Smith Mountain Lake November Fishing Report - Low Clear Water, Tougher Conditions and why you need to keep adjusting
DON’T FORGET TO CHECK OUT THE BAIT SHOP FOR ALL THE FALL TACKLE
I RECOMMEND
Well folks sorry about the missing October fishing report. Lots going on over here with the Kohls fam. We moved, had lots of family events and lots of guiding. We are settled at the new place and guide season is coming to a close so I should be sharing a few more post of fun fishing and messing with some new baits over the next few months.
Overall to shoot everyone straight the fishing has be pretty tough over the last three weeks. AEP has dropped that water level down to the 791-792 range, we are in a drought and the water temperature has cooled a lot and fast. What was setting up to be a killer shallow fall bite has quickly become a junk fishing, gas burning kind of fall. HOWEVER, these fish have to eat and they are active on certain days (which I will break down below) I do think the fishing will get better once we can break through the 60 degree level and kick these fish into eating better again.
Weather is the main factor that I have seen making a difference over the last few weeks. My toughest trips have been on anything blue bird sky. Doesn’t matter if it’s a post front or pre front condition or if its slick calm or windy. The bright sunny conditions have tons of fish suspend and not really committing to much. Bait size has been all over the map with some fish chasing 2” yearling shad and some fish chasing 7”-9” gizzards and these fish are being super picky at each stop. My baitfish suspended set ups have been a Megabass 3” spark shad in the color Real on 6lb line, a Megabass Vision 110 +2 in GP Pro Blue with weighted hooks to get the bait down quickly and allowing me to move it faster to create reaction strikes, last is a large glide the Megabass I-Slide 265R in mega shiner.
My better days and bigger fish are almost all coming on cloudy days with some wind. My main focus these days is speed so i’m leaning into a Megabass Sling shad weighted, a Megabass oversized topwater the MEGADOG X and burning a Megabass SV3 spinnerbait over cover.
Due to the water drop a lot of the spots i’m fishing are still very much at the mouths of pockets as these fish are waiting to make their moves back when this water finally starts to cool. Keep an eye on the SML+ app for a quick drop once we get under the 60 mark. This water temperature always seems to stall these fish out a bit but we are close to getting over the hump.
Adjusting is going to be what separates a good day or fishing from a bad. Fish should be moving shallow on the turn of a switch so keeping them honest shallow could help you get ahead of the next big move. Secondly, if you find an area with a group of fish try rotating baits quicker this month to get dialed every day. It has been a lot of trial and error these last few weeks.
Striper fishing has been holding strong on the mid and lower end of the lake with some topwater action still happening in the low light hours of the days.
Crappies are starting to really stack up on brush and some deeper brush up the rivers and seem to be coroperating more than any other species of fish.
Tight lines and stay safe out there!