West Point Fishing Report January 2015

West Point: Level: 6.9 feet below full pool. Temp: 50. Clarity: Light stain.

Bass: Fair. Guide Keith Hudson reports, “As the weather continues to cool down and the lake level continues to drop, expect more fish—especially spotted bass—to stack up on deeper structure such as humps, ledges, roadbeds and brushpiles in at least 15 to 25 feet of water. Drop-shot worms, jigging spoons or a green-pumpkin worm on 1/2-oz. football-head jig are good choices for a mixed bag of deeper bass. For specifically targeting spotted bass, try a Tommy Head with a Zoom Shakey Head worm around rip-rap, brushpiles or rocky banks with blowdowns. Another good spotted bass technique this time of year is drop-shotting directly in brushpiles. Expect the largemouth bite to continue to be fair at best around any shallow wood or brush cover or around baitfish schools. Shallow-water baits such as ChatterBaits, Strike King KVD 1.0 and 1.5 lures, and topwater baits such as Zara Spooks and Pop-Rs will still work at times. A warming trend or heavy rain even during winter will usually improve the bite quickly. One of the main keys to this type of fishing is to look for the schools of shad in the shallow water.”

Linesides: Good. Keith Hudson said, “My personal favorite for winter fishing is the jigging spoon. Try vertical jigging on the bottom on main-lake flats, roadbeds and humps in 20 to 30 feet of water. On a good day we are easily catching a mixed bag of 75 to 100 whites, spots, stripers and hybrids. Stripers mixed with hybrids and white bass will continue to school on top all winter on prime cloudy days. The mouths of Yellow Jacket, Wilson and Whitewater creeks should continue producing some fish. Russ’ Hand-Tied Bucktails or a white 1/2-oz. Rooster Tail should be kept handy in case a school pops up. A big Red Fin also is a good choice for larger fish. Expect the topwater fishing to be best very early and very late or on overcast days. The fish are mostly less than 3 pounds or so, but there is an occasional big one mixed in. Gulls and loons help pinpoint their locations, so keep your eyes and ears open. I expect the size to continue to improve as the water continues to cool down. Trolling with mid-depth crankbaits and Alabama Rigs has also been producing in these same areas.”

Crappie: Good. Keith reports, “Try fishing a live minnow under a float around brushpiles or pitching small tube jigs under docks. Blowdown trees in 5 to 10 feet of water are also holding some fish. Concentrate on trees that are close to the old creek or river channel. I like the area from Highland Marina north to 219 in the Chattahoochee. Covered docks with brush in this area will also hold fish. Drop-shotting minnows over or near deeper brush will also produce results. Trolling the creek channels should start to improve soon as well.”