Smith Mountain Lake December Fishing Report - Lock jaw

Wow fishing has been super tough this year. With the lack of rain, low water and unusually warm air temps we are still stuck in a late fall pattern of fishing. The stripers are FINALLY stacked up and can be pretty easy to catch on points and super deep chasing bait but the largemouth and smallmouth are harder to convince. With the extended forecast calling for no rain or snow and warming weather this month could be a hit or miss for bass fishermen.

Stripers are grouping up on most main lake points in schools of 15-30 fish. A ball head with a fluke, a jerk bait or a smaller Swimbaits are great choices for getting the schools to react. If you have front facing sonar just take the time to find the schools and rotate your spots. Your other option for stripers is fishing deep above the bride on the Roanoke side. Bait seemed to skip heading to the backs of the pockets this year and decided to stack up in 60-100 feet of water. A spoon is about the only thing you can toss at those fish but you can get some bigger bites.

The crappie are all over brush in 12-20 feet. If you have piles on the main river on either side they should be holding good fish right now. Live bait is always easiest or just a smaller gulp minnow can make it happen.

Smallmouth seem to be eating better then largemouth right now with a lot of tournaments have at least one smallie over 3lbs in a limit. On windy or cloudy days head to the lower end and focus on natural rock or long points. A jerkbait is your best bet until that water gets into the mid 40’s.

Largemouth are either eating a Crankbait or jerk bait great or not at all. Having a shaky head ready is key to getting some bites. A smaller jig is also an option. Fish very very slow in the rocks. Some bigger fish are coming off deeper docks on the main channel but you are having to cover a lot of water and fish slow which makes it tough.

This lake is an amazing fishery and with the fish being lock jawed for most of December it’s only a matter of time before pandoras box is opened. Keep an eye on the weather and if we get a 3-4 below freezing nights that may kick the fish into eating.