Smith Mountain Lake October Fishing Report - Tough conditions
Fishing is tough :)
Keep your head on a swivel these next coming weeks and keep a lot of rods on the boat deck, it’s a true junk fall fishing kind of month. We are catching bass from 6” of water all the way in 30 feet. Some days you can run topwater and catch them all day and the next you have to drag a shaky head extremely slow. If you’re new to fishing the lake or new to fishing in general now is a great time to get a guide and learn how to break down new water or when to move to a different area. The water temperatures start around 64 in the mornings and rise to 72 in the afternoons depending on how hot the air temp is and how much wind we get. Wind is your FRIEND this month as it helps shake the crawfish loose and pushes the bait fish into the banks.
If you are bass fishing target large points going into pockets first and see if you can find active schoolers, if not move into secondary smaller points that may concentrate more fish in a tighter area. Keep moving back into major creek arms like Becky and Bettys, Craddock or Gills. Last check as far back in pockets as you can. If you find bait there will be fish around.
Target aggressive eaters with chatterbaits, a Dobyns spinnerbait and Spro MD crankbaits. If you notice fish busting on the top (which could also be stripers) grab your favorite topwater walking bait and fire into the schools.
For neutral and negative fish picking up a shaky head with a Missle Baits Missle Craw or their new Quiver worm or dropshot with any Roboworm is a great tool. Fish this very slow on rocky points or deeper docks.
A huge tip this year is if you catch a bass slow down in the same area. Fish will be stacked together and you can have a great time fishing for a school and getting a lot bites.
If you can plan ahead pick a day with wind and cloud cover to make the fish be more aggressive.
For the striper guys, up the Roanoke people are having good luck with fish moving up the river. Target channel swings and the back or beaver dam with flukes and topwater baits for some explosive action.
The Crappie are starting to stack up in brush 10-18 feet in most pockets.
Smith Mountain Lake September Fishing Report - Fall turnover
Early fall brings lots of moving fish and covering water is by far the most important approach to have a great day on the water. Each day can change which fish will be active and there are fish in all areas of the lake at this point. Keep an eye on up coming cold fronts and changing weather to hit the water pre-front. This is a great time to throw a topwater around points and rock transitions. A crankbait or jerkbait while windy is also a great tool during the changing weather. Don’t be afraid to head to the way backs of creeks early to check for early arrivers looking to eat shad moving back.
Striper fishing is still good on main lake points and river edge rock. A fluke, topwater or jerkbait are a great way to catch some. Watch for birds and fishing school and get your boat just within casting distance.
Largemouth and Smallmouth are moving daily and setting up for their fall patterns. Fish can be found on the main lake, secondary points and in the backs of pockets. Base you location on wind. A squarebill crank on riprap is a good start, a buzzbait or whopper plopper are good topwater options and a jig flipped into rock transitions should have all fish around.
Here are some great baits to check out squarebills crankbaits buzzbaits whoppers jerkbaits
Smith Mountain Lake August Fishing Report - Summer bite windows and suspended fish
We are at the peak of summer now. Water temps are ranging from 83-87 degrees depending on how hot we get during the day. The fish are moving and schooling up and can be hard to locate. Keep moving around and using your electronics to find schools. If you’re interested in a electronics class click here. If you are fishing over multiple days keep in mind that one day a school of fish may be there and not the next. Bait around is key to finding good areas to fish. Check depths as deep as 30 feet, but don’t completely ignore the 5-10 foot range either.
Stripers are schooling on the lower end of the lake on most main lake points and channel swings. Trolling seems to be the best way to get bites. For artificial baits try dropping spoons or drop shots with minnow imitating baits right into the school for some aggressive strikes.
Largemouth and smallmouth are keying on rock in 8-20 feet and brush piles. Pulling a Carolina rig is a great go to bait this time of year. Not the most fast paced way to fish, but it will put numbers in the boat. Always have a drop shot, Ned rig or shakey head ready on the deck. If you are able to fish on cloudy days moving baits are still getting chewed. Smaller swimbaits, underspins or crankbaits are a good choice.
Grab some Missile Baits ned bombs, bomb shots and Missile craws for your finesse stuff or some baby destroyers for your Carolina rigs.
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.