Truth be told, I almost gave up on smaller paddle tail swimbaits. A large majority of the ones I’ve used never impressed me—I could never see what the hype was about. They’d slowly roll back and forth and if you’re lucky, the tail would decide to kick every now and then. I might as well have been straight-reeling a stick worm.
I’ve had a chance lately, however, to play around with the Missile Baits Shockwave and it has restored my faith in the small swimbait. It has incredible action, it stays intact for a bunch of fish catches and it doesn’t cost you your firstborn.
Here is episode 2 of the Z-Man Project Z challenge from Lake Guntersville. Stephen Browning, David Walker and Luke Clausen attack Lake Guntersville using only Z-Man projects that they chose from an inventory and are competing against each other and the bass to see who catches them the best. Check out Episode 2 here.
SMITH MOUNTAIN LAKE FISHING REPORT March 2014 DALE WILSON’S SML GUIDE SERVICE PHONE NO: 540-297-5650 / 540-874-4950 www.captaindalewilson.com
Captain Dale Wilson holding a large striper caught 2/25/14 while fishing with Woody Turner from Roanoke, Va.
OVERVIEW: Old man winter will still be around for a few more weeks! This is an excellent time to catch some of the largest fish of the year! Fish will begin to feed heavily after the long cold winter as they prepare to spawn. Water temperature will be in the upper 40’s to near 60.
Largemouth Bass-Fishing will be good. Best lures will be jig & pigs, crank baits, Alabama rigs, spinner baits, and jerk baits. Most largemouth bass will be caught on shallow points, rocky areas, creek channels and docks. Largemouth bass will relate to areas with bait fish. Crayfish will be one of the main foods for largemouth early this month. Best depths will be from 2 to 15 feet deep. Remember to use a slow retrieve early 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, float & fly rigs, 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 ledges and rock bluffs 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. Seagulls will be here until later in the month. Crappie-Fishing for crappie will be good later this month. They will be found 5 to 15 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 1/16 oz. lead heads will work best to catch crappie this month.
TIP OF THE Month: Don’t over look fishing after dark later this month. When the water temperatures rise and the water gets clearer most species of fish will start to feed after dark. Remember to always wear your life jackets. Cold water temperatures will be around for several more weeks.
SMITH MOUNTAIN LAKE FISHING REPORT March 2014 DALE WILSON’S SML GUIDE SERVICE PHONE NO: 540-297-5650 / 540-874-4950 www.captaindalewilson.com
Captain Dale Wilson holding a large striper caught 2/25/14 while fishing with Woody Turner from Roanoke, Va.
OVERVIEW: Old man winter will still be around for a few more weeks! This is an excellent time to catch some of the largest fish of the year! Fish will begin to feed heavily after the long cold winter as they prepare to spawn. Water temperature will be in the upper 40’s to near 60.
Largemouth Bass-Fishing will be good. Best lures will be jig & pigs, crank baits, Alabama rigs, spinner baits, and jerk baits. Most largemouth bass will be caught on shallow points, rocky areas, creek channels and docks. Largemouth bass will relate to areas with bait fish. Crayfish will be one of the main foods for largemouth early this month. Best depths will be from 2 to 15 feet deep. Remember to use a slow retrieve early 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, float & fly rigs, 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 ledges and rock bluffs 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. Seagulls will be here until later in the month. Crappie-Fishing for crappie will be good later this month. They will be found 5 to 15 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 1/16 oz. lead heads will work best to catch crappie this month.
TIP OF THE Month: Don’t over look fishing after dark later this month. When the water temperatures rise and the water gets clearer most species of fish will start to feed after dark. Remember to always wear your life jackets. Cold water temperatures will be around for several more weeks.
