Smith Mountain Lake Fishing Report by Captain Dale Wilson March 2016

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

Picture: Charles Burks of Lynchburg, Va. with a nice crappie. March is a good month to catch large crappie at Smith Mtn.

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OVERVIEW- Fishing should be good this month! Water temperature will be in the 40’s to upper 50’s this month. Best times will be sunny days. Late afternoon is usually when fish are most active. Fishing the past few weeks has been poor! Most of the baitfish will move toward the upper end of both rivers and the major creeks. The cold, rainy weather has caused fishing patterns to change. The majority of the stripers have moved down lake but should start to migrate up lake as the days get longer and the water temperature rises.

Largemouth Bass- Fishing for largemouth bass will be good this month. Best lures will be jigs, spinner baits, jigging spoons, blade baits, medium diving crank baits, jerk baits and Alabama rigs. Most largemouth bass will be caught near creek channels, rocky points, shallow brush piles, secondary points and shallow water docks. Best depths will be from 2 to 30 feet deep. Look for stained water and shad movements to help locate bass this month.

Smallmouth Bass- Fishing should be fair to good. Best areas will be humps, ledges and secondary points. Best lures will be floating –fly-rigs, blade baits, jerk 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 ledges with schools of baitfish. Cloudy days with wind are good times to try your luck! Look for areas with rocks on ledges next to deep water. Late March some smallmouth bass will start to spawn in shallower water.

Striped Bass- Fishing should be good this month. Stripers will be caught in the upper sections of the lake and the large creeks. Best lures will be swim baits, Alabama rigs, and Zoom flukes fished on 1/4 to 3/8 oz. lead heads. Casting early and late day will be productive. The best depths will be from the surface to 40 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. Night fishing should be good later in March.

Crappie- Fishing for crappie will be great this month. They will be found 5 to 10 ft. deep. Crappie will be found around docks, brush piles and fallen tree tops. Small live minnows and 1½ to 2 inch tubes or shad shaped plastic lures fished on 1/32 to 1/16 oz. lead heads will work best to catch crappie this month.

TIP OF THE Month- You should always fish with a partner when the water is cold! Wear your life jacket!!! Crappie and white perch are good species to target in early March.. Remember shad constantly move as the water temps warm. 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! Remember to be courteous and obey all the boating laws. Take a kid fishing!

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