SMITH MOUNTAIN LAKE FISHING REPORT April 2014 – By Captain Dale Wilson

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

Picture is of Jack Phillips, owner of The Bedford Landing bed & breakfast, with a nice striper caught 2 weeks ago while fishing with Captain Dale Wilson.

OVERVIEW:  March has been a rough month to fish. The weather has been very cold and the water temps have been a lot colder than usual. The extended forecast is calling for around normal temps for the next several weeks. This should make for better fishing conditions. Water temperature will be in the upper 50’s to mid 60’s.

Largemouth Bass-Fishing will be good. Best lures will be jig & pigs, crank baits, spinner baits, senkoes, shakey heads and jerk baits. Most largemouth bass will be caught on secondary points, rocky areas, creek channels and shallow docks. Largemouth bass will relate to areas with bait fish. Some largemouth bass will start to move to areas to spawn. Best depths will be from 2 to 15 feet deep. Remember that bass will be constantly changing their feeding patterns this month. 

Smallmouth Bass– Fishing should be fair. Best areas will be humps, rocky areas and main points. Best lures will be jig & pig, jerk baits, hair jigs and crank baits. Best areas will be in the mid to the lower sections of the lake. Most smallmouth bass will be suspended near baitfish this month.  Cloudy, windy days are good times to try your luck!

Striped Bass– Fishing will be good. Stripers will be caught in various areas of the lake. The best areas will be in the mid to upper sections of the lake and the larger creeks. Best lures will be Alabama rigs, swim baits, buck tails, jerk baits 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 the surface to 30 feet deep. Try to find areas with the largest concentrations of baitfish. Later this month night fishing should be good.  Crappie-Fishing for crappie will be good this month. They will be found 2 to 10 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 1/32 to 1/8 oz. lead heads will work best to catch crappie this month. 

TIP OF THE Month: Some species of fish will begin to start preparing for the spawn this month. Remember to always wear your life jackets. Warmer water temperatures and clearer water will make fish start to feed at night later this month.

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