October Smith Mountain Lake Fishing Report by Captain Chad Green

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SMITH MOUNTIAN LAKE FISHING REPORT
By: Captain Chad Green
www.lastcastguideservicesml.com

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Fall is upon us and some great fishing ahead. As the leaves change so do the fish. Time to enjoy great weather and relaxing days on the water. Get out on the water when you can and enjoy the sunrises and sunsets. Practice catch and release as much as possible to preserve our great fisheries out there. As always, just make one more Last Cast as it could be the next trophy fish.
Visit Captains Quarters Marina at Hales Ford Bridge for any tackle that you may need and they will fix you up.
Visit https://missilebaits.store/and check out all they have to offer.
Special Thanks to Brian Carter at the https://thebasscast.com/

Largemouth Bass/Smallmouth Bass
As fall is arriving the bass tend to go back to school also and can be found in large groups feeding on baitfish and traveling to their fall areas for the cool months. Overcast/Rainy or windy days can be exceptional in the fall especially with North or Northwest winds. Look for rocky points, docks, shoals, humps and long points. Mornings can be a great time to find schooling fish on topwater baits. Look for bait to start moving further into the tributaries this month with an abundance of different types and sizes of bait and they all can be in different water depths. October offers a variety of lures and tactics to target bass topwater lures, jigs, shakey head, drop shots, Texas rig worms, crankbaits, and Carolina rigs. October the bigger smallmouth bass will start to show themselves again and a great time to catch a trophy. Depths of water would be most productive in’ throughout 5-15 ft through most of October. As the shorter days and cooler nights approach fishing will be on a fast-paced change and varies daily due to weather. TIP: Pick the coldest days to go.

Striped Bass
Look for stripers to start to school on lower lake as they follow schools of baitfish around as they start their migration upstream as the water cools surface feeding fish will be very common for the next 2 months as the thermocline starts mix. They can be found in the mouths of larger pockets and larger tributaries around standing timber in early morning as they work out to the main channel. Depths of 15-30’ should be a good location to look for schools along with baitfish presence. Bait rods in the 10-20’ depth should produce bites in any of these areas.

Crappie
October crappie fishing tends to slow a little but they will start to move towards their fall locations before long but can still be found in brushpiles and trees located in 10-25’ of water. Small jigs and minnows will always be the baits of choice

Tournaments September
Anglers Choice Team Championship Oct 8-9th
BassCast Oct 15th

Special Thanks to Brian Carter at the www.BassCast.com