Smith Mountain Lake Fishing Report – April 2012

SMITH MOUNTAIN LAKE FISHING REPORTApril 2012DALE WILSON’SSML GUIDE SERVICEPHONE NO:  540-297-5650 / 540-874-4950www.captaindalewilson.com

OVERVIEW: Fishing has been mixed due to the unusual weather conditions. The warmer than usual water temperatures should make for an early spawn for most species of fish. Water temperature will be 60s to the lower 70s.

Largemouth Bass-Fishing will be good. Best lures will be jig & pigs, Carolina rigs, shaky heads, senkos and crank baits. Most largemouth bass will be caught in pockets, rocky areas, around stumps and shallow docks. Largemouth bass will start to spawn this month. Best depths will be from the 2 to 10 feet deep. Find areas that warm up first and are protected from the wind.

Smallmouth Bass- Fishing should be fair. Best areas will be around stumps, rocks and flats. Best lures will be jig & pig, spinner baits, senkoes and  shaky heads. Best areas will be in the mid to the lower sections of the lake. Most smallmouth bass will spawn in late April and early May. Cloudy days and windy days are good times to try your luck!

Striped Bass- Fishing will be good. Stripers will be caught in many areas of the lake. The best areas will be in the larger creeks and main river channels. Best lures will be  swim baits, buck tails, and Zoom flukes fished with 1/4 to 3/8 oz. lead heads. Live bait will also be productive. The best depths will be from 2 to 25 feet deep. Stripers will start to feed at night as the water temperature rises. Some stripers will surface. Try to find areas with the largest concentrations of baitfish.

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 deep docks, fallen trees, stumps 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. Crappie should spawn around the full moon this month.

 TIP OF THE MONTH: Try fishing windy pockets early this month. The baitfish usually relate to these areas.  Please practice catch and release when fish are spawning. Take a kid fishing! Always wear your life jacket!

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