February 2013 Smith Mtn. Lake Fishing Report – By Captain Dale Wilson

SMITH MOUNTAIN LAKE FISHING REPORTFebruary 2013DALE WILSON’SSML GUIDE SERVICEPHONE NO:  540-297-5650 / 540-874-4950www.captaindalewilson.com

Captain Dale Wilson with a hugh 5.15 lb. Smallmouth bass caught & released in late

December while fishing with John Gaylord of Roanoke,Va.

OVERVIEW: The overall winter fishing has been good. Stripers, largemouth, smallmouth and crappie continue to be active. Water temperature will be in the 40s. Early morning, late afternoon and cloudy days will be the best times to try your luck.  

Largemouth Bass-Fishing will be good. Best lures will be A-rigs, jerk baits, spoons, Carolina rigs, shaky heads, football head jigs and crank baits. Most largemouth bass will be caught around rocky shorelines, points, brush piles and docks. Best depths will be from the 2 to 35 feet deep. Cloudy days with light wind will be the best time to fish this month. Shad will start to migrate into the creeks later his month.

Smallmouth Bass- Fishing should be fair. Best areas will be rocky banks, humps, steep ledges and main channel points. Best lures will be floating-fly rigs, A-rigs, crawfish colored crank baits, tube lures, drop shot rigs and shaky heads. Best areas will be in the mid to the lower sections of the lake. Cloudy, windy days will be the best time to try your luck. Smallmouth will suspend under schools of shad.

Striped Bass- Fishing should be great. Stripers will be caught mostly in the mid to upper sections of the lake and the major creeks. Best lures will be spoons, A-rigs, swim baits, buck tails, and Zoom flukes fished with 1/2 to 3/4 oz. jig heads. Jigging will be a good method to catch stripers this month. Live bait and trolling will also be a productive method.. The best depths should be from the surface to 50 feet deep. Best time to try your luck will be early mornings & late afternoons. Watch for the seagulls this month.

Crappie-Fishing for crappie will be good. 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 sections of the lake. Small live minnows and 1 ½ inch tubes and twister tail grubs fished on 1/16 to 1/8 oz. lead heads will work best to catch crappie this month. Small Gulp minnows also work well when fished on small lead heads or drop shot rigs.

Tip of the month: When the water temperature is below 55 degrees try using a slower presentation of your lure. It is a good idea to always fish with a partner in the cold months. Keep your running lights on when fishing after dark. Take a kid fishing.

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