Driving Map to Smith Mtn - Click to Enlarge
| A nice Smith Mountain Lake smallmouth caught by Terry's Guide Service |
| Click to Enlarge |
Smith Mountain Lake Overview
At 20,600 acres, Smith Mountain Lake is the largest reservoir entirely contained
within Virginia. It is home to good populations of largemouth bass, smallmouth
bass, crappie, catfish, and white and yellow perch, but it is really known for its
exceptional striped bass fishery. These fish are plentiful and grow large in this
sprawling reservoir. The fishing pressure is high and the pleasure boat traffic is
heavy during the warm weather months. However, due to the size of the lake
anglers can often find a quiet place to fish even on busy weekends. Crappie grow
large, but the numbers of crappie are not as high and the fishing not as easy as in
some other Virginia reservoirs.
within Virginia. It is home to good populations of largemouth bass, smallmouth
bass, crappie, catfish, and white and yellow perch, but it is really known for its
exceptional striped bass fishery. These fish are plentiful and grow large in this
sprawling reservoir. The fishing pressure is high and the pleasure boat traffic is
heavy during the warm weather months. However, due to the size of the lake
anglers can often find a quiet place to fish even on busy weekends. Crappie grow
large, but the numbers of crappie are not as high and the fishing not as easy as in
some other Virginia reservoirs.
May 12, 2008: Mike Snead of the Virginia Outdoorsman provided the following fishing report. Contact
Mike at (540) 721-4867 or visit him online at www.virginiaoutdoorsman.com.
Water Temperature: 67 degrees Water Clarity: Good/Stained
The surface water temperatures which approached 70 degrees late last week dropped several degrees
over the past weekend due to colder temperatures. Last week’s heavy rains stained many of the creeks
and sections of the upper lake. The cooling water temperatures and frontal activity caused a number of
fish that were shallow to pull back into deeper water. With daytime high temperatures this week only
reaching the low 70’s and the low temperature around 50 degrees at night, the surface water
temperature will likely drop a little further. We will have partly cloudy skies for much of the week with
scattered showers midweek. We had a first quarter moon on Monday the 12th and the next full moon will
be on the 20th.
The striped bass are getting ready to spawn and as is the case every year when this occurs, the fishing
conditions are mixed. Pre-spawn striped bass are schooling up around the lake and there are generally
better populations in the mid and lower lake areas of both the Roanoke and Blackwater Rivers and in the
dam area. These schooled stripers will “break” the surface as they run bait to the surface to feed,
especially first thing in the morning and late in the evening. There were a number of surface breaks
observed this past week around the mouths of major creeks on shallow points. Last week I experienced
some of the best striper “jump fishing” ever. I was one of eight boats who encountered breaking fish first
thing in the morning. We chased and cast to different breaking schools of 24 to 30 inch stripers for
several hours. We would locate and cast lures into one group of breaking fish and as soon as they
slipped back below the surface another group of stripers would surface in the distance and all of us
would race to that area and begin casting to that new school of breaking stripers. We caught a number of
beautiful stripers casting and retrieving bucktails and flukes. The next morning several anglers and
guides returned to the same area and could not find a fish. That’s striper fishing this time of year.
Fishing for breaking stripers is exciting. There are often multiple fish caught at the same time and
anglers are furiously casting and retrieving lures. I prefer using single hook lures when more than two
anglers are fishing from my boat at the same time. Breaking stripers can also be caught using topwater
lures like the Striper Strike, large Rebel Pop-R’s, Chug Bugs, Pencil Poppers, Spooks, Gunfish and
Sammy’s. All of these are excellent lures, but do have treble hooks on them. If using lures with treble
hooks, be very careful as it only takes a second for a fish thrashing about in the water or on the deck to
share a hook with you. I suggest you use a “rubber landing net” or “boga like grip” to get the fish caught
on treble hooks into the boat as the treble hooks will not get tangled in the rubber net like they can in a
regular landing net. I also suggest you use a hook remover or needle nosed pliers to remove treble
hooks from stripers.
One last word on fishing for breaking stripers. Remember to approach the breaking fish quietly and to
remain well outside the edge of the breaking fish. When anyone runs a boat into or too close to breaking
fish, it will cause them to submerge and will ruin the topwater fishing opportunity for everyone. When
approaching a school of breaking stripers, cut off your gas motor well before you even get within casting
distance and allow your boat to quietly coast into casting range. If you have an electric trolling motor, use
it to keep you outside the mass of breaking fish as they move along the surface feeding. If there are other
boats fishing with you, try to avoid getting too close to them or between them and the school of stripers,
cutting them off.
