Post by mwardncsu on Feb 26, 2013 3:14:09 GMT -5
(This is Mike Snead's last installment of the Virginia Outdoorsman Fishing report / outlook. Many of you know that Mike retired (again) last fall and closed Virginia Outdoorsman, but continued to publish these reports. I'll say as a new-comer to Smith Mountain Lake, when I 1st found the lake and was making trips up here, and learning striper fishing, these reports were always a great source of info, not to mention the info Mike was willing to share at the shop if you stopped in to chat. Mike, from another Mike, thanks for these reports over the years - they will be missed!)
Fishing Report - Smith Mountain Lake, VA
Feb. 25 - Mar. 10, 2013
Water Temp: 42 - 46 degrees
Water Clarity: Poor - Good
Spring is just around the corner and Mother Nature is already starting the transition. As we move into March we will see increasing numbers of those wonderful warmer days, where jackets are not needed, interspersed with periods of colder temperatures. This transition period offers some of the best fishing of the year. Over the next two weeks the forecast is for periods of cooler weather, with high temperatures in the 40’s and the low temperature in the 20’s, interspersed with periods of warmer, more spring like conditions, where the high temperature is in the mid to upper 50’s during the day and temperatures at night remain above freezing. As we move into March we’ll see continued warming. The average temperature will be almost ten (10) degrees warmer than those seen in February. This will gradually warm the surface waters of the lake and bring food sources and many species of fish up in the water column closer to the surface. We are expecting rain this Tuesday and then little additional precipitation is in the forecast. Skies are expected to range from sunny to partly cloudy as we move through the next two weeks.
Water levels remain near full pond and all public boat ramps are operational. There is a significant amount of trash and debris which entered the lake several weeks ago when rain brought the lake to full pond. Most of it is in the upper lake, although it continues to work its way down the lake. Most debris fields have dispersed and the wind has moved much of the debris up against the shoreline, but care must be taken when boating especially in the upper lake. The same rainfall that filled the lake also muddied the water in the upper sections of the Roanoke and Blackwater Rivers as well as many major creeks. The amount of discoloration drops as you move down the lake and visibility is good in the lower sections of the Roanoke and Blackwater Rivers as well as around the dam.
There will be plenty of moonlight in the evenings when the moon is overhead. There was a full moon this Monday, February 25th and there will be a third quarter moon on March 4th. The moon is currently overhead in the early evening, but is rises later each evening and by early March the moon will not be visible until after midnight. If you fish or boat at night you might find the table of moon rise and set times available at the website aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/RS_OneYear.php valuable.
Striped and black bass are still being located in the lower water column on electronics and traditional deep water winter patterns are working. Anglers are having success catching stripers on downlined live bait. Stripers are being caught as deep as 60 feet below the surface by anglers vertical jigging with flukes on lead head jigs, bucktails and jigging spoons. Spoons and jig heads weighing ¾ ounce or more are preferred over lighter lures for vertical jigging, especially when there is wind as the extra weight helps keep the lure in the cone of your electronics. The most popular jigging spoons used at Smith Mountain include the ¾ ounce Hopkins Shorty, CC, Kastmaster and Berry models. Suspended deep water bass are also being caught on jigging spoons, drop shot rigs and the floating fly. Bass are also being caught off the sides of ledges, deep water points, channel breaks and submerged structure on jigs. Heavier ½ to ¾ ounce football head jigs with trailers are a good choice when fishing deeper rock structure.
Stripers continue to be caught by anglers trolling deep diving crankbaits, jerkbaits, Alabama rigs and Umbrella rigs. Alabama rigs and small umbrella rigs are also effective when vertically jigged for stripers marked in pods on electronics. Bass are being caught in areas where visibility is good, like the points in the lower lake, on deep diving, suspending jerkbaits. One angler reported catching bass that moved up from 25 to 30 feet to hit a suspending jerkbait that he cast toward the shoreline, quickly retrieved to depth and then worked back to the boat with lengthy pauses between retrieves.
