May 2013 Smith Mountain Lake Fishing Report by Captain Dale Wilson

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

Picture: Captain Dale Wilson/Holding 27” Largemouth bass caught & released April 19 while fishing with Mike Wilcox from Rhode Island.

OVERVIEW: The spring fishing continues to vary as the weather conditions are not consistent. Most species of fish will spawn this month. Water temperature is about 10 days behind last year.  Water temperature will be in the 60’s this month. 

Largemouth Bass-Fishing will be good. Best lures will be senkos, top water lures, shaky heads, swim baits, tubes and jigs. Most largemouth bass will be caught around flats, secondary points, shallow pockets, stumps and docks. Best depths will be from the 1 to 10 feet deep. Windy days with abundant sunshine will be the best time to fish this month. Shad  will start coming to the shoreline late at night this month. Night fishing will improve as the water temp rises and the shad start to spawn.

Smallmouth Bass- Fishing should be fair. Best areas will be rocky banks, flats and secondary points. Best lures will be small crawfish colored crank baits, tube lures, drop shot rigs, senkos and shaky heads. Best areas will be in the mid to the lower sections of the lake. Cloudy, breezy days will be the best time to try your luck. Smallmouth will spawn deeper than the largemouth later  this month. They will also feed at night when the shad come to the shoreline.

Striped Bass- Fishing should be good. Stripers will be caught mostly in the upper sections of the lake and the major creeks. Stripers will also be found in the dam area. Best lures will be swim baits, buck tails, and Zoom flukes fished with ¼ to 3/8 oz. jig heads during the day. Night lures that work best are wake baits, Thunder sticks, Red-fins and swim baits. Live bait and trolling will also be a productive method.. The best depth should be from the surface to 30 feet deep. Best time to try your luck will be after dark. 

Crappie-Fishing for crappie will be good. They will be found 2 to 10 feet deep this month. Best areas will be in the main creeks around docks, fallen trees, stumps 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 1/32 to 1/16 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. Light line (4 lb. test) will help you catch more crappie.

Tip of the month– Try using lighter test fluorocarbon line as the water clarity improves. Please practice catch and release during spawning season. Keep your running lights on when fishing after dark. Take a kid fishing.

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