When the stripers are not breaking, many striper anglers are using live bait on downlines, shot lines and
in-line planer boards (OffShore, Water Bugz, Redneck) to pull baits along the shoreline and across
points. Some are also using bait on bottom rigs. Others are trolling with their gas motor as they search
for schooled stripers on their fishfinders. Umbrella rigs, bucktails and three way rigs with Sutton spoons
and plastic swimbaits (Storm Wildeye, Calcutta Flashfoil, sassy shad) are several of the more popular
trolling rigs being used.
The topwater “night bite” continues to develop as the alewives move up along the banks to spawn.
Stripers, bass and flathead catfish are all being caught at night. While the alewives spawning activities
started several weeks ago, it has been more sporadic than usual and some nights the shad have not
come up until after midnight. The cool weather this week will do little to improve the intensity of the
alewive spawn. The most popular fishing technique to use when the alewives are near the bank is to
position your boat close to shore and cast a floating jerkbait close to the bank. The key to success is to
find the targeted fish up on an “active bank” and then retrieve your lure very, very slowly. You want the lure
to put out a slight wake as it moves through the water. Good lures include the Jointed Thunderstick,
Rogue, Original F-18 Rapala, Long A and Redfin. Several of these lures come with weak or dull hooks,
so most anglers replace them with quality sharp treble hooks (Owner, Gamakatsu, VMC).
Black bass continue to spawn around the lake, and some bass can still be found on beds. Sight fishing
with bright colored trick worms, white tubes or white jigs like the Dave’s Big Bite continues to produce fish
in the day. Bass are also being caught around deep water docks using Senko sinking worms, jigs with
trailers (Dave’s Trailers, Big Bite Jigs, ZOOM, Netbait), small shaky head jigs with finesse baits (Tru-
Tungsten, Big Bite, Roboworm) and crawfish imitating plastics (Netbait, ZOOM). Spinner baits continue to
catch fish early around structure and diving crankbaits are working on fish suspended in deeper water.
There were a number of tournaments on the lake recently. The Saturday night open had a field of 23
boats and was won by Bill Hayes and Mark Clingenpeel with a total weight of 18.05 pounds. They also
had the big fish weighing 5.5 pounds. The Sunday SMLBass tournament was won by Mike Altizer with a
total weight of 13 pounds 14 ounces and a big fish weighing 5 pounds 2 ounces. I wasn’t able to obtain
all the results from the Tuesday Night Tournament, but heard that Chase Blankenship and his partner
took second place honors. Jared Williams won the first Conrad Brothers USA Bassin Junior Angler
tournament with a largemouth that weighed 3.47 pounds. The first place team was Jeremy Terry and
Ronnie Anderson. Thomas Wooten and Greg Scott claimed second place honors with a weight of 15.40
and the team of Burley Warf and Brent Chapman finished third with a bag weighing 15.06. They also took
big fish honors with a 5.10 pound largemouth. Carlos Brown and Chris Hutton came in fourth with a
weight of 14.30 pounds.
Flathead catfish are being caught on live bait, including shad, on bottom rigs. They have also been hitting
topwater lures used by bass and striper fishermen along the shoreline at night. Channel catfish are
being caught on prepared stinkbaits. Several anglers have caught flatheads over 20 pounds in the past
two weeks.
Crappies were being caught on small “crappie minnows” rigged on gold, light wire hooks, split shot and
floats last week. They were also hitting small jigs and tubes cast or slingshot into shady areas under
fixed docks and fished in submerged brush. The cooler water may cause the crappie to pull back into a
little deeper water, so if you don’t find them shallow try fishing a little deeper.
We just finalized our schedule for the 2008 Instructional Fishing Workshops. There are a number of new
topics and speakers added this year, and we have extended the schedule into July and August. In an
effort to accommodate more attendees this year, we will be holding the sessions in a large meeting
room located on the second floor of the same building in which we are located. We will start with a
“Fishing Basics and Dock Fishing” class on May 29th. This is a great class for those who want to be able
to help summer visitors and children learn to fish. It is a prerequisite to the other sessions for those with
little fishing experience. The 2008 Fishing Workshop schedule can be found at http://www.
virginiaoutdoorsman.com/content/workshop.html Seating is limited and handled on a first come first
scheduled basis. If you want to attend a session, I suggest you stop by the shop and sign up early.
