West Point Lake Fishing Report – January 2025

West Point: Level: 10 feet below 635. Temp: Upper 40s to low 50s. Clarity: Clear to light stain.

Bass: Guide Keith Hudson reports, “Fair. The shallow bite for bass is only fair right now but could improve by late January, especially with a warm rain and an extended warming trend. Stained water, rising lake levels and water temps in the low 60s will turn things on quickly. Baits such as crawdad Shad Raps, Rat-L-Traps and ChatterBaits will produce on  these shallower fish. Try to  fish these baits in coves and pockets with small feeder creeks or around schools of baitfish. Keep  a jig or shaky head handy to pitch around any wood cover. Fishing rip-rap can also produce good results this time of year. The rocks warm quickly and retain heat. Alternately, a snow or ice storm in January could shut the bite down completely. If the lake stays cold and clear, go deep! Big schools of spots mixed with hybrids, white bass and stripers can be caught on jigging spoons and drop-shot rigs and shaky-head rigs on humps and drop-offs. Target deeper offshore structures like brushpiles and old roadbeds in 20 to 30 feet of water near the mouth of most major creeks for the best results. I have noticed that with the lake level an extra 5 feet or so down, some of my normal winter deep-water  holes are not producing. The fish can be nearby but move out to the desired 20- to 25-foot depth. Be willing to look around if they aren’t in their normal locations.”

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Linesides: Guide Keith Hudson reports, “The downline bite for striped bass and hybrids using shad or bass shiners has improved as the water has cooled off, and in most years it stays good all winter. Most of the linesides seem to be holding 25 to 40 feet deep except for those rare days when they are schooling on the surface. Expect the topwater fishing to be very sporadic. It’s usually best very early and very late or on overcast or rainy days. Gulls and loons are here now, which makes it easier to pinpoint schooling stripers and hybrids. Keep your eyes open. The popping-cork rig has still been working on schooling, 1- to 3-lb. fish with an occasional bigger one mixed in. A big Red Fin or a big swimbait won’t get many bites but could produce a 20-lb. fish on any cast. A  3/8- or 1/2-oz. white Rooster Tail, a chrome C.C. Spoon and a number of other small shad imitators have also been producing, and the colder it gets, the better the deep fishing usually is (within reason of course). In cold water, a bucktail jig becomes very effective. Trolling with mid-depth crankbaits and Flash Mob Jr. A-rigs continues to produce some linesides. The mouths of most creeks south of the Highland Marina area all the way to the dam and Maple Creek have been holding fish. Also, some really good fish are being caught above the 219 bridge in the river, but be WARNED, the sandbars up there are shallow!”

Crappie: Guide Keith Hudson reports, “Try tightline fishing with minnows or a 1/16- or 1/8-oz. jigs around bridge pilings, brushpiles and blowdowns in 15 to 20 feet of water. Concentrate on trees and brush that are close to the old creek channels. Sometimes crappie will even hold almost dead on the bottom, as well. Pitching or shooting the few remaining deep-water docks with small tubes or feather jigs around or under the docks can still produce this time of year. As usual, crappie seem to love shade and cover. Yellow Jacket, Wehadkee and Whitewater creeks are still producing some crappie. Spider trolling usually starts up in January, as well, and can be very effective. If January turns unusually warm and wet, the crappie can show back up surprisingly shallow very quickly and can be caught from the shoreline. The Float-n-Fly technique can work really well in this situation.”