Smith Mountain Lake December Fishing Report - Waters warm but fish are ready to eat!

DON’T FORGET TO CHECK OUT THE BAIT SHOP FOR ALL THE EARLY WINTER TACKLE I USE

I’m starting to feel like a broken record on how bad we need a cold snap but i’ll say it again for this report. The fish are stacked and so ready to eat, but the water temps are just holding in that strange 55-59 degree range. This is causing a lot of the largemouth and smallemouth to have lockjaw unless the conditions are good. The stripers on the other hand are loaded up in large schools both on the main lake and in the backs of most major creek arms. With a cold snap not showing up until mid December fishing may stay tougher for a few weeks but the end is near!

Largemouth and Smallmouth bass are both eating and biting on similar patterns. It’s a split between shad chasers on typical fall style baits and crawdad eaters which seem to be bigger fish. Again, this year we had a large push of bait head to the backs of pockets early and then move back out when we got cold snaps in late October and November. Those smaller bait fish have now moved back into the pockets and the bass are not far behind. Stick with moving baits to get those fish to eat like a Megabass Hasdong Shad or a Missile Baits Shockwave. A heavier swimbait head is a good choice this time of year to keep the lure down and be able to reel fast. Speed is your friend to get those reaction bites.

As mentioned it seems like the bigger fish are eating crawdad this month, but the numbers are few and far between. Sticking with a two prong approach is good with a Missile Baits Ike Mini Flip jig and some sort of crank that resembles a crawfish like the Megabass-Z Z3 in colors like Phantom Green Craw and IT Craw. Another great bait is the Storm Wiggle Wart or Spro RKcrawler in any craw pattern.

Target isolated rock on secondary points and main lake points. Look for natural rock or slate rock that comes out from the riprap. Also focus on stump fields on the lower end of the lake. As clear as the water is they are easy to spot.

As the water does begin to cool more and more slow down those baits and crawl them along the bottom. Some of the better bites I have caught have been barely moving the baits along hitting every piece of structure you can. I refer to this as counting rocks. Make a mental note while you fish of letting that bait site next to something after you hit it because some of those bass will follow a lure far from the start of your cast.

For the striper folks the fishing has been great. Most main lake points, humps and shoals are loaded in the mid lake down to the mountain in the 20-40 foot range and they are large schools of 50-200 fish. As well the seagulls are here and are your best friend for finding fish very quickly. Most evenings the birds are all together telling you right where they are. If you’re into a fun fishing day of just casting on those fish a small swimbait, jerkbait or fluke are a great choice to catch numbers and size.

If you’re chasing a fish of a lifetime live bait is the play. The large gizzard shad are up most major creek arms like Gills, Becky’s, Campers and both ends of the rivers as far as you can go. Free lining and running planner boards under and around the bait is all you need to do for a bigger bite.

The Crappie and Yellow Perch fishing has also been lights out. Crappies are loaded on docks up the rivers on the main channel with depths of 15-25 feet of the ends of the docks and yellow perch seem to be taking over a lot of brush piles in that 10-15 feet range. Minnows is still your best choice but if you need to go artifical a little grub is all you need.

Tightlines and stay safe out there!! Also be sure to check out the BAITSHOP for all the baits i’m throwing this month!