Tight lines.
Mike Snead http://www.virginiaoutdoorsman.com (540) 721-4867
40 Village Springs Drive, Hardy VA 24101
In Westlake Directly Across From Wendy’s On Rt 122
(About 3 Miles South Of The Hales Ford Bridge)
Mike at (540) 721-4867 or visit him online at www.virginiaoutdoorsman.com.
Water Temperature: 67 degrees Water Clarity: Good/Stained
The surface water temperatures which approached 70 degrees late last week dropped several degrees
over the past weekend due to colder temperatures. Last week’s heavy rains stained many of the creeks
and sections of the upper lake. The cooling water temperatures and frontal activity caused a number of
fish that were shallow to pull back into deeper water. With daytime high temperatures this week only
reaching the low 70’s and the low temperature around 50 degrees at night, the surface water
temperature will likely drop a little further. We will have partly cloudy skies for much of the week with
scattered showers midweek. We had a first quarter moon on Monday the 12th and the next full moon will
be on the 20th.
The striped bass are getting ready to spawn and as is the case every year when this occurs, the fishing
conditions are mixed. Pre-spawn striped bass are schooling up around the lake and there are generally
better populations in the mid and lower lake areas of both the Roanoke and Blackwater Rivers and in the
dam area. These schooled stripers will “break” the surface as they run bait to the surface to feed,
especially first thing in the morning and late in the evening. There were a number of surface breaks
observed this past week around the mouths of major creeks on shallow points. Last week I experienced
some of the best striper “jump fishing” ever. I was one of eight boats who encountered breaking fish first
thing in the morning. We chased and cast to different breaking schools of 24 to 30 inch stripers for
several hours. We would locate and cast lures into one group of breaking fish and as soon as they
slipped back below the surface another group of stripers would surface in the distance and all of us
would race to that area and begin casting to that new school of breaking stripers. We caught a number of
beautiful stripers casting and retrieving bucktails and flukes. The next morning several anglers and
guides returned to the same area and could not find a fish. That’s striper fishing this time of year.
Fishing for breaking stripers is exciting. There are often multiple fish caught at the same time and
anglers are furiously casting and retrieving lures. I prefer using single hook lures when more than two
anglers are fishing from my boat at the same time. Breaking stripers can also be caught using topwater
lures like the Striper Strike, large Rebel Pop-R’s, Chug Bugs, Pencil Poppers, Spooks, Gunfish and
Sammy’s. All of these are excellent lures, but do have treble hooks on them. If using lures with treble
hooks, be very careful as it only takes a second for a fish thrashing about in the water or on the deck to
share a hook with you. I suggest you use a “rubber landing net” or “boga like grip” to get the fish caught
on treble hooks into the boat as the treble hooks will not get tangled in the rubber net like they can in a
regular landing net. I also suggest you use a hook remover or needle nosed pliers to remove treble
hooks from stripers.
One last word on fishing for breaking stripers. Remember to approach the breaking fish quietly and to
remain well outside the edge of the breaking fish. When anyone runs a boat into or too close to breaking
fish, it will cause them to submerge and will ruin the topwater fishing opportunity for everyone. When
approaching a school of breaking stripers, cut off your gas motor well before you even get within casting
distance and allow your boat to quietly coast into casting range. If you have an electric trolling motor, use
it to keep you outside the mass of breaking fish as they move along the surface feeding. If there are other
boats fishing with you, try to avoid getting too close to them or between them and the school of stripers,
cutting them off.
When the stripers are not breaking, many striper anglers are using live bait on downlines, shot lines and
in-line planer boards (OffShore, Water Bugz, Redneck) to pull baits along the shoreline and across
points. Some are also using bait on bottom rigs. Others are trolling with their gas motor as they search
for schooled stripers on their fishfinders. Umbrella rigs, bucktails and three way rigs with Sutton spoons
and plastic swimbaits (Storm Wildeye, Calcutta Flashfoil, sassy shad) are several of the more popular
trolling rigs being used.
The topwater “night bite” continues to develop as the alewives move up along the banks to spawn.
Stripers, bass and flathead catfish are all being caught at night. While the alewives spawning activities
started several weeks ago, it has been more sporadic than usual and some nights the shad have not
come up until after midnight. The cool weather this week will do little to improve the intensity of the
alewive spawn. The most popular fishing technique to use when the alewives are near the bank is to
position your boat close to shore and cast a floating jerkbait close to the bank. The key to success is to
find the targeted fish up on an “active bank” and then retrieve your lure very, very slowly. You want the lure
to put out a slight wake as it moves through the water. Good lures include the Jointed Thunderstick,
Rogue, Original F-18 Rapala, Long A and Redfin. Several of these lures come with weak or dull hooks,
so most anglers replace them with quality sharp treble hooks (Owner, Gamakatsu, VMC).
