Smith Mountain Lake May Fishing Report - Pre-spawn, Spawn and Post-spawn

What a great time to be at Smith Mountain Lake. The fish are biting, the birds are signing and everyone is out enjoy what this amazing place has to offer. The fish has been great with good numbers and a few big fish per trip. The lake is still a bit stain from the bad pollen we had earlier this month but it turning the corner to clearing up. Quick tip: If you are coming down to visit and thinking of renting a boat from one of the great marinas on the lake do it soon since they tend to book up quick.

The largemouth and smallmouth are in all three stages of the spawn and it’s really dependent on the area of the lake you choose to fish. The upper Roanoke River above the bridge and above Gills creek on the Blackwater side seem to be mostly post spawn at this time. The topwater bite is great right now. My go to bait in the mornings is a Tackle HD world wide buzzer and can catch some giants. Also toss around a walking bait on the points for the fish that are on their way back out to deeper water.

The middle sections of the lake are spawning and quickly turning over to post spawn. A shaky head is a great bait for this area. Drag it around rock and near stumps for bedding fish. Remember to be quick on your hook set since most fish will be moving your bait away from their beds.

The lower end of the lake is pre-spawn and spawning. A swimbait 2.8, 3.3 or up to a 3.8 is a great choice to cover water and see what pockets are fish around. The shaky head still does really well in that area. This is also the best time to catch spawning smallmouth. Focus on rock points on the main lake and hold on they are super aggressive when baits get near their beds.

The bluegill are everywhere so its a great time to get the kids out on the dock. Night-crawlers and a bobber are impossible to beat.

The stripers are starting to school over main lake points all over the lake. A fluke is a great choice to get the school to rise. Keep an eye out for massive schools of fish over deep water that come up if you are close enough cast into the blowing up schools and enjoy the fight.

Lastly, the shad are in full spawn so if night fishing is your deal its now or never. Fish are biting from 11:00pm-2:00am and again from 3:30am-sunrise. Thundersticks is all you need.