SMITH MOUNTAIN LAKE FISHING REPORT
November 2016
DALE WILSON’S
SML GUIDE SERVICE
PHONE NO: 540-297-5650 / 540-874-4950
www.captaindalewilson.com
Picture: My grandson Conner Phillips with a striper he caught on a recent fishing trip with Captain Dale Wilson.
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OVERVIEW- Fishing will be good this month! Water temperature will be in the upper 50’s to mid 60’s. Best times will be early morning, late afternoon and cloudy days this month. Fishing the past few weeks has been fair. Cooler water temperatures will make for better fishing later this month.
Largemouth Bass- Fishing for largemouth bass will be good this month. Best lures will be jigs, rattle traps, drop shots, shallow to medium diving crank baits, Texas rigged plastic worms, football head jigs, Carolina rigs and spinner baits. Most largemouth bass will be in their fall patterns this month. Rocky points, ledges, creek channel banks and docks will be the best areas to try your luck. Best depths will be from the 2 to 30 feet deep. Baitfish will to move up the rivers, the large creeks and coves. The areas with the largest concentration of bait fish will be the most productive areas. Bass also feed heavily on crawfish this month.
Smallmouth Bass- Fishing should be good. Best areas will be humps, ledges, rocky areas and long main channel points. Best lures will be tubes, jigs, drop shot rigs, jerk baits and deep diving crank baits. Best areas will be in the mid to the lower sections of the lake. Cloudy days with light winds and night time are good times to try your luck! Look for areas with rocks on ledges and points next to deep water. Look for humps, stumps and isolated rocks near deep water. Most smallmouth bass will suspend around baitfish this month. They also feed heavily on crawfish.
Striped Bass- Fishing should be good this month. Stripers will be caught in the upper sections of the lake and in the back of the large creeks. Best lures will be swim baits, top water popers and Zoom flukes fished on 1/4 to 1/2 oz. lead heads. Stripers will surface some this month. Best time to fish is cloudy days, early morning and later afternoon. The best depths will be from the surface to 45 feet deep. Live bait fished on planner boards will also work this month. Most fish will be caught in shallow water. They will constantly be on the move. Find the largest concentration of shad. Night fishing will be fair this month.
Crappie- Fishing for crappie will be good this month. They will be found 5 to 20 ft. deep. Crappie will be found around deep docks, brush piles, and fallen trees. Small live minnows and 1½ 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.
TIP OF THE Month- Try shallow points just before dark. Try to find the areas with the largest concentration of bait fish. Night fishing will get better this month. 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 wear your life jackets and obey all the boating laws. TAKE A KID FISHING!
