West Point Fishing Report – July 2010

West Point: Level: 0.2 feet below above pool. Temp: High 80s to low 90s. Clarity: Clear on the main lake; clear in most creeks; stained up the Chattahoochee.

Bass: Good. Micah Frazier likes to keep it simple when fishing the summer patterns on West Point. Points, roadbeds, humps and ledges all hold fish this time of year, and large schools of bass can often be found on one small area when you find the right combination of structure and cover. Micah keeps tied on a big crankbait, a Buckeye Football Jig with a Fat Albert twin-tail grub, a Spot Remover jig head with a finesse worm, a Carolina-rig with a Baby Brush Hog or a big worm, and he will also have a big spoon ready to drop to deeper cover. For a detailed look at the types of structure and cover Micah likes to use these baits on, turn to page 26. Paul Parsons reports, “Bass are moving into deeper water with the warmer water temps. Fish the deeper structure like old roadbeds and humps, and also the creek channel ledges. Lots of bass are being caught on big crankbaits like DD22s and big worms like Zoom Ol Monsters.”

Linesides: Excellent. Paul reports, “Striper fishing is excellent right now down on the main-lake humps and flats. Good humps and flats to fish can be found from the railroad trestle bridge all the way to the West Point dam. There has been some good topwater action first thing in the morning and late in the afternoon. We’ve been catching lots of stripers and hybrids on popping-cork rigs, but they will also hit Sassy Shads and Rooster Tails or any lure that looks like a small shad. Most of these surface-feeding fish are 3 to 5 pounds with a few up to 7 pounds.” To catch the bigger fish, forget the fast schooling action and go deeper. Paul reports catching stripers up to 16 pounds on live bait fished 25 to 35 feet deep.

Crappie: Good nighttime bite. Paul reports, “Crappie are biting good at night under the bridges. The most popular bridges are the Cameron Mill Road bridge in Yellow Jacket Creek, the railroad trestle and the Highway 109 bridge. Good lights are a must for crappie fishing at night. Green HydroGlow lights are expensive, but work really well. Fish minnows on downlines, and vary the depth.”

Catfish: Good. Paul reports, “Blue and channel catfish are biting good all over the lake. The best bait is cut shad. Fishing for flathead catfish is picking up with the warmer water temps. The best way to catch the big flatheads is to fish the deep holes upriver from the 219 bridge all the way up to above Franklin. The best bait by far is big, live gizzard shad. Bream and crappie will also work, but you must catch them on a rod and reel for them to be legal bait. Right now, flatheads are biting day and night, but it’s starting to turn into a night bite. The best time has been from 9 p.m. until around 1 a.m. Heavy tackle is a must to pull them out of the stumps, logs and rocks that are in the bottom of the deep holes. Always wear your life jacket and use caution when running the river at night. Please practice catch and release with the big ones and keep the small ones to eat.”