louzam
Loc: central Maine, Kennebec Valley
A small group of us are heading to Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia for 4 or 5 days of fishing. We'll be there beginning the weekend of March 12th. Would be interested in any tips, spots, methods, baits, where to get a decent depth map of the lake, weather expectations, etc. We'll be staying at a lakeside home in Moneta. Looking to do largemouth and smallmouth fishing. Also, are there any other "nearby" fisheries anyone would recommend for that time of year. Thank you, Lou
Louzam: Welcome to the Forum. Sorry, but i have no knowledge of Smith Mountain Lake. Hopefully other folks who are Forum members in Virginia will chime in with some tips. As usual, the local bait stands have the most current knowledge of conditions, bait, and locations. Just Sayin...RJS
Kerr Lake and Gaston lake. They both cover Virginia and North Carolina and have the best large mouth and other game fish in Virginia. There's also lake conner outside of Brookneal Virginia that is a small lake but holds the state large mouth record at 16 pounds 3 ozs. They are all within 2 1/2 hours of where you will be. March is a great time for really large fish here in Virginia.
A.Kidd
DeeJay
Loc: Southwest Virginia
Pre spawn, fish a accordingly. There are other lakes nearby that are a lot better choices. Kerr Gaston, Buggs Island, Roanoke Rapids, and Falls Lake Durham N. C. at one time rated in the top 100 lakes in USA. I have fished Falls a lot, its not as good as it once was, but a hell of a lot better than Smith Mt. Lake. I live about 3 hrs from Smith Mt. I do not like it at all. If you are used to fishing deep clear water with docks being the only cover, go for it. Boat traffic is heavy every day. Keep fishing
DEEJAY
I totally agree with Deejay
louzam
Loc: central Maine, Kennebec Valley
Thank all of you guys for the info. I will look into some of these places. Although I live in Rhode island, i do my fishing in Maine where I have a seasonal home on Lake Cobbosseeconte. Anyone ever heading up there, drop me a note and I'll be glad to provide any info you may need. Lou
Dwieds
Loc: Richmond Va. and Smith Mountain Lake Va.
I suggest u call and book a striped trip with a guide. He’ll pick you up at ur dock and put you right on the fish. You’ll have a ball. Just google striper fishing SML and make your pic of guides. One trip is great but two trips would be better. Book early.
louzam
Loc: central Maine, Kennebec Valley
Thank you. Will look into it
I fish there several times a year. My inlaws have a trailer on the lake in the southern most section. April we catch nice sized stripers but most are in the slot limit. Hard to throw back 34 inch stripers. Not sure if the stripers will be in Moneta area then or not. But my best bait trick is to put a submersible green light in the water then use a cast net an hour later. If you catch alewives(think small shad) then you will probably have some luck using them for bait.
louzam
Loc: central Maine, Kennebec Valley
Brian, Thanx for the tip. Lou
So..... Did you guys catch anything at SML?
If you want to reply, then
register here. Registration is free and your account is created instantly, so you can post right away.