Fish Report

[Chris Tetrick]

Lake Level:916.3

Normal Pool:915.0

Water Temp:51-55 degrees

Fishing had been good here in the past few days. Big Smallmouth's and Kentuckies are starting to show up on the main lake and secondary gravel flats. Fish are hanging shallow in the mornings and windy/ cloudy days. Wide open clean points and flats have been working the best. Fish are biting on 4'' and 5'' single tail grubs in smoke/red, smoke/silver and salt/pepper swam off bottom occasionally touching the bottom. Moss has began to build up off some banks and has made it diffucult to drag the grub on the bottom. Some banks are clean but some tend to be a bit messy. Fish are starting to bite carolina rigged fish doctors and french fries on these clean flats drug around.

Stickbaits and wiggle warts are catching some nice fish also on secondary points with timber. Use crawdad colored warts and stickbaits in chartreuse/purple, or chrome shad. Craink the bait down and give it a pause then retreive the lure back slowly.

In the river arms fish are biting the wiggle wart well. Many fish are coming off the phantom brown or green wart wound with a stop and go retreive knocking the bottom. Lots of rain off are pouring into the backs of the creeks and will draw bait and fish in to them. The lake levels are rising and I hope it won't get as wild as last March did.

I haven't been in the James River in over a week, but I hear of good reports with lots of small bass being caught with a few keepers mixed in. Crainkbaits, stickbaits and finesse jigs are working in the creek arms and transition banks.

[Bill Babler]

Great Report

Fish are really starting to get aggresive. Yesterday in the wind, starting at 2 PM in the dam area, we boated well over 20 keepers on the stickbait and swimming a copper flake grub.

My client in the back yesterday, an older gentleman, fished the pointer 112 in TRS, by throwing it up on the windy flats, and then just letting it soak, as he said, he reeled it in when he had a fish, or when we moved. He caught at least a dozen doing this. I would here him say, "This is great, I don't even have to do nothin, but throw it out and wind them in." Make a long cast with the stickbait, reel or jerk it down, and then just keep your line tight, twitch the head around, in a similar fashion to walking the dog with a spook, but leave it out there. It you are in the correct depth, even when it is almost trailing the boat, you are still ok. Dick, caught 5 or 6 with the boat in 24 and his stickbait directly behind it, probably no more than 8 ft. deep, suspended. The fish are just moving and in all layers of the water column.

Fish are on secondary inner points and main lake flat gravel points. A very good tip, is if you can cast and hit the bank, you might be in a bit close for what is really putting numbers in the boat.

My boat is in from 18 to 24, and our grub and stickbait bites are usually about halfway back to the boat. That is at least a full cast from the bank.

These fish have moved from the transitions, and are staging on these long points leading into the major spawning areas.

As Chris reported there is also starting a splitshot bite either in these locations, or steeper secondaries, some timber seems to help.

It is really getting good now, and it should only get better.

Take good care of them as they are ripe with eggs and fat as pigs.

Good luck

[Whack'emGood]

Thanks guys. It is very much appreciated, as always.

Whack'em

[Quillback]

Yes, thanks! Even though I fish Beaver rather than Table Rock, it seems that what applies to Table Rock also will work on Beaver. So I appreciate the tips and advice.

[S&M]

Post deleted for the betterment of the members.

As well as my membership on this website.

[roy_eros]

great reports, cant wait to get out this weekend!

[vacation]

Caught a handfull of these 2 weeks ago in the dam area, using small jigs, color didnt matter,,off deep docks...all were full of eggs.