SMITH MOUNTAIN LAKE FISHING REPORT
March 2020
DALE WILSON’S
SML GUIDE SERVICE
PHONE NO: 540-297-5650 / 540-874-4950
www.captaindalewilson.us
Picture: Nice largemouth bass caught in the spring time while fishing with Captain Dale Wilson
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OVERVIEW: March is a great month to fish Smith Mtn. lake. Spring is right around the corner! The water temperature has been rising and will continue to make the fishing better! Fishing overall has been good this past month! Water temperature will be in the 50’s to the low 60s. Best times will be early morning, late afternoon and cloudy days. Striper fishing will continue to be good! Night fishing will start to be good.
Largemouth Bass- Fishing for largemouth bass has been good this past month. Best lures will be jerk baits, jigs, swim baits, spinner baits, and crank baits. Points, stumps, rocky areas, shallow coves and deep docks will be the best areas to try your luck. Best depths will be from 2 to 15 feet deep. Remember to take care of the bass and release them! Bass fishing should continue to be good into the spawn. Crawfish are a big part of their diet during the later spring. Bait fish will be constantly on the move as the water temps change.
Smallmouth Bass- Fishing will be good. Best areas will be flats, humps, and rocky points. Best lures will be tubes, jig & pig, hair jigs, drop shots, Ned rigs and shallow running crank baits. Best areas will be in the mid to the lower sections of the lake. Cloudy days with light wind are good times to try your luck! Look for areas with rocks and stumps close to the deep water. Look for isolated rock piles near deep water. Smallmouth bass feed heavily on crawfish this time of the year.
Striped Bass- Striper fishing improve this month. Stripers will be caught in all sections of the lake and in the main creeks. Best lures will be swim baits, buck tails, Alabama rigs and Zoom flukes fished on 1/4 to 3/8 oz. lead heads. Best time to fish is cloudy days, early morning and late afternoon. Night fishing will start to improve. The best depths will be from the surface to 30 feet deep. Live bait fished on down lines and planner boards work well this month. This is also a good month to troll as the stripers can be shallow. The stripers will constantly be on the move. Look for large schools of stripers with your electronics. Look for stripers to be shallow just before dark! Casting to the points can be very productive.
Crappie- Fishing for crappie will be good this month. The best depths will be 5 to 15 ft. deep. Crappie will be found around docks, brush piles, stumps and fallen trees. Docks with brush piles are usually good areas to hold crappie. 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. Best areas are the main creeks and the upper sections of both rivers.
TIP OF THE Month- The bait fish will start to move to the back of the creeks and the shallow points as the water temps rise. Night fishing will be good. Remember to always wear your life jacket!!! Fishing will improve as the water temperatures change! Make sure your running lights are on after dark!!! You can also hear reports about local fishing on the website: THE BASS CAST RADIO & WSLK 98.3 radio. Remember: TAKE A KID FISHING! SEE YOU ON THE LAKE!!! GOOD FISHING!