Post by mwardncsu on Oct 12, 2012 8:35:55 GMT -5
Courtesy of Mike Snead
Fishing & Outdoor Report
Smith Mountain Lake, VA
Water Temperature: 68-74 degrees
Water Clarity: Fair/Good
The weather and intermittent rain seen over this past weekend continued to cool both the surface temperature of the lake and that of the water further down in the water column. The current forecast is that the cool front and rain will move through the area by early in the week and by Tuesday we should see more typical fall weather patterns. The high temperatures should be in the 60's and 70's during the day and the low temperature will be in the 40's and 50's at night. The rain is expected to end by Tuesday and the skies should range from clear to partly cloudy through the remainder of this week and well into next. Over the next two weeks there will be very little moonlight at night as the moon will not be overhead for much of the evening. With a new moon on October 15th, even when overhead there will be very limited moon light. Even with the recent rains the lake water level is still running several feet below full pond. Hopefully continued run-off from recent rains and a limited demand for electricity will allow the power company to bring the level back up. So long as the water level remains low it is important to take extra care anytime you are operating in unfamiliar water or in areas where there are shoals or shallow water.
Schools of stripers continue to move up both arms of the rivers and are currently being found anywhere from the dam to the upper sections of the Blackwater and Roanoke Rivers. Currently stripers are being caught in the middle and upper lake sections of both the Roanoke and Blackwater Rivers, but most reports and my personal experience suggest the larger stripers are still being caught in the lower lake. Many of the stripers caught in the upper lake are small to medium size fish and while some are great eating size, they are generally smaller than those still being caught in the lower lake near Craddock Creek, the State Park, Bull Run, the S Curve, Gills Creek, Sportsman's Cove and Walden Creek.
Stripers continue to be caught on live bait rigged on both downlines and shotlines. While shotlines pulled behind planer boards are producing striped bass very early in the morning, once the sun moves overhead most of the stripers caught are still coming deep on downlines. Those fishing with larger planer boards report success pulling shotlines behind boards early and then adding downlines to the boards and boat rod holders as the morning progresses. Planer boards with shot and float lines will become more productive as the water continues to cool and more of the shad spend more time closer to the surface.
There are a number of different planer boards on the market. The "Water Bugz" are lightweight boards that are sold as a pair and cost about half as much as other brands. They come with a pigtail and good job with freelines and light shotlines, so they are well suited for use in the spring. A number of anglers prefer smaller boards like the Water Bugz to larger, heavier boards as they feel they allow the bait to move more naturally.
If you are looking for a more substantial planer board that can handle heavier rigs I suggest you consider the Outcast planer board. It is a great all around board that was designed by local angler Toby Tester and I understand it is still available through his website at www.outcastplanerboards.com/ Another board worth considering is the Striper Addiction board available through Captain Reny McComb www.striperaddiction.com/ who owns and operates the striper addiction company. Reny has a number of products for striper anglers, many of which I have used successfully for years. His planer boards are well made and come with arms that can be adapted for use on either the right or left side of your boat. I personally prefer his larger 412 model boards as they handle heavier Urigs and downlines better than other boards I've tried. While all his boards come with a custom planer board clip that works, I personally replace them with the popular and reliable medium weight Offshore planer board clip. I also replace the standard snap swivel on the rear of these boards with the pigtail clips. A board I have not used but should also be considered is the redneck board available through Captains Quarters.
Stripers and bass continue to chase schools of baitfish to the surface and break on them. Recently most striper breaks have been near the mouths of the major creeks and over the deep open water found in the main channel. While small short breaks can be seen early in the morning or late in the day, many of the more significant and longer lasting breaks have been occurring in late morning and early afternoon. That may change with the current moon as a darker night sky might improve the surface bite early in the morning. When stripers are breaking the Lucky Craft Gunfish, Sammy, large Cotton Cordell Chug Bug, Spook and Spook Junior are all good choices. Surface feeding stripers and those found feeding on alewives below the surface can also be caught on bucktails, flukes and swimming flukes rigged on lead headed jigs. I have had great success with the Donkey Rig over the past several years. I use standard EWG and belly weighted hooks when the fish are feeding on or near the surface. When the fish are deeper I use light weight jigheads and a cast, count down and retrieve technique. This still works well for bass as well as stripers even with the advent of the Alabama rig alternative.
