West Point Fishing Report September 2011

West Point: Level: 6.9 feet below full pool. Temp: 91 degrees. Clarity: Stained.

Bass: Slow. Chris Bell reports, “Bass fishing has been tough. Fishing has been slow with the extremely high temperatures. I look for little change with all species until we begin seeing some temperature changes leading into fall. Best fishing right now can be at night using large soft plastics and jigs. With nighttime temperatures, fish will often move up to feed. Daytime temperatures have really slowed fishing down. If water generation is present, you can catch a few fish on deep-diving crankbaits, and most times these will be your better fish. If there is no generation, you will need to slow way down with your soft plastics. The best soft plastics have been Texas-rigged and shaky-head worms. Despite the slower bites, fish have related to larger baits so use your magnum Trick Worms and 10-inch worms. The best colors have been green pumpkin and watermelon. Work these baits slowly in and around cover located on humps and roadbeds lake wide.”

Linesides: Fair. Chris reports, “Hybrid and striper fishing is fair. Fish are schooling lake wide over the tops of humps and roadbeds following shad on the surface. The action will be fast, so use fast-moving shad-imitating baits. Use 1/2-oz. Rat-L-Traps and Pop-Rs. Work baits quickly to resemble fleeing shad. Once topwater action slows, use live bait over the same humps and roadbeds that produced with topwater earlier in the morning. The best locations are on the southern end of the lake.”

Crappie: Fair. Chris reports, “Fish have fully committed to deeper water. Look for deep brushpiles near the main lake during daytime hours. Best fishing has come from bridge pilings at night. Downline live bait 12 to 15 feet deep.”