West Point Fishing Report – June 2010

West Point: Level: 0.3 feet below full pool. Temp: Mid 70s. Clarity: Stained on the main lake; clear up the creeks; stained up the Chattahoochee.

Bass: Excellent. Tournament angler Tim Peek said topwater is the deal on West Point right now, and this fun way to catch bass should last well into the month of June. Take advantage of it right now! There has been a jam-up frog bite going on around any shallow-water vegetation you can find, but Tim said that is beginning to peter out a little. A Spro Poppin’ Frog has been getting a lot of good bites. The Pop-R bite for postspawn fish around the spawning areas was a little late this year, but it was just ramping up at presstime, and it should continue into June. There have been some heavy tournament sacks coming from the backs of Yellowjacket and Whitewater creeks, Tim said. If you can’t get them to hit topwater baits, trying dragging a Carolina rig in the cuts, ditches and creek mouths looking for fish as they make their migrations toward their summer patterns. The summer stuff should be in full swing by the second week of June, Tim said. Look to the ledges for bait, and wherever you find bait try throwing a deep-running crankbait like a Bandit 700 series in a shad color. If they won’t hit the crankbaits, try fishing a football-head jig or a big Texas-rigged worm like an Ol Monster. Green pumpkin is a good color. Also, Tim said he’ll always have a big Spook that he can throw a mile tied on in case he sees any surface schooling activity. Paul Parsons reports, “Bass are going into a postspawn pattern and are moving into heavy cover to recover from the spawn. Look for them in the blowdowns and in the shallow brushpiles. Texas-rigged lizards, jig ’n pigs and Trick Worms are excellent baits to use right now.”

Linesides: Excellent. Paul reports, “Striper fishing is excellent right now down on the main-lake humps. They are hitting live baits as fast as you can drop them down. We are getting three and four on at a time, and they were averaging at least 8 pounds. This main-lake action is just now starting and should remain great for at least the next six to eight weeks. There have already been reports of two big stripers over 30 pounds being caught in the last week down on the main lake. Good humps to fish can be found from the railroad-trestle bridge all the way to the West Point dam.”

Crappie: Good. Paul reports, “Most of the crappie have spawned and have moved to blowdowns and shallow brushpiles. The best way to catch them is with minnows fished 2 to 3 feet deep under bobbers.”

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 the best time to catch flatheads is during the middle of the day when the sun puts them down into the deepest holes. Heavy tackle is a must to pull them out of the stumps, logs and rocks that are in the bottom of the deep holes. Fishing for flatheads during the day will remain good until the summer when the water gets hot. Please practice catch and release with the big ones, and keep the small ones to eat.”