Crappie fishing continues to improve and based on recent reports both the numbers of crappies being caught and the quality of the fish has been getting better each week. While the crappies are reportedly moving up in the water column, submerged brush in deeper water continue to be good spots. Anglers report success using both small lead head jigs with minnow imitating plastic trailers and small “shiners” rigged on gold, thin wire hooks. One crappie angler recently reported having continued success “shooting”, counting down and retrieving small lead headed jigs with plastic trailers around and under selected deep water docks. He did say the low water levels had altered the traditional patterns and high producing locations from years past.
Bass fishing continues to be mixed and fish are being caught both deep and shallow. There were several recent reports of smallmouth bass being caught in the lower lake while schooling on shad near the surface. Good lures include topwater lures, poppers and flukes. Topwater poppers include the popular Rico by Lobina Lures, the small Chug Bug by Storm, the Rebel Pop’R and the Gunfish by Lucky Craft. Several anglers reported success using Carolina Rigs on points and humps while others said they caught bass using jigs off rock ledges and in deeper water. Bass are also being caught on shad colored spinner baits when skies are overcast and the wind is blowing, especially when presented over and along deep water points.
Bass are also being caught in deeper water around submerged natural rock, bluffs and stumps on Texas rigged plastics, shaky head jigs rigged with finesse worms and skirted jigs. Deep water suspended bass are being caught by vertically jigging spoons (Hopkins, CC, Kastmaster), weighted shaky wacky rigs (ZAPPU) or drop shot rigs. Carolina rigged worms are also a good choice and have been producing an occasional bass when used on rocky deep water points.
Early archery season started this past weekend and muzzleloader season is just around the corner, so remember to wear a blaze orange cap or vest anytime you are out working or playing near wooded areas or places being hunted.
Tight lines, stay safe and enjoy the wonderful fall weather.
Mike Snead
Fishing & Outdoor Report
Smith Mountain Lake, VA
Water Temperature: 68-74 degrees
Water Clarity: Fair/Good
The weather and intermittent rain seen over this past weekend continued to cool both the surface temperature of the lake and that of the water further down in the water column. The current forecast is that the cool front and rain will move through the area by early in the week and by Tuesday we should see more typical fall weather patterns. The high temperatures should be in the 60's and 70's during the day and the low temperature will be in the 40's and 50's at night. The rain is expected to end by Tuesday and the skies should range from clear to partly cloudy through the remainder of this week and well into next. Over the next two weeks there will be very little moonlight at night as the moon will not be overhead for much of the evening. With a new moon on October 15th, even when overhead there will be very limited moon light. Even with the recent rains the lake water level is still running several feet below full pond. Hopefully continued run-off from recent rains and a limited demand for electricity will allow the power company to bring the level back up. So long as the water level remains low it is important to take extra care anytime you are operating in unfamiliar water or in areas where there are shoals or shallow water.
Schools of stripers continue to move up both arms of the rivers and are currently being found anywhere from the dam to the upper sections of the Blackwater and Roanoke Rivers. Currently stripers are being caught in the middle and upper lake sections of both the Roanoke and Blackwater Rivers, but most reports and my personal experience suggest the larger stripers are still being caught in the lower lake. Many of the stripers caught in the upper lake are small to medium size fish and while some are great eating size, they are generally smaller than those still being caught in the lower lake near Craddock Creek, the State Park, Bull Run, the S Curve, Gills Creek, Sportsman's Cove and Walden Creek.
Stripers continue to be caught on live bait rigged on both downlines and shotlines. While shotlines pulled behind planer boards are producing striped bass very early in the morning, once the sun moves overhead most of the stripers caught are still coming deep on downlines. Those fishing with larger planer boards report success pulling shotlines behind boards early and then adding downlines to the boards and boat rod holders as the morning progresses. Planer boards with shot and float lines will become more productive as the water continues to cool and more of the shad spend more time closer to the surface.