Bass and stripers are also being caught in upper sections of the water column, especially in areas where the shad are found near the surface. Stripers and an occasional bass are hitting flukes (rigged on jig heads), bucktails and Alabama rigs when they are cast, counted down and retrieved. Stripers are also hitting flukes and bucktails that are cast to the shoreline, allowed to sink to the bottom and retrieved by bouncing these lures off the bottom back to the boat sitting in 20 to 25 feet of water. Casting and retrieving the popular Alabama rig in the upper portion of the water column is also a great technique for both bass and stripers, especially in areas where there are shad. Black bass continue to be caught in the upper 15 feet of the water column near the shoreline and on ledges using traditional pig and jigs and shaky head jigs with craw or worm trailers
Fishing tournament activities at the lake are starting to pick up. The local SML Bassmaster Club held an open tournament this past weekend and their next event will be a night tournament on June 22nd. For more information about this club or their tournaments check them out on Facebook. This coming weekend Anglers Choice Marine will be holding the first tournament in their newly formed Virginia Division series. It will be held at Parkway Marina and the rules have changed. For more information about this popular series see their website. The Western Division of Fishers of Men will be holding their first tournament of the year on March 16th. More on this series can be obtained by calling Jamie Shimp on (540) 323-2198. USA Bassin’s first tournament of the year will be on March 24th. Details about this tournament series are available through local sponsor Conrad Brothers Marine or the USABassin.com website. Several local angers got off to an early start last week with an informal, one day, winner take all tournament. The team of Charlie Fochtman and his partner Trey won the event with a total weight of 14.0 pounds, edging out the second place team of Chase Blankenship and his partner Christina by a significant margin. If you have a tournament scheduled at this lake in the future or are interested in having the results of your local tournament published here just contact the newspaper.
While this is the last fishing report I will be writing and publishing in the Smith Mountain Eagle they plan to continue to publish fishing reports in the future. They are actively seeking clubs, businesses and individuals who will agree to provide them with fishing information so reports can continue. They are open to receiving the information in a variety of different formats. The report can be as simple as a summary of the basic patterns, a short summary or a longer report.
If you love to fish, wish to help others enjoy the thrill of catching fish in this lake, please consider this opportunity and give Rob Lyon a call. He and the others at the Eagle are fantastic to work with so please contact him now on (540) 719-5100.
Tight lines and I hope to see you on the water.
Mike Snead
Fishing Report - Smith Mountain Lake, VA
Feb. 25 - Mar. 10, 2013
Water Temp: 42 - 46 degrees
Water Clarity: Poor - Good
Spring is just around the corner and Mother Nature is already starting the transition. As we move into March we will see increasing numbers of those wonderful warmer days, where jackets are not needed, interspersed with periods of colder temperatures. This transition period offers some of the best fishing of the year. Over the next two weeks the forecast is for periods of cooler weather, with high temperatures in the 40’s and the low temperature in the 20’s, interspersed with periods of warmer, more spring like conditions, where the high temperature is in the mid to upper 50’s during the day and temperatures at night remain above freezing. As we move into March we’ll see continued warming. The average temperature will be almost ten (10) degrees warmer than those seen in February. This will gradually warm the surface waters of the lake and bring food sources and many species of fish up in the water column closer to the surface. We are expecting rain this Tuesday and then little additional precipitation is in the forecast. Skies are expected to range from sunny to partly cloudy as we move through the next two weeks.
Water levels remain near full pond and all public boat ramps are operational. There is a significant amount of trash and debris which entered the lake several weeks ago when rain brought the lake to full pond. Most of it is in the upper lake, although it continues to work its way down the lake. Most debris fields have dispersed and the wind has moved much of the debris up against the shoreline, but care must be taken when boating especially in the upper lake. The same rainfall that filled the lake also muddied the water in the upper sections of the Roanoke and Blackwater Rivers as well as many major creeks. The amount of discoloration drops as you move down the lake and visibility is good in the lower sections of the Roanoke and Blackwater Rivers as well as around the dam.