Black bass continue to spawn around the lake, and some bass can still be found on beds. Sight fishing
with bright colored trick worms, white tubes or white jigs like the Dave’s Big Bite continues to produce fish
in the day. Bass are also being caught around deep water docks using Senko sinking worms, jigs with
trailers (Dave’s Trailers, Big Bite Jigs, ZOOM, Netbait), small shaky head jigs with finesse baits (Tru-
Tungsten, Big Bite, Roboworm) and crawfish imitating plastics (Netbait, ZOOM). Spinner baits continue to
catch fish early around structure and diving crankbaits are working on fish suspended in deeper water.
There were a number of tournaments on the lake recently. The Saturday night open had a field of 23
boats and was won by Bill Hayes and Mark Clingenpeel with a total weight of 18.05 pounds. They also
had the big fish weighing 5.5 pounds. The Sunday SMLBass tournament was won by Mike Altizer with a
total weight of 13 pounds 14 ounces and a big fish weighing 5 pounds 2 ounces. I wasn’t able to obtain
all the results from the Tuesday Night Tournament, but heard that Chase Blankenship and his partner
took second place honors. Jared Williams won the first Conrad Brothers USA Bassin Junior Angler
tournament with a largemouth that weighed 3.47 pounds. The first place team was Jeremy Terry and
Ronnie Anderson. Thomas Wooten and Greg Scott claimed second place honors with a weight of 15.40
and the team of Burley Warf and Brent Chapman finished third with a bag weighing 15.06. They also took
big fish honors with a 5.10 pound largemouth. Carlos Brown and Chris Hutton came in fourth with a
weight of 14.30 pounds.
Flathead catfish are being caught on live bait, including shad, on bottom rigs. They have also been hitting
topwater lures used by bass and striper fishermen along the shoreline at night. Channel catfish are
being caught on prepared stinkbaits. Several anglers have caught flatheads over 20 pounds in the past
two weeks.
Crappies were being caught on small “crappie minnows” rigged on gold, light wire hooks, split shot and
floats last week. They were also hitting small jigs and tubes cast or slingshot into shady areas under
fixed docks and fished in submerged brush. The cooler water may cause the crappie to pull back into a
little deeper water, so if you don’t find them shallow try fishing a little deeper.
We just finalized our schedule for the 2008 Instructional Fishing Workshops. There are a number of new
topics and speakers added this year, and we have extended the schedule into July and August. In an
effort to accommodate more attendees this year, we will be holding the sessions in a large meeting
room located on the second floor of the same building in which we are located. We will start with a
“Fishing Basics and Dock Fishing” class on May 29th. This is a great class for those who want to be able
to help summer visitors and children learn to fish. It is a prerequisite to the other sessions for those with
little fishing experience. The 2008 Fishing Workshop schedule can be found at http://www.
virginiaoutdoorsman.com/content/workshop.html Seating is limited and handled on a first come first
scheduled basis. If you want to attend a session, I suggest you stop by the shop and sign up early.
Tight lines.
Mike Snead http://www.virginiaoutdoorsman.com (540) 721-4867
40 Village Springs Drive, Hardy VA 24101
In Westlake Directly Across From Wendy’s On Rt 122
(About 3 Miles South Of The Hales Ford Bridge)
Virginia Outdoors - A Resource for Virginia Anglers and Hunters
Virginia Outdoors - Smith Mountain Lake
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Fishing Smith Mountain Lake
Smith Mountain Lake Fishing Guides
Largemouth Bass: Largemouth bass are the most sought-after species at Smith
Mountain Lake, and outnumber smallmouth bass 10:1. The highest density of
largemouth is found uplake of Hales Ford Bridge in the Roanoke River arm and
Buoy 26 in the Black water River arm. The numerous piers and boathouses on the
lake provide productive visible cover, and are an excellent place to start - especially
for newcomers. The water is typically clear, so natural colors and light line are
recommended. One tactic is flip and skip small plastics around boat docks and
then between boat docks cast Rat-L-Traps and spinnerbaits. Stained water can
be found at times in the back of tributaries like No Name (Magnum), Poplar Camp,
Stanford, Beaverdam, Grimes, and Buff. Flip jigs and cast spinnerbaits and
buzzbaits around natural cover in these creeks - especially during low light
conditions.
