August 2011 – Smith Mountain Lake Fishing Report

SMITH MOUNTAIN LAKE FISHING REPORTAugust 2011 DALE WILSON’S SML GUIDE SERVICE PHONE NO: 540-297-5650 / 540-874-4950

www.captaindalewilson.com

OVERVIEW: Early morning and nights will be the best times to try your luck. Striper fishing has been good! Water temperature will be in the 80’s.

Largemouth Bass-Fishing will be fair. Best lures will be large plastic worms, jig & pigs, top water lures, Carolina rigs, deep diving crankbaits and drop shots. Most largemouth bass will be caught on humps, main channel points, ledges and deep rocky shorelines. Some largemouth bass will chase schools of bait early and late in the day. Best depths will be from the surface to 20 feet deep. Night fishing will be good.

Smallmouth Bass– Fishing should be fair. Best areas will be humps, rocky ledges and main points. Best lures will be jig & pig, drop shots, small top water lures and jigs. Best areas will be in the mid to the lower sections of the lake. Smallmouth bass will begin to surface feed this month. Cloudy days and nights are a good time to try your luck!

Striped Bass– Fishing will be good. Stripers will be caught in various areas of the lake. The best areas will be in the mid and lower sections of both rivers and the larger creeks. Best lures will be swimbaits, bucktails and Zoom flukes fished on 3/8 to 3/4 oz. lead heads. Live bait will also be productive. The best depths will be from 25 to 70 feet deep. Vertical jigging with heavy leadheads will work good this month. Some schools of stripers will surface early and late day towards the end of this month.

Crappie-Fishing for crappie will be poor. They will be found 10 to 25 feet deep this month. Best areas will be in the main creeks around deep docks, fallen trees, and brush piles in the mid to upper parts of the lake. Small live minnows and 1 ½ inch tubes fished on 1/16 to 1/8 oz. lead heads will work best to catch crappie this month.

TIP OF THE MONTH: When fishing during the “hot” summer days make sure you stay hydrated and use sunscreen. Protect your catch with plenty of ice and please practice catch & release.

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