Smith Mountain Lake September Fishing Report - September stands for S!
Who’s ready for fall??? The cooler weather is here early this year with nightly lows in the lower 60’s for the first week of September. The fish are moving every day and getting active. We had a somewhat hot summer but nothing compared to last years. Water temps topped out around 81-83 and at least for me that bass never really moved out that deep. Stripers seemed to do their normal summer time patterns heading down to the mid lake area but the smallmouth and largemouth never really made it out to the 25+ water depths. That is going to make for a quicker fall transitions into the backs of pockets to follow the bait.
The lake is fishing well right now. We have schooling fish on most main lake points and they are eating. For me i’m typically having clients throw a shaky head on the bottom or a swimbait up high for those cruising fish. Bait size is very important this time of year to match the hatch. Keep an eye on the size of the minnow the bass and stripers are pushing out of the water. I usually have clients start with a 2.8 swimbait on a 3/16 or 1/8oz dirty jigs guppie head. If I see a bigger bait I will jump to the 3.3 or 4.8 and increase my head size to a 1/4 since the plastic will cause extra life. For the shaky head I am going with light line since we have clear water right now. A 1/8 or 3/16 with a straight tail worm of you choice is hard to beat. Focus on deeper docks and transition points going into the pockets. Although there are bass in the back of pockets all ready most of the numbers are on the main lake or first 25% of a pocket making their way back. Lastly I would always have a topwater tied on and hanging off the side of the boat this time of year. Schools of bass and stripers will start coming up at any time during the day but are quick to go back down so keep your head on a swivel.
Stripers are schooled up together on main lake points, ditches and humps just like they were in August. However, that is going to change quickly with the water starting to cool overnight. Use your electronics to find schools of bait that may be moving into the backs of pockets because the stripers are close behind. Again like August, a simple hopkins 3/8oz or 1/2oz spoon on 15lb line is all you need. Find your schools of fish and rip that bait through them. Once one commits to the bait the rest of the school will follow. It’s also worth having a topwater at the ready when they bust the surface. A fluke can also be good.
Crappie are LOADED in the 25-35 foot range on brush and tree in the main river channel above the bridge. Live minnows are key. Take the time to graph with your electronics to get dialed on their locations.
If you’re down here with the kids it’s still a fantastic time to go bream fishing. Live bait from the tackle shops and a bobber are you best friend fishing off the docks.