Smith Mountain Lake March Fishing Report - Change is here!

This lake is insanity. I spent a a week in AZ fishing with a few friends since the home waters was fishing tough for most and man was that a mistake. Now, for the second weekend in a row Smith Mountain Lake has kicked out a 28lb bag of largemouth to win a tournament. This lake may see a 30lb bag this year! On top of that the stripers are everywhere right now and BIG. It’s one if not the best time of the year to get out for a chance at a true giant. The crappies are loaded on lots of deep docks too. It’s just an exciting time at the lake.

The lakes water temperature is actually still a little behind with the upper Black Water and Roanoke Rivers getting to about 53 on a warm day. The lower end is still 45 in the mornings. This is very different then last year.

The Largemouth and Smallmouth are on the move and you can find fish much fast in the 8-15 foot range. An A-rig is still catching monster bags up lake, but if that’s not your thing a jerkbait is a quick second. Working the bait in different cadences is the key to success. Try fast with little pauses but also short movements with longer pauses (4-10 seconds). Lastly, the crankbait bite is starting to heat back up. Focus on that depth range mentioned above and hold on.

The stripers are chasing whats left of the smaller bait fish and are being found on main lake points as well as all the way in the back of the pockets if the bait is present. Jerkbaits, A-rigs, bucktails and spoons are great baits to get the school activated and eating.

Crappie are LOADED on deeper docks right now. If you have front facing sonar like Garmin Livescope they are easy to find. Look for schools of fish that are stacked vertically under docks and don’t move very much. To catch crappie drop a very small jig down with a Gulp Alive shad or dropshot nose hook the same bait. No joke some docks have 50+ fish under them.

Things are changing and changing quick here. The lake is easily the best lake in all of Virginia, but I think we are close to being considered a national powerhouse for large bags of tournament fish with how consistent these giant bags are.