12/29

[hillbilly]

Bigun - I will be happy to go out on the lake with you and trade fishing spots. We can play cards, starting with deuces. But nah, I probably don't have much to give you here on the website. I'm a night fisherman as you know, and we nightstalkers tend to hang in the shadows.

JT - just put time in on the lake and keep pushing these guys. They have lots of secrets to share. Oh, and I would suggest you measure size in weight as well. The fish here have a tendency to grow tall before they get fat

[lund1]

Well....I'll say what everyone else is thinking......Yam II ?

[mwardncsu]

JT - 40"+ striper are caught in SML - but they are rare, beautiful, precious beasts. We got a 41" in the 1st few days of Jan last year - it's back out there still swimming after a quick photo-op. I know of a few other 40"+ that were caught this year - and I'm sure a few I don't know about. But they are definitely not common. Heck - citation class fish - 37"+ are rare enough. I'm sure you're aware, but I mention it as often I find folks are not - and hopefully others that read this that are not aware will take note - that the slot is current in effect and no fish 30" - 40" may be kept. That of course does not mean fish 40"+ HAVE to be kept - everyone here would certainly hope 40"+ fish caught this time of year with cool water are carefully released to be caught again and hopefully again.


Sorry for not responding sooner, but I've been out fishing non-stop the past 2 days myself I did go below the Halesford Bridge yesterday - and I'll promise you there are fish below the bridge as well as above. Actually, I'd wager you can catch a fish in every creek on the Roanoke at least from the State Park up - maybe even further down. Also, I'd bet bait is in most of those creeks. You'll see from my reports that we struggled for bait yesterday and it wasn't easy today had it not been for one really good net. I'll also admit that I benefited from a network of trusted fisherman when it comes to removing some water from the search - and from the returned good karma of a past good deed on my end with a few baits to help us out yesterday - though I did my share of diligence on checking waters first..... just like the fish, the bait is not just one one area or section of the lake - so I've told others before - the right question is not "where", but "why". There is a ton of bait in the main channel and mouths of major creeks. There is a CRAP TON of small bait - so you have to weed that out with your electronics and your net to confirm if its big or small bait. Much of that bait is deep - yesterday it was more shallow - but very scattered - I guess due to a few warm days..... seemed to move back deeper and into the creek mouths / main channels today which is more typical this time of year. Look for the main creek feeders - from a bait perspective, nastier may be better in terms of bait concentrations as the water would have more stuff for them to feed.

I know I and some others focus on big bait - and there is nothing that gets my heart pumping more than a big bait getting blown up behind a board - but don't overlook the power of ales. I was on the phone this evening with a guide that has a trip tomorrow and will be fishing ales - and he will catch fish I'm sure - probably more than we caught today - and very likely close to the same size class as much of what we caught. With limited time on SML, and limited experience on this lake, you may want to focus on the easier bait and catch what you can vs. spending all your time chasing the big bait and not having time to fish....... or, if may be the fish catching is less important to you than learning the bait - and if so then cool - that's how you learn and grow.

As Bigun said - don't take offense to the lack of direct answers to somewhat specific questions - there is a ton of information provided on this site in various posts - and some argue too much...... you'll find that specific locations of bait & fish tend not to be what is provided..... at least not on the open forum - Bigun is right - as folks get to "know" you via your contributions & posts and reports on the forum, and perhaps meeting you on the water, they will be more comfortable sharing this info with you. In general I think everyone here wants others to catch fish..... but they also want to know that the folks they are entrusting info with share a common set of values. Everyone on here has in some way learned or benefited from others here or elsewhere along the way and that debt is repaid often by sharing with others new to the sport - but also protecting certain info as well.

Last thing I'll mention - do not overlook the value of a trip or two with a guide. An immense amount of learning can go on in that 1/2 day or full day trip. And you won't have to worry about catching the bait - it will be in the tank ready to go and fish - and you'll be fishing productive waters - which is helpful info. Most of the guides I know are very willing to answer questions on the hows and whys as well.... Best bang for you buck for new fishermen on SML when you want to accelerate your learning curve - if you need some pointers to guides I think a lot of, drop me a PM.

Good luck with the rest of your time on SML - and look forward to your participation here and hearing about your future trips and learning experiences....

