WEST POINT JULY 2008

WEST POINT LAKE IS FULL, CLEAR & 88 DEGREES BY CHRIS BRACKETT

Bass fishing is slow. Up lake the water is slightly stained and fish are holding from 9 to 15 feet of water. This week long deep points and deep structure has been the best fishing. We caught fish on a Texas rigged Zoom Ol'Monster. We are fishing this bait on a 7 foot St. Croix medium heavy rod with 17 pound Sufix Elite Line and a 1/2 ounce black bullet weight. When fishing with this bait, make sure not to fish too fast. Use short hops with 5 to 10 second pauses and find most of the fish hit on the pause. If you’re fishing up lake, good places to go are any of the points in Yellow Jacket and around any of the shoal markers in the mouth of the Chattahoochee River. Down lake the water has been clearer. Use shakey head rigged with a Trick worm and it is working better than anything else. Hot colors to try right now are Bama Bug, Watermelon Jelly, Blueberry Sunrise and Watermelon Candy. Deep crank baits like the Norman DD22 or Poe's 400 have been working lately but the best time for this bait is right before dark. This week down lake the best creeks to fish have been Stroud Creek, Rainbow Creek, and in the back of Maple Creek.

Hybrids and striper fishing has been great. Even with the horrible heat fish are being caught lakeside. We have been catching most of our fish by down lining and free lining shad over 15 to 25 feet of water. The best thing to help you is to watch your graph and look for the schools. Average Hybrid is 3 to 4 pounds with the occasional 5 to 7 pounder. Humps and points are key spots but it changes daily. Big gizzards are working great just make sure the hook is a 3/0 Circle for shad 5 to 7 inches. Wedhakee Creek, Stroud Creek and some no named pockets down lake are great places to start.

Crappie fishing has been good this week. The crappie has been suspending over brush piles in 18 to 25 feet of water. Good baits to catch these fish will be a small Jigging spoon or a Jiffy Jig under a slip float. Color hasn't seem to matter this week but Chart/Blk and White/Chart are always good colors to start with. Also fish are being caught at night under lights around the bridges and rip rap lake wide. Use small minnows with a size 4 hook and 4lb Sufix line for best results.

Chris Brackett cell 706 616 7480 105 Sage Commercial Drive, Lagrange Georgia 30240. Driftmaster, St. Croix Rods, and Quantum, Highland Marina

See www.lowrance.com for the current Summer Rebate Program on consumer products through September 30, 2008 starting with the LMS-520c @ $50.00. Buy a LCX-113cHD and get a $300.00 rebate.