Lowrance announced yesterday the launch of their new affordable Elite-7 and Elite-5 units with the new CHIRP sonar technology. CHIRP uses a band of signals to get the best picture for your sonar device.
According to Lowrance’s release:
CHIRP sonar produces greater sensitivity, improved target resolution and superior noise rejection for clearer, easy-to-see baitfish and game fish targets.
UPDATED 3.27.2014
It’s that time of year again. That time where lake, state and world records seem to fall every year. We recently learned of the new spotted bass record for the state of Tennessee. Shane McKee of Cleveland, Tenn. caught a spotted bass from Parksville Lake that weighed 6 pounds, 15 ounces on a certified scale. That broke the previous record held by FLW Tour pro Wesley Strader of 6 pounds, 7 ounces. McKee is reported to have caught the pending record spotted bass on a jerkbait, although he declined to say which one.
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SMITH MOUNTAIN LAKE FISHING REPORT
April 2014
DALE WILSON’S
SML GUIDE SERVICE
PHONE NO: 540-297-5650 / 540-874-4950
www.captaindalewilson.com
Picture is of Jack Phillips, owner of The Bedford Landing bed & breakfast, with a nice striper caught 2 weeks ago while fishing with Captain Dale Wilson.
OVERVIEW: March has been a rough month to fish. The weather has been very cold and the water temps have been a lot colder than usual. The extended forecast is calling for around normal temps for the next several weeks. This should make for better fishing conditions. Water temperature will be in the upper 50’s to mid 60’s.
Largemouth Bass-Fishing will be good. Best lures will be jig & pigs, crank baits, spinner baits, senkoes, shakey heads and jerk baits. Most largemouth bass will be caught on secondary points, rocky areas, creek channels and shallow docks. Largemouth bass will relate to areas with bait fish. Some largemouth bass will start to move to areas to spawn. Best depths will be from 2 to 15 feet deep. Remember that bass will be constantly changing their feeding patterns this month.
Smallmouth Bass– Fishing should be fair. Best areas will be humps, rocky areas and main points. Best lures will be jig & pig, jerk baits, hair jigs and crank baits. Best areas will be in the mid to the lower sections of the lake. Most smallmouth bass will be suspended near baitfish this month. Cloudy, windy days are good times to try your luck!
Striped Bass– Fishing will be good. Stripers will be caught in various areas of the lake.
The best areas will be in the mid to upper sections of the lake and the larger creeks. Best lures will be Alabama rigs, swim baits, buck tails, jerk baits and Zoom flukes fished with 1/4 to 3/8 oz. lead heads. Live bait will also be productive. The best depths will be from the surface to 30 feet deep. Try to find areas with the largest concentrations of baitfish. Later this month night fishing should be good.
Crappie-Fishing for crappie will be good this month. They will be found 2 to 10 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 1/32 to 1/8 oz. lead heads will work best to catch crappie this month.
TIP OF THE Month: Some species of fish will begin to start preparing for the spawn this month. Remember to always wear your life jackets. Warmer water temperatures and clearer water will make fish start to feed at night later this month.
Some anglers say finding and patterning bass is the toughest facet of our sport. Others, however, believe tricking them into biting is most difficult. While they’re both inherently challenging, we must not forget the importance of landing bass. After all, an inability to effectively land big bass kind of makes finding and catching them a moot point, right?
Everyone reading this article could write books about the ones that got away. It’s a common cliché in bass fishing, but it’s true nonetheless. Much of our hard work and research flies out the window when a giant bass slips through our fingertips. It’s a gut-wrenching feeling that we all take steps to avoid.
There are three effective ways to land bass, however, and learning the advantages and disadvantages of both will drastically increase your landing ratio and decision making. These aren’t the only ways to do it, but we’ve had our best success with these methods.
PIEDMONT BASS CLASSICS TEAM BASS SPRING MINI TRAIL QUALIFIER #3 RESULTS
Saturday March 22nd, 2014 ~ Mayo Reservoir ~ Triple Springs Wildlife Ramp
1st Place: Steve Upchurch & Jeff Hodges
The Piedmont Bass Classics Team Bass Spring Mini Trail qualifier #3 results showed that Mayo Reservoir is still a good producing lake even with the cold water conditions. 26 teams vied for the 1st place money on a right pretty day for fishing.
It was a little chilly that morning at 44 degrees but ended up being a nice and comfortable 70 degrees at weighin. The forecast was for 7 mph winds but it ended up being a pretty steady 15 gusting to 20 at times. Water temps averaged 50 degrees. The prespawn bass seemed to be in fairly shallow 3-6 foot stained water mostly near the points. Most of the fish were caught on Rat-L-Traps and crankbaits.
Jeff Hodges & Steve Upchurch caught 5 healthy bass weighing a total of 17.51 lbs. taking 1st Place. They also won 1st Place TWT for a total of $1,011 in winnings. 2nd Place went to Randy Fisher & Donnie Lowe with 5 bass weighing 15.83 lbs. They also won the Big Fish award (5.62 lbs.) and took home a total of $649. Tim Goss
won the Tow Boats US bonus of $50.
75 bass were weighed in for a total of 217 pounds. This averaged right at 3 lbs. a fish and they were nice and healthy looking. Mayo is a good small lake fishery!
I want to thank all the anglers that participated and all our sponsors that support these trails. Our next tournament will be the 2014 Boats Unlimited Team Tournament Bass Trail Qualifier #3, Saturday, Mar. 29th at
Shearon Harris out of Cross Point Landing Wildlife Ramp. Coming up Saturday April 5th will be the Tobacco
Bass Invitational at Kerr Lake out of Flemingtown Landing Wildlife Ramp.
All the information on our tournaments can be found at www.piedmontbassclassics.com
Now here are the full results:
1st Place: Steve Upchurch & Jeff Hodges of Raleigh & Pittsboro…5 bass…17.51 lbs…$675
2nd Place: Randy Fisher & Donnie Lowe of Hillsborough & Mebane…5 bass…15.83 lbs…$389
3rd Place: Keith Deal & Ricky Kenworth of Holly Springs & Cary…5 bass…15.43 lbs…$270
4th Place: Lynn Fox & Wesly Ross of Gibsonville & Reidsville…5 bass…15.03 lbs…$203
5th Place: Rodney Bowen & Barney Compton of Timberlake & Leasburg…5 bass…14.93 lbs…$153
1st Place Big Fish: 2nd Place Team above…5.62 lbs…$260
1st Place TWT: 1st Place Team above: 17.51 lbs…$336
2nd Place TWT: 3rd Place Team above: 15.43 lbs…$144
Tow Boats US Award: Tim Goss of Franklinton: $50
Contact Information:
Phil McCarson…Tournament Director—922 Valetta Rd.—Durham, NC 27712
Home: 919-471-1571 Cell: 919-971-5042
email: philsflags@msn.com website: www.piedmontbassclassics.com