[mwardncsu]

Oh - and jmr04 - sorry for the hijack of your report Thanks for posting it up - no kidding about how nice it is out here 2 days before the New Year and enjoying temps in the 60's......

[mwardncsu]

One more for JT - on average - the density of gizzards is greater up the lake arms than down.... gizzards are nasty creatures - and they like nastiness. As the water flows from the infeed towards the dam the sediment and other drops of of the water - and it gets cleaner and clearer as you go down. Not that there are not gizzards down lake, but there are fewer of them - and they will likely be in the main feeder creeks down there vs. the main channel - remember I said we were below the bridge catching bait at one point on Tuesday afternoon - but like Yam said in a post, we were also all over in probably 5 different creeks or channel locations if not more - over at least a 20 mile range chasing them

On the upper ends of the lake there is plenty of nastiness..... crap from Roanoke flowing in on the Roanoke arm..... cow poop from the various farms, etc.... gizzard heaven - of course balanced by water flow, temperature, access to other forage (algae, etc)...... so the density is greater there - but it does not mean catching them is necessarily easier.

[striperjohn]

Hey Mike when you posting Chapter 2?

[Gator]

Nice report. I have been away from the BW for sometime now. Been fishing with friends over on the Roanoke side and it's time to get back to my roots. Bait is tough on the BW and the Roanoke side. If it were me, I'd be way up lake looking in the creeks. Mward's post is spot on. Oh, and there is no shame in fishing with peanuts. I caught a 31 pound striper last January on a "nut". Not on SML though. Tight lines.

[Gator]

Dec 31, 2015 8:16:00 GMT -5 striperjohn said:

Hey Mike when you posting Chapter 2? ;D

John, it'd take me a week to write a post like that!!

[mwardncsu]

Well - I called it.....

I was on the phone this evening with a guide that has a trip tomorrow and will be fishing ales - and he will catch fish I'm sure - probably more than we caught today - and very likely close to the same size class as much of what we caught.

He caught a 18 lb / 36.5" Striper this AM on a lightlined 4" alewife

[Deleted]

Dec 30, 2015 23:00:54 GMT -5 lund1 said:

Well....I'll say what everyone else is thinking......Yam II ?

Haha! Every time a new guy with zest comes along he drops off the planet. Thus, I will wait a few months before I court Yam II.

Gotta keep my heart close and guarded.

[Gator]

Dec 31, 2015 11:34:34 GMT -5 Yam said:

Dec 30, 2015 23:00:54 GMT -5 lund1 said:

Well....I'll say what everyone else is thinking......Yam II ?

Haha! Every time a new guy with zest comes along he drops off the planet. Thus, I will wait a few months before I court Yam II.

Gotta keep my heart close and guarded.

Zest?  Yam, we call folks like you F ing crazy where I come from!! Zest, hahahahaa. Happy New Year my friend.

[Deleted]

Dec 31, 2015 11:47:05 GMT -5 Gator said:

Dec 31, 2015 11:34:34 GMT -5 Yam said:

Haha! Every time a new guy with zest comes along he drops off the planet. Thus, I will wait a few months before I court Yam II.

Gotta keep my heart close and guarded.

Zest?  Yam, we call folks like you F ing crazy where I come from!! Zest, hahahahaa. Happy New Year my friend.

Definitely better than what my wife calls me.

Happy New Year to you and all the folks here.

[mwardncsu]

Dec 31, 2015 11:47:05 GMT -5 Gator said:

Zest?  Yam, we call folks like you F ing crazy where I come from!! Zest, hahahahaa. Happy New Year my friend.

I think Mitchel and his dad thought I was crazy too when returning the "Call of Kawwww"

Happy New Year guys

[striperjohn]

Happy New Year and may God Bless everyone.

[Gator]

Dec 31, 2015 12:01:22 GMT -5 mwardncsu said:

Dec 31, 2015 11:47:05 GMT -5 Gator said:

Zest?  Yam, we call folks like you F ing crazy where I come from!! Zest, hahahahaa. Happy New Year my friend.

I think Mitchel and his dad thought I was crazy too when returning the "Call of Kawwww"

Happy New Year guys

HA....Mitchell and his dad would be correct. You are very close to crazy too. Hell, we all are. I mean look at all the crap we do to catch these fish. You have to be a little crazy, right??