Smith Mountain Lake July Fishing Report - Dog days and deep fishing
Summer is finally here! Air temperatures are mid 80’s to mid 90’s almost everyday, thunderstorms roll in almost every evening and the fish are BITING!!!
Most fish off all species are heading for the deep water for the rest of the summer to stay cool and now is the perfect time to cut them off at the points and secondary points. The only fish that is sticking it out shallow is the big bull bluegill and bream.
Stripers are on most main lake points, shoals and schooling in the standing timber. If you get out early throw a topwater or swimbait. Good topwater choices include walking baits like a Zara spook, Strike King sexy dog or a Lucky Craft gunfish. A Missile Baits shockwave or something similar for a swimbait is a awesome starting bait as well. Keep an eye out for big schools coming to the surface and fire your bait right in there.
The smallmouth are back and have attitude! The lower end of the lake holds the most so look for rocky points and steep dropoffs. Topwater in the morning is a great choice but as the sun comes up switching to a dropshot, or a Ned rig with a Ned bomb will bring more fish to the boat.
The largemouth are still getting gathered together on the points. Check secondary points with crankbaits (DT10, DT16, 6xd, Spro little John MD and DD’s) or drag around a worm. We are still a few weeks out from fishing being stacked on the points, but its close. Also don’t be afraid to go check super shallow as some largemouth stay back in the cuts to chew on bluegill and bream. It may not be great numbers, but you could find yourself a monster back there.
As always check in with Captains Quarters for any baits your need. Tell Dewayne I sent ya :)
Smith Mountain Lake June Fishing Report - Post Spawn and F1 Tiger Bass
The post spawn is here! Fishing has been off an on and each day brings something new. Weather is a good indicator to how the bite will be. Bright post front sunny days will push the largemouth and smallmouth under docks for shade or slightly deeper (15ft+). Fish are eating topwater early. Use walking baits like gunfish, spooks or poppers back in pockets. Dropshot and a texas rig lizard are a great way to catch fish off deeper docks near the main lake.
Bream beds everywhere. If you fancy catching monster bull bream head to the back of any pocket and look for those honeycomb beds. Keep an eye out for a lurking largemouth and is snacking on them all day long. A bobber and corn is hard to beat for bream.
Stripers are loaded on most shoal markers on the lower end of the lake early. Swimbaits and topwaters are a great way to get some bites. Don’t be nervous to try smaller swimbaits like a Kietech 2.8 or something up to 6” long. 1/2oz swimbait heads are a good standard to get your bait deep. Be sure to work your topwater faster to get those explosive strikes.
The shad spawn is still going on but the late night topwater bite is getting later and later into the evening. If you plan to hit the night bite starting around 11:30-midnight is a goods start time. Most parts of the lake still have them spawning.
The best news on the lake this week is that the lake got a huge stock of F1 tiger bass. These are hybrid largemouth bass that are going to make this lake a true fishing destination in the years to come. Here is a link to the stocking program for more info.
Smith Mountain Lake May Fishing Report - Spring time is the best time, but cold weather brings changes
Fishing has been great for weeks now, but these big cold fronts are making each day different. If you can pick your fishing days come out the second or third day after the front has moved through and the weather is warming up.
The smallmouth and largemouth bass are well on their way to finishing their spawn. You can still find some on beds but its few and far between. You can find smallmouth out on most shoals now and catch them dragging dropshots, shaky heads or top water if the wind is low. Largemouths are still pretty shallow and some are still protecting their fry. Throw poppers if the wind is low or floating lizards/flukes. If the wind is blowing focus on secondary points with crankbaits and spinnerbaits for shad eaters.
The shad spawn is behind now with the cold weather. We had a few good nights of fishing, but the water temps have dropped around 60-62 and need to be higher for it to be in full swing. You can still find some banks loaded at night up the black water and Roanoke rivers but we are still a bit away from a full blown shad spawn.
We are catching stripers in the mix on the shoals throwing topwater and swimbaits. A missile baits shockwave on a dobyns swimbait head are a great choice to throw around and get lots of bites.