January 2016 / Smith Mtn. Lake Fishing Report By Captain Dale Wilson

SMITH MOUNTAIN LAKE FISHING REPORT January 2016 DALE WILSON’S SML GUIDE SERVICE PHONE NO: 540-297-5650 / 540-874-4950 www.captaindalewilson.com

     Picture:  Bill Stanton of Staunton,Va. with a large largemouth bass caught last month while fishing with Captain Dale.

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OVERVIEW- Fishing should be good this month! Water temperature will be in the 40’s to lower 50’s. Best times will be early morning, late afternoon and overcast days. Fishing the past few weeks has been fair! Try different fishing patterns. Most of the baitfish has moved toward the upper end of both rivers and the rear of the major creeks. The very unusually warm weather has caused fishing patterns to change. The water color and the debris make for a different type of fishing! Be aware of the floating debris!!!

Largemouth Bass- Fishing for largemouth bass will be good this month. Best lures will be jigs, drop shot rigs, spinner baits, Texas rigged plastic worms, deep diving crank baits, jerk baits and Alabama rigs. Most largemouth bass will be caught in creeks, rock piles, brush, humps creek channels and deep water docks. Best depths will be from the 2 to 35 feet deep. Largemouth bass will be in their winter patterns this month . Look for stained water and shad movements to help catch bass this month.

Smallmouth Bass- Fishing should be good. Best areas will be humps, ledges and main channel points. Best lures will be crank baits, tubes, jigs and spoons. Best areas will be in the mid to the lower sections of the lake. Most smallmouth bass will be suspended this month around schools of baitfish. Cloudy days with light winds are good times to try your luck! Look for areas with rocks!

Striped Bass- Fishing should be good this month. Stripers will be caught in the mid to upper sections of the lake and the large creeks. Best lures will be swim baits, Alabama rigs and Zoom flukes fished on 3/8 to 3/4 oz. lead heads. Casting to points early and late day can be productive. The best depths will be from the surface to 60 feet deep. Live bait fished on planner boards will work good this month. Most fish will be suspended and will constantly be on the move. Find the largest concentration of shad. Vertical jigging with spoons will work this month.

Crappie- Fishing for crappie will be fair this month. They will be found 10 to 20 ft. deep. Crappie will be suspended around docks, brush piles and fallen tree tops near creek channels. Small live minnows and 1½ 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.

TIP OF THE Month- Please be aware of the large amount of floating debris in the lake! It can cause damage to your boat and person! Wear your life jacket!!! Winter can be a great time to catch stripers, bass and crappie. Remember shad constantly move as the water temps fall. You can also hear reports about local fishing on the website: The Bass Cast Radio show each month. Make sure your running lights are on after dark! It is very important to wear your life jacket, especially during the cold months!. Remember to be courteous and obey all the boating laws. Take a kid fishing!

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