Smith Mountain Lake Fishing Report – February 2014 By Captain Dale Wilson

DALE WILSON’S SML GUIDE SERVICE PHONE NO:  540-297-5650 / 540-874-4950 www.captaindalewilson.com

Picture: David Scruggs from Moneta holding a citation striper caught last month

OVERVIEW: The extremely cold weather has made fishing very slow the past several weeks. The longer days and hopefully warmer temperatures should improve fishing later this month. Water temperature will be in the 30’s to the lower 40’s.

Largemouth Bass-Fishing will be fair. Best lures will be jig & pigs, Carolina rigs, football head jigs, spoons, blade baits and jerk baits. Most largemouth bass will be caught on deep points, ledges, creek channels and deep docks. Largemouth bass will relate to rocky areas. Crayfish will be the main food for largemouth early this month. Best depths will be from 2 to 35 feet deep. Vertical jigging with Hopkins spoons will be a productive method. Remember to slow your retrieve when the water is cold. 

Smallmouth Bass- Fishing should be fair. Best areas will be humps, rocky ledges and main points. Best lures will be jig & pig, blade baits, jerk baits, float & fly rigs, hair jigs and jerk baits Best areas will be in the mid to the lower sections of the lake. Most smallmouth bass will be suspended near ledges and rock bluffs 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 lower to mid sections of the lake and the larger creeks. Best lures will be Alabama rigs, swim baits, buck tails, spoons and Zoom flukes fished with 1/2 to 3/4 oz. lead heads. Live bait will also be productive. The best depths will be from the surface to 60 feet deep. Vertical jigging with spoons will work  good this month. Try to find areas with the largest concentrations of baitfish. Watch for the active Sea gulls.  Crappie-Fishing for crappie will be fair. They will be found 15 to 25 feet deep this month. Best areas will be in the main creeks around deep 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 lures fished on 1/16 to 1/8 oz. lead heads will work best to catch crappie this month. 

TIP OF THE Month: Later this month, on sunny evening baitfish will come to the shorelines where the sun has been shining the most. Red clay banks tend to warm first. This will be areas where most species of fish will go to find an easy meal! Remember to always wear your life jackets. Cold water temperatures are deadly if you were in fall overboard.

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