There are a number of different planer boards on the market. The "Water Bugz" are lightweight boards that are sold as a pair and cost about half as much as other brands. They come with a pigtail and good job with freelines and light shotlines, so they are well suited for use in the spring. A number of anglers prefer smaller boards like the Water Bugz to larger, heavier boards as they feel they allow the bait to move more naturally.
If you are looking for a more substantial planer board that can handle heavier rigs I suggest you consider the Outcast planer board. It is a great all around board that was designed by local angler Toby Tester and I understand it is still available through his website at www.outcastplanerboards.com/ Another board worth considering is the Striper Addiction board available through Captain Reny McComb www.striperaddiction.com/ who owns and operates the striper addiction company. Reny has a number of products for striper anglers, many of which I have used successfully for years. His planer boards are well made and come with arms that can be adapted for use on either the right or left side of your boat. I personally prefer his larger 412 model boards as they handle heavier Urigs and downlines better than other boards I've tried. While all his boards come with a custom planer board clip that works, I personally replace them with the popular and reliable medium weight Offshore planer board clip. I also replace the standard snap swivel on the rear of these boards with the pigtail clips. A board I have not used but should also be considered is the redneck board available through Captains Quarters.
Stripers and bass continue to chase schools of baitfish to the surface and break on them. Recently most striper breaks have been near the mouths of the major creeks and over the deep open water found in the main channel. While small short breaks can be seen early in the morning or late in the day, many of the more significant and longer lasting breaks have been occurring in late morning and early afternoon. That may change with the current moon as a darker night sky might improve the surface bite early in the morning. When stripers are breaking the Lucky Craft Gunfish, Sammy, large Cotton Cordell Chug Bug, Spook and Spook Junior are all good choices. Surface feeding stripers and those found feeding on alewives below the surface can also be caught on bucktails, flukes and swimming flukes rigged on lead headed jigs. I have had great success with the Donkey Rig over the past several years. I use standard EWG and belly weighted hooks when the fish are feeding on or near the surface. When the fish are deeper I use light weight jigheads and a cast, count down and retrieve technique. This still works well for bass as well as stripers even with the advent of the Alabama rig alternative.
Crappie fishing continues to improve and based on recent reports both the numbers of crappies being caught and the quality of the fish has been getting better each week. While the crappies are reportedly moving up in the water column, submerged brush in deeper water continue to be good spots. Anglers report success using both small lead head jigs with minnow imitating plastic trailers and small “shiners” rigged on gold, thin wire hooks. One crappie angler recently reported having continued success “shooting”, counting down and retrieving small lead headed jigs with plastic trailers around and under selected deep water docks. He did say the low water levels had altered the traditional patterns and high producing locations from years past.
Bass fishing continues to be mixed and fish are being caught both deep and shallow. There were several recent reports of smallmouth bass being caught in the lower lake while schooling on shad near the surface. Good lures include topwater lures, poppers and flukes. Topwater poppers include the popular Rico by Lobina Lures, the small Chug Bug by Storm, the Rebel Pop’R and the Gunfish by Lucky Craft. Several anglers reported success using Carolina Rigs on points and humps while others said they caught bass using jigs off rock ledges and in deeper water. Bass are also being caught on shad colored spinner baits when skies are overcast and the wind is blowing, especially when presented over and along deep water points.
Bass are also being caught in deeper water around submerged natural rock, bluffs and stumps on Texas rigged plastics, shaky head jigs rigged with finesse worms and skirted jigs. Deep water suspended bass are being caught by vertically jigging spoons (Hopkins, CC, Kastmaster), weighted shaky wacky rigs (ZAPPU) or drop shot rigs. Carolina rigged worms are also a good choice and have been producing an occasional bass when used on rocky deep water points.
Early archery season started this past weekend and muzzleloader season is just around the corner, so remember to wear a blaze orange cap or vest anytime you are out working or playing near wooded areas or places being hunted.
Tight lines, stay safe and enjoy the wonderful fall weather.
Mike Snead