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Falls lake is a 12,410 acre reservoir located in the central portion of North Carolina. Falls covers areas in Wake, Granville, and Durham Counties and is part of the Neuse River system. The lake is made up of flooded timber and flats on the northern end, and river channel and creek arms on the southern end. Falls offers 175 miles of undeveloped shoreline. This body of water has become known to produce 25-30 pound five fish bags over the past few years. B.A.S.S ranked the reservoir 17th in 2018 in the southeastern area top 25 lakes.
The weather Sunday was in our favor, 55 degrees, partly cloudy to sunny, and a warm front pushing Friday and Saturdays rain out. The warmer air temperature and rain causing the snow to melt, created some warmer creek waters to run into the lake in areas. The run off also made for very stained and muddy water.
Between cold fronts and rising muddy water, the conditions made for some tough fishing. With the water being over four and a half feet above full pool and less than a foot of visibility, the fishing was not the best. The lakes full pool elevation is 252.00 while the water elevation was 256.70 on Sunday. Not even mentioning the water temperature being in the low to mid 40’s. Consistent temperatures in the upcoming week should help to stabilize the fishing in the near future. A lot of bait fish were found on the northern end of the lake from interstate 85 bridge to the highway 50 bridge. Muddy water conditions making it difficult to finesse fish in the bait balls. I marked good schools of fish on main lake humps and points near creek arms. Loud noisy crank baits and baits that displace a lot of water is key to getting a strike. Fish were tucked tight to offshore cover like isolated rock piles. Bluff walls near river and creek bends produced fish on the southern end of the lake. Water clarity was higher on the southern end of the lake as well.
Warm pockets of water was key as well. Pockets of water 45-46 degrees were the most productive. Slow rolling crawfish colored crank baits, and maintaining bottom contact in ten to fifteen feet of water, seemed to trigger the most strikes. With current water conditions, try to stay away from finesse baits (shakey head, drop shot, and silent jigs). Moving reaction baits (crankbait, rattle trap, A-rig, and spinner baits) are your best bet. Throw contrast colors with the muddy stained water, dark colors with dark water. On your spinner baits throw larger Colorado or Indiana blades to make it easier for the bass to locate.