BOATS UNLIMITED NC TEAM TOURNAMENT BASS TRAIL QUALIFIER #1 RESULTS Saturday February 22, 2014 ~ Shearon Harris ~ Cross Point Landing Wildlife Ramp The Boats Unlimited NC Team Tournament Bass Trail set a new attendance record with 94 boats showing up for the 1st qualifier of the 2014 fishing season! We finally had a beautiful day to work with. It was about 34 degrees that morning and around 70 that afternoon with very light winds. Water temps ranged from 50 to 57 depending on the area fished and water was muddy in certain areas after the storm Friday. Clear warm water was the secret to finding the bass but it was a challenge to get them to bite with all the shad around. Secret lures for the day…no one is telling! Todd Massey and Brandon Gray had the patience to catch 5 weighing 27.07 lbs. and it was just one of two limits of 5 caught for the day. Massey & Gray won $1,485 for 1st, TWT 1st place of $1,610 and the Boats Unlimited NC 1st Place Bonus of $750 for a grand total of $3,845. Stephen Lasher took 2nd with 3 bass weighing 13.19 lbs winning $875 & 2nd TWT worth $690 for a total of $1,565. Big fish for the day was a nice 8.34 caught by the team of Stewart Adams and Scott Dunn worth $1,260 and 2nd place big fish was a tie going to the teams of Kevin Woodall and William Tobias along with Scott Woodson & Josh Hooks. Each team had a nice 8.13 lb. bass and took home $270 each. Only 56 fish were weighed in for a total of 232 pounds. The slot limit on bass at Harris again took it’s toll on guys that caught fish but were not able to weigh them in. This slot limit is not fair to anglers that practice and spend time and money to fish and get better. People that control the rules should at least give waivers to tournament trails that practice ‘Catch and Release’. That’s just my 2 cents. We had numerous fish over 5 lbs. and all the fish looked healthy. I want to thank all the anglers that participated and all our sponsors that support this trail. Our next tournament will be the 2014 Piedmont Bass Classics Team Bass Mini Trail Qualifier #2, Mar. 1st at Jordan Lake out of Farrington Point Landing Wildlife Ramp (Right Side). The next Boats Unlimited NC Team Tournament Bass Trail tournament will be at Jordan Lake on Mar. 8th, same ramp location. All the information on our tournaments can be found at yahoo and bing search: www.piedmontbassclassics.com
Now here are the full results: 1st Place:
Todd Massey & Brandon Gray of Chapel Hill & Bullock…5 bass…27.07 lbs…$1,485
2nd Place: Stephen Lasher of Durham…
3 bass…13.19 lbs…$875 3rd Place: Roy & Tommy Blackwood of Pittsboro & Efland…2 bass…11.82 lbs…$695
16th Place: Billy Bledsoe & Brian McDonald of Fayetteville & Hope Mills…1 bass…6.41 lbs…$160
17th Place: Patrick Curran & Jason King of Fuquay Varina & Holly Springs…1 bass…6.35 lbs…$120
18th Place: Randy Fisher & Donnie Lowe of Hillsborough & Mebane…1 bass…5.84 lbs…$120
19th Place: Richard Cooper & Allen White of Clayton…1 bass…5.82 lbs…$111 1st Place Big Fish..7th Place Team above…8.34 lbs…$1,260 2nd Place Big Fish Tie:..12th & 13th Place Teams above…8.13 lbs…$270 each. 1st Place TWT..1st Place Team above…27.07 lbs…$1,610 2nd Place TWT..2nd Place Team above: 13.19 lbs…$690 Boats Unlimited Skeeter Boat Owner Bonus: Todd Sumner of Southern Pines…$250Contact
Fishing on the Upper stretches of the James is beginning to come alive. Keep in mind it is still very early in the year and bass are still holding tight in their wintering holes. However, this short warm snap has certainly increased the bite noticeably. Continue using winter fishing tactics with jig n pigs and weighted tube baits. This time of year I personally find the greatest success on smaller tubes and smaller jigs. If the river levels are up, as many of them are right now, focus on the structure along the banks near deep holes. They key is protected areas in deep water, though with the high water, protection trumps depth. A slow rolled spinner bait is sometimes your best option for the higher waters. Some of the biggest fish I have caught were lying behind a big rock on the river bank and crushed my spinner bait the second it hit their hole.
