West Point Lake Fishing Report – November 2022

West Point: Level: 3.3 feet below 635. Temp: Upper 60s to low 70s. Clarity: Mostly clear.

Bass: Guide Keith Hudson reports, “Good. Shallow-water fishing remains good now and should improve even more during November, especially with stable lake levels and falling water temps. Try the cuts and pockets, starting  north of the trestle up to around Wolf Creek, especially those with little feeder creeks. Try fairly fast-moving baits like buzzbaits, spinnerbaits, Whopper Ploppers, Rat-L-Traps or the Flash Mob Jr. to cover water. Fish these baits in or around schools of shallow baitfish. Target any cover you run across with a fluke, Senko or jig ’n pig. By the end of the month (especially if the lake level drops and it cools off more),  the big schools of spots mixed with hybrids, white bass and stripers can be caught on jigging spoons and drop-shot rigs on deeper offshore structures. Try humps, roadbeds and long, tapered points that drop into deeper water. Find the deep bait and the fish are normally close by. Most of the deep fish are near the mouths of the creeks or in the river itself. For spoon fishing, I love to see the fish in around the 18- to 25-foot range and near the bottom.”

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Linesides: Guide Keith Hudson reports, “Excellent! Peak fall fishing is from Oct. 15 to Jan. 1. The downline bite with shad or bass shiners has improved greatly as the water has cooled off. Most of the fish seem to be holding 20 to 40 feet deep when they are not schooling on the surface but are still moving around a good bit. As the water gets colder, these deeper  fish get easier to catch. They will lock into a more specific depth range as they slow down with falling water temps. Look for the baitfish on your graph and suspend your live bait at that depth. Expect the topwater fishing to continue throughout the month and to be best very early and very late or on overcast or rainy days. Gulls and loons usually show up in November, which makes it easier to pinpoint schooling stripers, so keep your eyes open for them. A popping-cork rig has been working on schooling 1- to 3-lb. fish with an occasional bigger one mixed in. A 3/8- or 1/2-oz. white Rooster Tail, a chrome C.C. spoon and a number of other small shad imitators have been producing, and the colder it gets the better the fishing. Trolling with the Flash Mob Jr. has been producing some linesides, as well. As the water cools, casting a bucktail jig becomes very effective. In most years, by the end of November the vertical jigging spoon bite is awesome for a mixed bag. The mouths of most creeks south of the 109 bridge, the edge of flats near the dam,  and the mouth of Yellow Jacket Creek will be holding fish.”

Crappie: Guide Keith Hudson reports, “Good. Try tightline fishing minnows or a 1/16-oz. or smaller jig around bridge pilings, brushpiles and blowdowns in 6 to 15 feet of water. Concentrate on trees and brush that are close to the old creek channels. Pitching or shooting docks with small tube or feather jigs around or under the docks is also a very good technique during fall. Likewise, fishing blowdowns with a minnow 4 to 5 feet under a float can be productive. As usual, crappie seem to love shade and cover on bright days. Cooler temps and a little stain to the water usually improves the crappie fishing even more. Yellow Jacket, Wolf and Whitewater creeks are usually good choices for fall crappie fishing.