August 2014 Lake report by Captain Dale Wilson

SMITH MOUNTAIN LAKE FISHING REPORTAugust 2014DALE WILSON’SSML GUIDE SERVICEPHONE NO: 540-297-5650 / 540-874-4950www.captaindalewilson.com

Deborah Quinn from Va. Beach with a nice striper caught 7/25/14 while fishing with Captain Dale.

OVERVIEW: Fishing conditions should start to improve as the days become shorter.. Water temperature will be in the upper 70’s to the lower 80’s. Most bass will feed at night , early morning and late afternoon this month. Fishing for stripers will be good.

Largemouth Bass-Fishing will be fair. Best lures will be Carolina rigs, crank baits, large Tevas rigged plastic worms, jigs, and shakey heads. Most largemouth bass will be caught on ledges, points, humps, brush piles and deep docks. Largemouth bass will feed best at night . Top water fishing will improve this month. Best depths will be from the surface to 20 feet deep.

Smallmouth Bass- Fishing should be fair. Best areas will be humps, ledges and main points. Best lures will be jig & pig, top water lures, hair jigs and crank baits. Best areas will be in the mid to the lower sections of the lake. Most smallmouth bass will start to feed in open water around schools of shad this month. Cloudy days are good times to try your luck! Light line and smaller lures will increase your chances to catch smallmouth bass.

Striped Bass- Fishing will be good. Stripers will be caught in the mid to lower sections of the lake and the larger creeks. Best lures will be Alabama rigs, swim baits, buck tails, and Zoom flukes fished with 1/2 to 3/4 oz. lead heads. The best depths will be from 25 to 60 feet deep. Try to find areas with the largest concentrations of baitfish. Vertical jigging will be one of the best methods to catch stripers this month. Live bait and trolling is also a good method this month.

Crappie-Fishing for crappie will be poor this month. They will be found 15 to 25 feet deep this month. Best areas will be in the main creeks around docks, fallen trees, and brush piles in the mid to upper parts of the lake. Small live minnows and 1 ½ to 2 inch tubes or shad shaped plastic lures fished on 1/16 to 1/8 oz. lead heads will work best to catch crappie this month. Fishing around lights at night will be productive.TIP OF THE Month: Make sure you leave your running lights on at night. You can never be too careful when boating after dark. Please practice catch and release. Remember to always wear your life jacket and attach your kill switch. Try your luck early in the mornings before the boat traffic begins.

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