SMITH MOUNTAIN LAKE FISHING REPORT February 2013 DALE WILSON’S SML GUIDE SERVICE PHONE NO: 540-297-5650 / 540-874-4950 www.captaindalewilson.com
Captain Dale Wilson with a hugh 5.15 lb. Smallmouth bass caught & released in late
December while fishing with John Gaylord of Roanoke,Va.
OVERVIEW: The overall winter fishing has been good. Stripers, largemouth, smallmouth and crappie continue to be active. Water temperature will be in the 40s. Early morning, late afternoon and cloudy days will be the best times to try your luck.
Largemouth Bass-Fishing will be good. Best lures will be A-rigs, jerk baits, spoons, Carolina rigs, shaky heads, football head jigs and crank baits. Most largemouth bass will be caught around rocky shorelines, points, brush piles and docks. Best depths will be from the 2 to 35 feet deep. Cloudy days with light wind will be the best time to fish this month. Shad will start to migrate into the creeks later his month.
Smallmouth Bass- Fishing should be fair. Best areas will be rocky banks, humps, steep ledges and main channel points. Best lures will be floating-fly rigs, A-rigs, crawfish colored crank baits, tube lures, drop shot rigs and shaky heads. Best areas will be in the mid to the lower sections of the lake. Cloudy, windy days will be the best time to try your luck. Smallmouth will suspend under schools of shad.
Striped Bass- Fishing should be great. Stripers will be caught mostly in the mid to upper sections of the lake and the major creeks. Best lures will be spoons, A-rigs, swim baits, buck tails, and Zoom flukes fished with 1/2 to 3/4 oz. jig heads. Jigging will be a good method to catch stripers this month. Live bait and trolling will also be a productive method.. The best depths should be from the surface to 50 feet deep. Best time to try your luck will be early mornings & late afternoons. Watch for the seagulls this month.
Crappie-Fishing for crappie will be good. They will be found 10 to 25 feet deep this month. Best areas will be in the main creeks around deep docks, fallen trees, and brush piles in the mid to upper sections of the lake. Small live minnows and 1 ½ inch tubes and twister tail grubs fished on 1/16 to 1/8 oz. lead heads will work best to catch crappie this month. Small Gulp minnows also work well when fished on small lead heads or drop shot rigs.
Tip of the month: When the water temperature is below 55 degrees try using a slower presentation of your lure. It is a good idea to always fish with a partner in the cold months. Keep your running lights on when fishing after dark. Take a kid fishing.
We had the opportunity this past weekend to cat up with our friend John Crews at the Richmond fishing Expo. Take a listen as he gives a look into his new product for 2013 the Fuse 4.4.
Growing up in upstate New York, winter fishing for me involved drilling a hole through a bunch of ice, sitting on a bucket with a 2 foot jigging rod, and catching a whole lot of frostbite. However, in more southern locales like my current home of Lynchburg Virginia, major bodies of water stay mostly free of ice throughout the year. For those willing to brave the cold, winter fishing can offer plenty of action, and there is no more popular or proven lure in winter than a jig.
While I have had success using a jig during the winter, because of my limited experience I am by no means an expert. For this article, I had the privilege of interviewing someone who is: Kevin Hawk. Kevin is a highly regarded professional bass fisherman who has been fishing the FLW series for several years, and he actually won the Forrest Wood Cup (the FLW tour championship) back in 2010. This year, Kevin is making the transition to the Bassmaster Elite Series where he will compete at the sport’s highest level. In addition to all of this, Kevin also happens to be a fantastic jig fisherman with a wealth of experience in all kinds of conditions. Whether you are just getting started as an angler or have many years of experience, you are sure to pick up some useful pointers here. Josiah – So how long have you been professionally fishing, Kevin? Kevin – I’ve been fishing professionally for 2 full seasons, so this will be my third season.
