SMITH MOUNTAIN LAKE FISHING REPORT July 2014 By Captain Dale Wilson

SMITH MOUNTAIN LAKE FISHING REPORT July 2014 DALE WILSON’S SML GUIDE SERVICE PHONE NO: 540-297-5650 / 540-874-4950 www.captaindalewilson.com

OVERVIEW: The hot days and increased boat traffic make for tough fishing conditions. Water temperature will be in the 80’s. Most species of fish will feed at night , early morning and late afternoon this month. Fishing for stripers should improve.

Largemouth Bass-Fishing will be fair. Best lures will be Carolina rids, crank baits, large Tevas rigged plastic worms, jigs, top water lures and shakey heads. Most largemouth bass will be caught on ledges, points, humps, brush piles and deep docks. Largemouth bass will also feed at night when the shad come shallow. Most shad will finish spawning this month. Best depths will be from the surface to 25 feet deep. Bass will continue to feed on top water this month.

Smallmouth Bass- Fishing should be fair. Best areas will be humps, ledges and main points. Best lures will be jig & pig, top water lures, hair jigs and crank baits. Best areas will be in the mid to the lower sections of the lake. Most smallmouth bass will start to feed in open water on shad this month. Cloudy days are good times to try your luck! Light line and smaller lures work best most of the time.

Striped Bass- Fishing will be good. Stripers will be caught in the mid to lower sections of the lake and the larger creeks. Best lures will be Alabama rigs, swim baits, buck tails, 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 50 feet deep. Try to find areas with the largest concentrations of baitfish. Night fishing will not be very productive.

Crappie-Fishing for crappie will be poor this month. They will be found 10 to 25 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 1/16 to 1/8 oz. lead heads will work best to catch crappie this month. Fishing around lights at night will be productive.TIP OF THE Month: Try fishing early morning, late afternoon and at night. Make sure you leave your running lights on at night. Please practice catch and release. Remember to always wear your life jacket and attach your kill switch. Warmer water temperatures and heavy boat traffic will make fish feed more at night this month.

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