Striped Bass: Several hundred thousand fingerling striped bass are stocked each
year. Adult fish are scattered throughout the lake most of the year, but tend to
concentrate in the lower lake during the summer and early fall. Live bait is the
most popular tactic with some trolling during the summer and casting during the
spring or in low light conditions. Think large for live baits - large shad up to 10" can
be productive - and use Waterbugz planers to cover a larger area. Popular lures
for trolling include deep-diving plugs and bucktails. Good lures to cast include
swim baits (Sassy Shad and Shad Assassins), bucktails, and even topwater lures
(Cordell Redfin) at dawn and dusk. It is well worth the price of a good guide to get
a lesson in how to pursue these hard-pulling, good-eating fish. Fish over 20 lbs
are always a possibility.
Mountain Lake, and outnumber smallmouth bass 10:1. The highest density of
largemouth is found uplake of Hales Ford Bridge in the Roanoke River arm and
Buoy 26 in the Black water River arm. The numerous piers and boathouses on the
lake provide productive visible cover, and are an excellent place to start - especially
for newcomers. The water is typically clear, so natural colors and light line are
recommended. One tactic is flip and skip small plastics around boat docks and
then between boat docks cast Rat-L-Traps and spinnerbaits. Stained water can
be found at times in the back of tributaries like No Name (Magnum), Poplar Camp,
Stanford, Beaverdam, Grimes, and Buff. Flip jigs and cast spinnerbaits and
buzzbaits around natural cover in these creeks - especially during low light
conditions.
Striped Bass: Several hundred thousand fingerling striped bass are stocked each
year. Adult fish are scattered throughout the lake most of the year, but tend to
concentrate in the lower lake during the summer and early fall. Live bait is the
most popular tactic with some trolling during the summer and casting during the
spring or in low light conditions. Think large for live baits - large shad up to 10" can
be productive - and use Waterbugz planers to cover a larger area. Popular lures
for trolling include deep-diving plugs and bucktails. Good lures to cast include
swim baits (Sassy Shad and Shad Assassins), bucktails, and even topwater lures
(Cordell Redfin) at dawn and dusk. It is well worth the price of a good guide to get
a lesson in how to pursue these hard-pulling, good-eating fish. Fish over 20 lbs
are always a possibility.
Smith Mountain Lake Fishing Report
|
| A good wintertime striper caught by Terry's Guide Service |
| Copyright © 2007 Virginia Outdoors, LLC Ruckersville, VA |
Other Useful Info and Links
Campgrounds and Lodging:
Smith Mountain Lake State Park (camping, swimming, cabins): (540) 297-6066
Eagle's Roost Campground: (540) 297-7381
Goose Dam Campground: (540) 483-2100
Blue Ridge Campground and Marina: (540) 721-3866
Mitchell's Point Marina and Campground: (540) 297-7174
Crazy Horse Marina and Campground: (540) 721-1587
Paradise Inn (Campground, marina, hotel): (540) 297-6109
Marinas:
The marinas on Smith Mtn Lake are almost too numerous to list. In addition to
Blue Ridge, Mitchell's point, and Crazy Horse, some popular marinas include:
Bay Roc Marina: (540) 890-2194
Foxport Marina & Lodge: (540) 721-2451
Parkway Marina: (540) 297-4412
Bridgewater Marina and Boat Rentals: (540) 721-1639
Smith Mountain Lake State Park (camping, swimming, cabins): (540) 297-6066
Eagle's Roost Campground: (540) 297-7381
Goose Dam Campground: (540) 483-2100
Blue Ridge Campground and Marina: (540) 721-3866
Mitchell's Point Marina and Campground: (540) 297-7174
Crazy Horse Marina and Campground: (540) 721-1587
Paradise Inn (Campground, marina, hotel): (540) 297-6109
Marinas:
The marinas on Smith Mtn Lake are almost too numerous to list. In addition to
Blue Ridge, Mitchell's point, and Crazy Horse, some popular marinas include:
Bay Roc Marina: (540) 890-2194
Foxport Marina & Lodge: (540) 721-2451
Parkway Marina: (540) 297-4412
Bridgewater Marina and Boat Rentals: (540) 721-1639
| Featured Article: Where to Catch Virginia's Trophy Largemouth Bass |
| A nice Smith Mountain Lake Striper caught April 2008 |