The musky fishing on the Upper James is an entirely different story. This time of year we are getting into the height of the bite. When recent water levels subside, we will be looking at some of the best conditions of the year to be chasing these toothy beasts. Though the conditions will be solid, keep in mind musky fishing is only for the persistent angler. It is more hunt than it is fishing. Patience and persistence combined with the right conditions and knowing where these monsters lurk add up for a near guarantee to encounter one of these beautiful creatures. Fish wooded structure along deep banks and large chunk rock in deep holes. As rain waters muddy the tributaries, fish the mouths of creeks along the clouded water dumping into the main stem. Often times musky will use this clouded flow to ambush an unsuspecting bait fish in the clear water.
For other fishing updates visit our page at Facebookwww.facebook.com/confluenceoutfittersva or give us a call now 434-941-9550 for information on guided fishing trips. We are currently booking both smallmouth and musky fishing trips for the 2014 season.
This leads me to another bait of choice this time of year, a creature bait or jig. There are a ton of different kinds that all seem to work well and as long as it’s in some shade of green pumpkin or dark color, I’m sure it will be effective. Personally I like the baits that are compact and bulky this time of year, like a short fat guy. I have done very well with this size and style of bait during this period. I am partial to a beaver type bait using a 3/8 ounce bullet weight with a 2/0 strait shank flipping hook. For a jig I really prefer a 3/8 ounce flipping jig tipped with a small matching chunk. You can also put these two together and make a nice compact jig/creature combo. At this time I don’t want a ton of action, I just want an element of subtle surprise for a reaction. I also want it to look like a good meal, not just a snack. I like to spool a high speed reel with 17-20 lb. 100% fluorocarbon line. I like to go heavier with these lures, so I opt for at least a 7 foot rod medium heavy action with a fast tip. I try to follow the fluke with this type of presentation, especially after I have had one chase a fluke. This one two combo can be a huge time saver especially when there are thousands of bushes to pick through.
If the bushes are letting you down and the fish just don’t seem that committed, then turn to some rip rap or rock banks for a possible early shad bite. This is my absolute favorite way to search for, and catch pre spawn bass on Buggs Island. I have lived and died on this pattern in many tournaments in the past and will most likely do the same thing many more times. I will say it’s not nearly as consistent as it was a few years back but on certain days it will not be beaten. You just need to look for the right conditions for this to be effective. The right conditions should always start with some wind, and a little cloud cover never hurt either. Right before or after a cold front, it can be really good, especially with a brisk wind.
Of course you can use several different baits; crankbaits, swim baits, and rattle baits to name a few. But let’s face it nothing says shad like a good ole spinner bait. I personally am in love with a spinner bait, or blade as I call it, just caught way too many fish on this lake with it not to throw it religiously. You can also cover every depth by only changing up your retrieve or weight of your lure. My favorite is a 3/8 ounce white, chartreuse, with some blue in the skirt and double willow leaf blades. I really like the smaller blades this time of year with one gold and one silver, I also want a pearl white grub trailer. If the water is stained I will switch to a tandem or even an Indiana blade, but I still want small. As we all know there are many different spinner baits out there and most of them are pretty good. Just pay attention to the wire size because it will affect vibration and strength. Something else I never do and frequently get asked about is a trailer hook. I say that’s a personal preference, I get hung too much with it myself, but I get called crazy a bunch too. I like to use 15-17 lbs 100% fluorocarbon line with a high speed reel. I want a medium heavy action rod with a moderate tip, I want backbone cause I really set the hook with a blade.
End of March and early April is most of the time a pre spawn deal on Buggs Island Lake. Sometimes it will be longer and sometimes shorter depending on the weather. For some fish it will last until May others will spawn the minute the moon is right and water temperature is 62. One thing is for certain there is no one pre spawn season the same on Buggs Island Lake. The fish can get real finicky depending on their mood and I think they really get in a funk just before the spawn happens everywhere. These are just some things that work for me, but I always encourage to do your own thing. I have heard of so many things being effective this time of year, yet never consistent. The pre spawn is a real wild card on this lake and the bass can change quicker than the conditions. Please keep an open mind during the pre-spawn and remember you need to change with the fish.
