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West Point Lake
West Point is a great fishing lake, but it has undergone major changes in the past several decades. Once overly fertile because of Atlanta's upstream influence, environmental changes have reduced the flows of nutrients that once created pea-green waters and super largemouth bass fishing. The lake is clearer these days, and the less fertile waters are transitioning from largemouth to spotted bass. Bass fishing is still excellent, just more spotted bass are caught these days. Hybrid bass fishing is very good, especially during the famed spring run up the Chattahoochee River to Franklin. West Point is a man-made reservoir of 25,900 acres impounded by the West Point Dam, built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
West Point Lake Resources
West Point: Level: 2.9 feet below 635. Temp: 70s and low 80s. Clarity: Clear over most of the lake. Bass: Guide Keith Hudson reports, “Good. May should be a great month to be fishing this year. The lake is near full pool, water temps are perfect, and there seems to be more largemouth showing up than in previous years because of the ongoing stocking program. The topwater fishing is usually very good in May. Baits such as Pop-Rs, Whopper Ploppers and buzzbaits can be extremely effective for shallow and aggressive fish in the backs of pockets with ditch runs. Keep your eyes open for bream beds, as largemouth love to feed on them. Another pattern that can work really well is to look for spawning shad. Try fishing rip-rap around bridges with spinnerbaits, small crankbaits and Zoom Super Flukes. In May, some big tournament sacks of largemouth are still being weighed…
Read MoreWest Point Lake Articles
Fishing guide Bobby Wilson has often told me that crappie fishing was hot on West Point, even when most anglers aren’t targeting the species. See, crappie fishing is a popular activity in the late winter and early spring, when giant numbers of the fish are moving from deep to shallow to spawn. But when the…
The Eliminator Series matches top Georgia bass tournament anglers head-to-head, and the diaries of these competitions offer invaluable bass fishing information to anglers. This months matches took place on West Point and Clarks Hill, and they offer great insight to April bass fishing on these lakes. You’ve read about the fishing success of the Millsaps…
Last March I was working on a turkey-hunting article when a fax was tossed on my desk. It was the H.D. Marine results for the March 16 bass tournament on West Point. Since a top-10 list from a good bass tournament ranks up there with the NASCAR results around this office, I snatched the list…
The green flag has dropped, and the race is on. The hybrids in Lake West Point have just completed their voyage north up the Chattahoochee River to the Franklin Shoals area. West Point hybrids make a yearly run up the river to search out swift current – it’s their attempt to spawn. Although a…
“I want to reschedule,” Rob Boswell said. Being a fisherman myself, I felt his pain. It’s tough enough to go out and catch fish with the pressure of a magazine interview under ideal conditions. The conditions we faced made this proposition nearly impossible. Despite that, Rob was able to find fish and we caught a limit.…
West Point Lake Record Fish
| Largemouth Bass | 14-lbs., 2-ozs. | Richard Little | 04/15/1988 |
| Spotted Bass | 6-lbs., 9-ozs. | Wendell Young | 02/07/1990 |
| White Crappie | 3-lbs., 14-ozs. | Willie Arnold | 02/15/1989 |
| Black Crappie | 3-lbs., 6-ozs. | Edward Cagle | 03/14/1996 |
| Hybrid Bass | 14-lbs., 12.75-ozs. | Dustin Pate | 03/13/2009 |
| Shoal Bass | 3-lbs., 7-ozs. | Danny Swafford | 08/02/1997 |
| Blue Catfish | 61-lbs. | Jerrimie Tolbert | 10/22/2022 |
| Flathead Catfish | 48-lbs. | Mike Felter | 08/22/2020 |
| Yellow Perch | 1-lb., 2.4-ozs. | Toney Booker | 11/18/2017 |
| Channel Catfish | 16-lbs., 7.5-ozs. | Owen Knabe | 4/22/2018 |
| Striped Bass | 40-lbs. | Mike Steele | 3/24/2024 |
| Shellcracker | 12.64-ozs. | Todd Garner | 05/06/2023 |
| Longnose Gar | 23-lbs. | April Waldrop | 07/21/2023 |
West Point Most-Read Articles
Many of our lakes and rivers are loaded with large, trophy-sized trash fish that no one really cares about fishing for because they are supposedly not that good to eat. Carp and gar are at the top of that list, and even if their taste and table quotient is questionable, they sure are sporting. Just…
There’s a reason tournament partners Earl Kitchens, of Gray, and Wayne Ard, of Lizella, drive halfway across Georgia to fish West Point Lake. The crappie fishing can be that good. And, in late February and early March, when the first waves of egg-heavy females begin pushing into the shallows to spawn, the fishing gets that…
In July, the days are often long and hot, and the lakes can be crowded with pleasure boaters. Conditions can be tough for bass fishermen. To lower your frustration and catch some fish, head to West Point Lake. The spotted bass and largemouths there feed even on the hottest days, and summer bassin’ at West…
There’s no doubt that amongst the beautiful scenery of West Point Lake there’s a huge population of hungry, eager and hard-fighting linesides. And, as the weather continues to warm this month, the action should only get hotter, according West Point Lake angler and part-time guide Todd Pursley. Now that the crowded spring striper and hybrid…