West Point Fishing Report – November 2010

West Point: Level: 3.5 feet below full pool. Temp: Low 70s. Clarity: Pretty clear.

Bass: Good. Micah Frazier said the bait is moving into the creeks and pockets, and the fishing is getting shallow and fun. The bass are chasing bait. He has caught fish in water as shallow as 8 inches lately, but they might also be out on blowdowns and secondary points in the creeks. You’ve just got to find the bait, and you’ll find the fish. He likes to start the morning with topwater, either a shad-pattern Spook or a white buzzbait, on the flats in the backs of the creeks where there are shad. If they don’t hit topwater or once the bite slows down, he’ll start throwing a small, shallow-running crankbait in a shad pattern, a Chatterbait or spinnerbait. He’s been getting them on a 3/8-oz. spinnerbait lately with a white skirt and small blades to match the size of the shad. Any wood cover will help the bite on these flats. Also, a 3/8- or 1/4-oz. lipless crankbait is a good choice in the creeks and pockets where there’s not a lot of structure. Micah likes a Red Eye Shad in chrome sexy shad.

Linesides: Good. Paul Parsons reports, “Striper and hybrid fishing is starting to improve with the cooler water temps. The bigger striped bass that moved upriver to escape the hot water in the lake are starting to move back down, and striper fishing will continue to improve as the water cools. Look for striper and hybrid fishing to get really good this month.”

Crappie: Good. 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. Fish with minnows on downlines, and vary your depth until you figure out where they want it.” There should also be some crappie moving up into the creeks with the bait, and it’s time to start trolling jigs up in the creeks or targeting shallow brush and blowdowns with minnows under a cork.

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 cooler 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. 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 in the deep holes.”