West Point Lake Fishing Report – September 2021

West Point: Level: 0.8 feet below full pool. Temp: Mid 80s. Clarity: Clear down the lake.

Bass: Fair. Guide Keith Hudson reports, “During September, expect the shallow bite to slowly improve, especially if we get a lot of rain or a little cooler temps. Shallow-water baits such as unweighted Trick Worms, flukes, Senkos, buzzbaits and Rebel Pop-Rs usually seem to catch at least some bass in early fall. The trick is to fish these baits in or near cover. It is usually an early or late bite. Another productive pattern is to fish jigs around blowdown trees. It won’t produce a lot of bites, and you are going to lose or break off some jigs, but a kicker fish may be your reward. A few of the largemouth should remain on some of the deeper structure patterns as the water temps creep downward just a little over the next few weeks. Zoom Ol’ Monster worms either Texas- or Carolina-rigged, or a Bomber Fat Free 7 or 8 crankbait in citrus shad are a couple of the favorite baits for exploring the offshore structures. Old roadbeds, pond dams, channel ledges, etc., especially those with fresh brushpiles, will hold some good bass. Most of the tournament-winning sacks continue to come from brushpiles. The spotted bass can at least keep the day interesting for you. Carolina-rigged finesse worms or a Spot Remover Head rigged with a Zoom Speed Craw are good choices for spots. Try fishing bridge pilings, blowdowns, gravel banks or shoal markers. Also, look for spotted bass to school in packs on small shad at times. Usually when you catch one, there are others in the same area.”

Linesides: Good. Guide Keith Hudson reports, “Expect the topwater fishing to continue to be the best very early and very late or on overcast or rainy days. A popping-cork rig has been working well on these schooling fish are 1 to 3 pounds. A 3/8- or 1/2-oz. Rooster Tail, a chrome C.C. Spoon and a number of other small shad imitators will produce when the schooling fish go down. The flats near the pumping stations, the mouths of most creeks south of the 109 bridge and the flats around Amity Park have been holding fish. Trolling with mid-depth crankbaits and Flash Mob Jr. umbrella rigs have also been producing some linesides in these same areas. Downlining with shad or bass shiners should continue to be fairly effective. Freelining a live bait will also work at times. Most of the fish seem to be holding 20 to 30 feet deep when they are not schooling on the surface, and they are moving around a lot.”

Crappie: Good. Guide Keith Hudson reports, “Yellow Jacket, Wolf and Whitewater creeks are still producing some crappie. Try fishing the smallest minnows you can find or a 1/16-oz. or smaller jig around brushpiles and blowdowns in 10 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 the early fall. As usual, crappie seem to love shade and cover. Cooler temps or a lot of rain should improve the fishing drastically.”

Catfish: Good. “Try using worms or cut bait fished on the bottom for good catches of channel cats,” said guide Keith Hudson. “Bottle fishing (jugs/noddles) is also a fun way to catch a good mess of catfish. The channel cats will bite well over most of the lake and are way under fished. For big flatheads, try using a big live bream. Most of the best flathead fishing is in the deeper holes north of 219 bridge in the main Chattahoochee River run. Fish the baits on bottom, and be prepared with some heavy gear if you expect to land a big one. Don’t be surprised if you hook into a bonus striper in the same areas.”