SMITH MOUNTAIN LAKE FISHING REPORT
March 2017
DALE WILSON’S
SML GUIDE SERVICE
PHONE NO: 540-297-5650 / 540-874-4950
www.captaindalewilson.com
Picture: Captain Dale with 2 large stripers caught last week while fishing with a friend at Smith Mtn. Lake
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OVERVIEW- Above average water temps should make for good fishing! Fishing has been good this past month! Water temperature will be in the 50’s to low 60’s. Best times will be early morning, late afternoon, windy days and cloudy days. Striped and largemouth bass fishing has been good this past month. Depending on the weather, fishing should improve greatly during the month of March.
Largemouth Bass- Fishing for largemouth bass will improve this month as water temps warm and they feed heavily before the spawn starts. Best lures will be jigs, jerk baits, drop shots, shallow running crank baits, spinner baits, Carolina rigs and shaky heads. Most largemouth bass will be in their prespawn patterns later in the month. Secondary points, creek channel banks and shallow rocks, stumps and docks will be the best areas to try your luck. Best depths will be from the 2 to 10 feet deep. Shad and crawfish will be the main forage for largemouth bass this month. Remember to take care of the bass during the spawn and release them! Warm days will bring the water temperatures up in the afternoons, making for a good window to catch a large bass in shallow water.
Smallmouth Bass- Fishing should be good. Best areas will be shallow humps, stumps, shallow rocky areas and secondary flats. Best lures will be tubes, jigs, jerk baits, hair jigs and medium diving crank baits. Best areas will be in the mid to the lower sections of the lake. Cloudy days with wind and at night are good times to try your luck! Look for areas with rocks, stumps and flat points next to deep water. Look for humps and isolated rocks near deep water ledges. They feed heavily on crawfish around the full moon. Some smallmouth will spawn later this month.
Striped Bass- Fishing will be great this month. Stripers will be caught in the mid sections of the lake, the lower section towards the dam and in the large creeks. Best lures will be swim baits, buck tails and Zoom flukes fished on 1/4 to 3/8 oz. lead heads. Sea gulls may help you locate schools of feeding stripers. Best time to fish is cloudy days, early morning, windy days and late afternoon. The best depths will be from the surface to 40 feet deep. Live bait fished on down lines and planner boards will also work this month. They will constantly be on the move. Find the largest concentration of shad. Night fishing will be good later this month.
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, 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 section of the lake.
TIP OF THE Month- Remember to always wear your life jacket. Try to find the areas with the largest concentration of bait fish. When the water temps get above 55 degrees and the water gets very clear, you should try fishing at night. 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 TAKE A KID FISHING!