docks, and blowdown trees will also produce. Trolling should start to pick up soon as the schools of crappie move to the creek channels. Jiffy Jigs or tube jigs in most light colors are working. Wehadkee, Yellow Jacket, and White Water creeks are all producing fish. Another good technique is drop-shotting with minnows around brushpiles in 10-12 feet of water. Night fishing for crappie and other species is slow. You can tie up under bridges, put out a couple lights, relax, and still catch a few. Use minnows for the best result.”