Smith Mountain Lake October Fishing Report - Craws, Shad and Shallow
DON’T FORGET TO CHECK OUT THE BAIT SHOP FOR ALL THE EARLY FALL TACKLE I USE
DON’T FORGET TO CHECK OUT THE BAITSHOP FOR MY EARLY FALL LURE LIST.
It’s time to start thinking about the Moon!!!! We are turning the corner and starting to head into true fall fishing with all species of fish putting on the feedbag to prepare for the colder months ahead. Just like this spring we are already seeing some super cool temps ahead of their typical weeks and that’s on top of the water temperature already being lower than the last few years. Finding bait is going to be a big part of finding active fish this month. If you’re interested in on the water electronics training please reach out.
First things first, keep it simple. This is the time of year that going by the text book can get you numbers and size of fish. Before I talk baits lets focus on areas. The water is cooling on the lake and that is going to cause big shifts in both shad and crawdads. Shad will soon be in the way backs of pockets to catch the last bit of warm water during the days and the bass and stripers will be right behind them. This allows for covering water at a faster pace than almost any other time of the year.
Topwater is a key player as the fish are still very active and aggressive They WILL chase down a bait from a far distance away. Speed is also a thing to keep top of mind. They want to eat so moving baits past them fast can cause some serious bites because fish don’t have too much time to think about it. Cranking is right behind topwater for covering water and being able to offer both a shad profile and crawdad profile bait to fish. My approach for bassin would be to start in the backs and work your way towards the middle of pockets to see how far back the predatory fish are located. A few cold nights in a row and these fish will move very quickly off the secondaries and into the backs of the pockets.
Lastly is sound, A buzzbait is one of my favorite ways to get it done. It was just the winning lure for the Cabela’s Big Bass Tour event on the lake and it catches bigs. I throw two style of buzzbaits. A knocker and a bead. The Tackle HD World Wide Buzzer is the loudest buzzer I can find and the Megabass Jamaica Boa Buzzbait is a close second. It’s a good idea to try to match the hatch on the buzzer with the size bait swimming around so be sure to have a few different swimmer sizes to switch out. For cranking i’m sticking to a squarebill (Spro Speed Demon, Megabass S Crank 1.2, Jackall Bling) or a craw style crank (Storm Wiggle Wart, Spro Rockcrawler, Megabass Super-Z Z2). Anything in the brown color’s is great around rocky transitions.
All areas of the lake are going to be good this time of year as the fish are starting to eat. As the month goes on you may need to start transitioning back out from the back pockets towards the main lake depending on how quick winter decides to show up.
Moon phase is also a critical part to the next few months. Crawdads are going to be making their way into the riprap banks to burrow for the winter and the bass know this like clockwork. Crawdads will move at night so fishing around the full moon is ideal for a bigger bite. This is where a bigger jig bite can produce well. A Missile Baits Headbanger around shallow rock is all you need. I like to have two different weights on to see if they want a slower fall rate for the day or something zooming past their face. Keep it simple on colors with browns, greens and reds.
Stripers are going to be super fun this month as they will be schooling in massive groups and chasing the bait. This is the time of year to get the kids out and get them hooked on fishing. Towater, flukes and small swimbaits covers it all. Take some time to check points and humps going towards the back of the pockets and hang on. Also, keep an eye out as you’re running down the lake for fish busting and get to them as quick as you can.
Crappie should be stacking up on brush a bit shallower in the guts and ditches going back in the creeks. Any brush in those areas with 10-15 feet of water on them should be loaded with them.
Tightlines and stay safe out there.