Josiah – And you are transitioning to the Bassmaster Elite Series this year, correct? Kevin – Yes, I am fishing the Elite Series this year.
Josiah – Let’s talk about winter fishing. A lot of casual and inexperienced fisherman think that the fish stop biting when the water gets cold. What is your opinion on winter fishing?
Kevin – The hardest part about winter fishing is actually getting out there. A lot of guys are chicken, and they look out their windows at the cold and say, “man it looks nasty out there – the fish must not be biting.” So getting yourself out there is the hardest part. Once you get out there, just fish your confidence baits. I’ve built up a ton of confidence in a jig over the years, so that’s the lure I throw most of the time. The fish will still bite regardless of how cold the water gets.
Josiah – Where are fish usually located in the winter?
Kevin – It depends on the type of water you are fishing, but on a typical large reservoir like Smith Mountain Lake, I’m looking for the steepest drop-off I can find. Often, that drop will be on the edge of the main channel or a major feeder creek. Once I find that channel, I’m looking for any irregularity or cover on the drop-off that might attract fish. The best case scenario is a channel bend with cover on it, like stumps or rock. Usually, the fish will be more out on the main lake during the winter than at other times of the year, and they like to be able to move vertically, so that’s why I think they can be found on those steep drops so often. Another factor is that baitfish also tend to congregate on those steep drops.
Josiah – Why is a jig such a deadly cold-water bait? Kevin –When the water is cold, bass get slower and more lethargic. A jig is a great lure to use because you can fish it very slowly, which is often crucial to being successful in cold water. The other great thing about a jig is that it mimics a crawfish really well. A crawfish crawling along the bottom is an easy meal for a lethargic winter bass. By changing the size and color of your jig to match the size and color of the crawfish found in whatever water you are fishing, you have a great chance of making a bass think it’s getting an easy meal, and that’s key when you are fishing during the winter.
Josiah – What style of jig do you usually fish in the winter? Is there a particular manufacturer’s jig you prefer?
Kevin -During the winter, my go-to bait is a half ounce football jig. If the wind is blowing, I may step up the weight to ¾ of an ounce. I am sponsored by 4×4 bass jigs, and in my opinion they make the best jigs on the market. I can’t say enough about how awesome these jigs are. I throw the Kevin Hawk Signature Football Jig, which just recently was made available to the public. Before, it was only a prototype. Josiah – What kind of trailer do you like to use on your jigs when the water is cold? I really only use two types of trailers on my jigs. When the water is a little warmer, I use a 5” double tail Yamamoto grub, which has a lot of action. When the water is colder, I use a Yamamoto Flappin’ Hawg, which has more subtle action. I often trim all the little side appendages off of the Flappin’ Hawg to slim down the profile down a little bit and further cut down on the bait’s action. Sometimes I’ll doctor up the tips of both trailers with a little bit of chartreuse dye, especially if I’m fishing for spotted bass or smallmouth.
Josiah – How do you like to fish a jig when the water is cold? Kevin – I do a lot of casting and then dragging the jig slowly back to the boat. If I see fish on my graph, I may try dropping the jig right on top of them, but most of the time during the winter I’m just casting and dragging. I don’t hop the bait a lot like I would in warmer water conditions – I just slowly drag it and maintain bottom contact as much as possible.
Josiah – What kind of rod, reel, and line do you use when you’re jig fishing? Kevin – I use a 704c Irod Air (7ft heavy action,) an Abu Garcia Revo SX baitcasting reel, and 15lb Invis-X fluorocarbon. That Irod is super sensitive, and the fluorocarbon is very low stretch which also helps with sensitivity. I feel very confident with this setup, and it’s the setup I use for most of my jig fishing year-round. Josiah – Are there any modifications you make to your jigs? Do you trim the weedguard or skirt? Kevin – You know, the way 4×4 jigs are, I don’t feel the need to make any modifications to them. They fish perfect right out of the package. The skirt is the right length, and the weedguard isn’t so thick that it interferes with hook penetration, but it’s still tough enough that I’m not getting hung up all the time.