There will be plenty of moonlight in the evenings when the moon is overhead. There was a full moon this Monday, February 25th and there will be a third quarter moon on March 4th. The moon is currently overhead in the early evening, but is rises later each evening and by early March the moon will not be visible until after midnight. If you fish or boat at night you might find the table of moon rise and set times available at the website aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/RS_OneYear.php valuable.
Striped and black bass are still being located in the lower water column on electronics and traditional deep water winter patterns are working. Anglers are having success catching stripers on downlined live bait. Stripers are being caught as deep as 60 feet below the surface by anglers vertical jigging with flukes on lead head jigs, bucktails and jigging spoons. Spoons and jig heads weighing ¾ ounce or more are preferred over lighter lures for vertical jigging, especially when there is wind as the extra weight helps keep the lure in the cone of your electronics. The most popular jigging spoons used at Smith Mountain include the ¾ ounce Hopkins Shorty, CC, Kastmaster and Berry models. Suspended deep water bass are also being caught on jigging spoons, drop shot rigs and the floating fly. Bass are also being caught off the sides of ledges, deep water points, channel breaks and submerged structure on jigs. Heavier ½ to ¾ ounce football head jigs with trailers are a good choice when fishing deeper rock structure.
Stripers continue to be caught by anglers trolling deep diving crankbaits, jerkbaits, Alabama rigs and Umbrella rigs. Alabama rigs and small umbrella rigs are also effective when vertically jigged for stripers marked in pods on electronics. Bass are being caught in areas where visibility is good, like the points in the lower lake, on deep diving, suspending jerkbaits. One angler reported catching bass that moved up from 25 to 30 feet to hit a suspending jerkbait that he cast toward the shoreline, quickly retrieved to depth and then worked back to the boat with lengthy pauses between retrieves.
Bass and stripers are also being caught in upper sections of the water column, especially in areas where the shad are found near the surface. Stripers and an occasional bass are hitting flukes (rigged on jig heads), bucktails and Alabama rigs when they are cast, counted down and retrieved. Stripers are also hitting flukes and bucktails that are cast to the shoreline, allowed to sink to the bottom and retrieved by bouncing these lures off the bottom back to the boat sitting in 20 to 25 feet of water. Casting and retrieving the popular Alabama rig in the upper portion of the water column is also a great technique for both bass and stripers, especially in areas where there are shad. Black bass continue to be caught in the upper 15 feet of the water column near the shoreline and on ledges using traditional pig and jigs and shaky head jigs with craw or worm trailers
Fishing tournament activities at the lake are starting to pick up. The local SML Bassmaster Club held an open tournament this past weekend and their next event will be a night tournament on June 22nd. For more information about this club or their tournaments check them out on Facebook. This coming weekend Anglers Choice Marine will be holding the first tournament in their newly formed Virginia Division series. It will be held at Parkway Marina and the rules have changed. For more information about this popular series see their website. The Western Division of Fishers of Men will be holding their first tournament of the year on March 16th. More on this series can be obtained by calling Jamie Shimp on (540) 323-2198. USA Bassin’s first tournament of the year will be on March 24th. Details about this tournament series are available through local sponsor Conrad Brothers Marine or the USABassin.com website. Several local angers got off to an early start last week with an informal, one day, winner take all tournament. The team of Charlie Fochtman and his partner Trey won the event with a total weight of 14.0 pounds, edging out the second place team of Chase Blankenship and his partner Christina by a significant margin. If you have a tournament scheduled at this lake in the future or are interested in having the results of your local tournament published here just contact the newspaper.
While this is the last fishing report I will be writing and publishing in the Smith Mountain Eagle they plan to continue to publish fishing reports in the future. They are actively seeking clubs, businesses and individuals who will agree to provide them with fishing information so reports can continue. They are open to receiving the information in a variety of different formats. The report can be as simple as a summary of the basic patterns, a short summary or a longer report.
If you love to fish, wish to help others enjoy the thrill of catching fish in this lake, please consider this opportunity and give Rob Lyon a call. He and the others at the Eagle are fantastic to work with so please contact him now on (540) 719-5100.
Tight lines and I hope to see you on the water.
Mike Snead
