West Point Fishing Report – March 2007

West Point: Level: 5.5 feet below full pool. Temp: 52-53 degrees. Clarity: Clear to light stain.

Bass: Good. Bass are moving into a prespawn stage, said guide Paul Parsons. Look for them to start moving onto main-lake points, where small crankbaits will catch them. He suggested a Bandit or a No. 7 Shad Rap. “If they don’t want to go after anything like that, slow down,” he said. A jig ’n pig or a Texas-rigged lizard around brushpiles eight to 16 feet deep will produce fish. And, on warm, sunny days look for them to move into the backs of pockets to feed on shad. Paul suggested Rat-L-Traps in blue/chrome for clear water and chartreuse in muddy water. He’s also catching them on jerkbaits like the Lucky Craft Pointer fished slow, “just twitching it and letting it sit,” he said. Paul has also been catching spotted bass on the rocky main-lake points fishing Carolina-rigged finesse worms in green pumpkin, watermelon seed or chartreuse pepper.

Crappie: Off-and-on, said guide Bobby Wilson. “Some of the fish are still out in 25 to 28 feet of water. You can downline off some of those trash piles or standing timber and catch some.” With warm days bringing the water temperatures up, Bobby said the crappie fishing was getting ready to heat up, as well. “With this pretty weather, it’s fixin’ to bust wide open,” he said. “When that water temperature hits 55 degrees, they’ll be on the move.” Trolling 1/16-oz. jigs or two 1/32-oz. jigs will be the ticket this month, and Bobby said any color will work when they’re biting. His favorite colors for West Point this time of year are black/chartreuse and chartreuse. “One day you might catch ’em in 15 to 25 feet of water and the next day catch ’em in two to three feet of water,” Bobby said. “You just gotta try a little of both. If you can’t find ’em one place, you gotta go to another place and find ’em.”

Hybrids: The hybrid fishing is getting ready to pick up. Late in February, people were picking up hybrids trolling Rat-L-Traps and Bandits, but the fish are getting ready to run up the Chattahoochee River. Bobby said cut bait or live bait fished on the river flats can be very effective when the fish move up the river, but finding them is trial-and-error. “Sometimes you’ve got to move three or four times a day to stay on ’em,” he said. Paul Parsons said the hybrids should be up the river by the middle of the month, and cut shad or live shad fished on a 1-oz. sinker with a No. 2 or smaller hook will catch them “Along sandbars or anywhere a little creek comes into the river. Cast into it where the creek comes in and fish it just like you’re fishing for catfish.” Paul said they also catch some good flatheads.