Josiah – Are there any colors you especially prefer? Kevin – Green pumpkin is something I always have in the boat, and it’s one of my 2 favorite colors of all time. Some of the other colors I like are Hawk’s prey, which should be available to the public in a few weeks, amber, green pumpkin blue, and defensive craw. I think my favorite color of all time though is just plain brown. It’s an old school color, but it just flat-out catches fish. All of these colors can be found at www.4x4bassjigs.com, as well as my newly released Kevin Hawk Signature Football Jig. I would highly recommend any jig fisherman take a look at these jigs – they are the real deal.
Well, that’s all I had so thanks for your time – it was great to speak with you! Thank you, it was a pleasure speaking with you also.
I had the opportunity this past weekend to go up the the Richmond fishing expo. If you were unable to make the trip to this years event you missed a good time. A lot of good booths and an opportunity to meet some amazing people. Its nothing like hanging out with some great anglers like John Crews, Ish Monroe and Rick Morris. Enjoy the Slide Show Bellow.
Just wanted to let everybody know that Saturdays Winter Series Tournament has been moved to Sunday with the incoming weather that is expected. Still launching from Parkway Marina.
Pro Ryan Friend of Oroville, Calif., shows off his winnnig catch en route to a first-place finish at the EverStart Series Western Division event on Lake Oroville. (Photo by Gary Mortenson)
Ryan Friend captures EverStart pro title on Lake Oroville with the help of some last-minute heroics
19.Jan.2013 by Gary Mortenson
OROVILLE, Calif. – Heading into the opening event of the 2013 EverStart Series Western Division season, Ryan Friend of Oroville, Calif., decided that he wanted to participate in an FLW tournament as a boater for the very first time in his career. However, despite a difficult tournament, Friend managed to shake off some rookie nerves, pull off some last-minute heroics and turn in a stellar three-day performance resulting in a total weight of 37 pounds, 5 ounces – good enough to capture the very first EverStart Series title of his career.
Needless-to-say, Friend was ecstatic with the result.
“This is absolutely the best win of my career,” said Ryan, who netted the top prize of $33,000 as well as a brand new, fully rigged Ranger Z518 boat with 200 HP outboard engine for his efforts. “I can’t really explain how I’m feeling right now. I grew up here reading about these guys and to be standing on stage and competing against them now is unbelievable. This is my first experience as a boater at an FLW event and to win it’s just amazing. I really had just an awesome week.”
Although Friend fished extraordinarily well all week, targeting bass in 15 to 20 feet of water primarily with lighter, finesse jigs, he knew that he would need one heck of a sack in today’s competition to fulfill his dream of capturing an EverStart tournament title.
“It was really slow today but I pounded my spots as much as I could,” he said. “I was basically targeting flats, clay banks and shallow points with boulders all week. At around 1 p.m., I had about 10 pounds in the boat, but I didn’t have a big kicker fish like I had the first two days. And I knew I had to get that big bite because on this lake, if you don’t get one of those, you’re in real trouble.”
As luck would have it, fate smiled on Friend just as time nearly expired in today’s contest.
“With about 20 minutes to go, I went back to a spot I’d fished the first two days and finally hooked into a big fish,” said Friend, referring to 4-pound, 14-ounce giant. “When I finally got that fish into the boat, I couldn’t believe it. It just goes to show that you can never give up. Overall, the day ended up great. Pretty much everything just went right for me today.”
After receiving word from the tournament director that he in fact had pulled off the win, the normally reserved California native gave a huge fist pump to the crowd and shouted, “Boom!”
The relief on Friend’s face was palpable.
“I knew that I had really beaten up my spots,” he said. “And I’m just glad I don’t have to go fishing tomorrow because I’m not even sure what I’d do. This has just been an awesome week.”
