SMITH MOUNTAIN LAKE FISHING REPORT
September 2014
DALE WILSON’S
SML GUIDE SERVICE
PHONE NO: 540-297-5650 / 540-874-4950
www.captaindalewilson.com
OVERVIEW: Fishing conditions will improve later this month. Water temperature will be in the 70’s. Most bass will feed early morning and late afternoon this month. Fishing for stripers will be good. Stripers will start to surface around the full moon this month.
Largemouth Bass-Fishing will be good. Best lures will be drop shot rigs, Carolina rigs, crank baits, large Texas 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 feed best early morning and late afternoon . Top water fishing will improve this month. Best depths will be from the surface to 20 feet deep.
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 around schools of shad this month. Cloudy days are good times to try your luck! Light line and smaller lures will increase your chances to catch smallmouth bass.
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 3/8 to 3/4 oz. lead heads. The best depths will be from 20 to 60 feet deep. Try to find areas with the largest concentrations of baitfish. Vertical jigging will be one of the best methods to catch stripers again this month. Live bait and trolling is also a good method this month. Night fishing should improve.
Crappie-Fishing for crappie will be fair this month. They will be found 10 to 20 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: Make sure you leave your running lights on at night. You can never be too careful when boating after dark. Please practice catch and release. Remember to always wear your life jacket and attach your kill switch. Try your luck on cloudy, rainy days. You will have less boat traffic and fisherman. Fall is always a great time to go fishing.
