I'm headed to Smith Mountain Lake this coming week for the first time fishing.
Any tips for navigating the lake or places recommended to eat? Also should I throw a net or just buy bait?. 🤔 ( See ya there maybe- I will be in my 23ft HURRICANE!
florida
Loc: Southwest Florida/ Virginia
A LITTLE INFO FOR YOU-YOU CAN'T BUY ALES, SO ONLY WAY FISH THEM IS THROW THE NET UNDER LIGHTS. IF YOU DON'THAVE A BAIT TANK THEY WILL NOT SURIVE AND USING DEAD BAIT WILL NOT PRODUCE. CAPTAIN'S QUARTERS BY HALESFORD BRIDGE SHOULD HAVE JUMBO MINNOWS THAT ALSO WORK PRETTY WELL. I WOULD TRY BECKY'S CREEK AND LOOK AROUND IF YOU HAVE A FISH FINDER--GOOD LUCK.
Restaurants - Los Amigos @ Crazy Horse Marine / Portside Bar and Grill adjacent to Virginia Dare / Difters / Magnum Point on the Blackwater / The Landing Restaurant @ Mariners Landing- since off season, need to check hours of operation
Other thread is correct about live bait.
Some of the best striper fishing this time of year is between 2-5:00AM. Focus on lights at night.
Water temps around 80. Check regs about limits and slots this time of year.
If you plan to release, make sure catch has been revived. Stripers fighting through warmer thermal-climes tend to suffer and thus if being released do so quickly.
Thanks for the info guys! Definitely worth knowing this as I had no knowledge. I'm a casual fisherman and will be releasing my catch if it's not pulled up from depths. I even considered jigging bridges if there is any hope there? Thanks again. ( coming Sunday! Yeah, can't wait!
Have you had any success fishing?
Couldn't catch any live bait so we explored entire lake instead. We wanted to get familiar since 1st time. We stopped several places and caught smallmouth and largemouth. I seen some big ones following the smaller ones that I was reeling in. Got caught in the rain Wednesday that was supposed to start at 5pm according to weatherman. 4 miles away in that rain was an experience! Enjoyed Nopoli on the Lake restaurant twice. Also seen lots of deer at Bernard's landing. Very much enjoyed .... going to read up on gathering bait though..
This morning the lake was very active.
I landed 8 fish, both small mouth and large mouth. Lost an equal amount in my 3 hours this morning.
Lots of fun and very relaxing
I have noticed 1000's of boats in docks and marinas..... I thought it would of been ALOT more crowded on the lake than it was. 1 or 2 boats occasionally passed by every 10 minutes. Very relaxing. Seen lots of fish jumping out of water also.
We went out for 2 -3 hours before leaving today and caught 4 more bass. All released all week.
From Memorial Day to Labor Day, the lake gets crazy! It is one of the reasons SML is considered the most dangerous lake in Virginia.
From Labor Day to Memorial Day, you have your own private lake.
This morning I caught a double trifecta! A first! 2 small mouths, 2 large mouths and 2 stripers. All released safely.
Also had the great fortune of watching osprey and bald eagles fish!
This is good information Bob. Thank you for responding to my posts. Very much appreciated.
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