West Point Fishing Report – March 2009

West Point: Level: 5.3 feet below full pool and rising. Temp: Upper 40s to mid 50s. Clarity: Clear in the main lake and clear in the main creeks; lightly stained in the back of the creeks.

Bass: Very good, said guide Paul Parsons. He reports: “Largemouth and spotted bass are in a prespawn pattern. Largemouth fishing is best in the afternoon on sunny, warmer days. The cold fronts will knock them out for a couple days, but the fishing will pick right back up with warming water. Look for the shad and bass to move into the backs of feeder creeks on warm afternoons. Probably the best way to catch them will be slow rolling a Rat-L-Trap. Another good lure to try is a Lucky Craft Pointer. With this lure, a slow stop-and-go retrieve usually works the best. On the cooler mornings, fish the mouths of the feeder creeks and pockets and adjacent points with drop-shot or Carolina-rigged worms, and fish really slow.”

Linesides: Good. Guide Bobby Wilson reports: “Fish are starting to stage for the run up river. They are moving in and out of the mouths of the creeks. When locating fish, drop live bait or try trolling crankbaits. They will be running up river in a couple of weeks, when you can try live bait on the bottom or cut bait. Use extreme caution up river, or you will be on the bottom or hitting stumps in the middle of the river. There are also rocks up there big as your boat. The best thing is to go with someone who knows the river.” Paul reports: “Striped, hybrid and white bass are biting good down the lake on humps, flats and roadbeds and also around areas of standing timber fishing live shad. Good humps and flats to fish are the railroad-trestle hump, the flats at the mouths of Wilson Creek, Wehadkee Creek, Alligator Creek and Indian Creek and the humps in the mouth of Maple Creek. If the fish are not on the humps or flats, you can probably catch some by slow trolling 1/4-oz. Sassy Shads or curly-tail jigs along the river channel or major creek channels. The spring striper and hybrid run up the Chattahoochee will get going around the middle of March when the water temperature gets up to around 60 degrees. Look for the bigger fish to start moving up the river first. The spring run usually peaks around the first week in April. At the peak of the run, 50- to 100-fish days are common. Live and cut shad are the best bait. You can also catch them on chicken livers. A good area to try early in the run is from Potato Creek to Brush Creek.”

Crappie: Excellent. “Limits of fish are being caught with this warmer weather trolling jigs and minnows,” Bobby said. “Try using acid rain, John Deere green, black/chartreuse or chartreuse. Try Wehadkee, Yellowjacket, Turkey, Veasy, Maple or Whitewater creeks. These fish will be moving toward the middle of the creeks in a couple of weeks and gradually moving to the backs of the creeks to spawn.” Paul reports: “Crappie are biting very good during the daytime slow trolling jigs over the creek channels. The water is still cold, so you need to troll as slow as you can. Crappie fishing has been best after the sun gets up and starts warming the water up. Good creeks to try are Yellowjacket, Wehadkee and the bigger creeks north of Highland Marina. Trolling jigs for crappie should be excellent through February and into March. Look for crappie to spawn on the full moon in March.”

Catfish: Good. Paul reports: “Channel and blue catfish are biting good during the daytime on the main-lake flats in 20 to 30 feet of water. Locate the shad, and you should find the catfish. Another good place to try is the tailrace area below the West Point Lake dam. The best bait is fresh-cut shad. The flathead catfish bite up the river is fixing to get good. Flathead fishing will pick up as soon as the water temperature gets to about 60 degrees. We will start catching big flatheads about the same time that the striper and hybrid run gets going. The best bait for flatheads is gizzard shad, bream and crappie. All bream and crappie must be caught with a rod and reel to be legal bait.”