Smith Mountain Lake December - Biggest Cold Snap in 50 years!

Sorry, i’ve been a little MIA this report guys. I had lots of travel and family time. The fishing has been slightly off at SML this fall. The AEP crew dropped the water for an incoming hurricane that never showed up and that threw the fish for a loop for sure. Now that we are in a true winter temperature the fishing is about to get much much much better. Largemouth and Smallmouth fishing will good with lots of very big fish being caught daily. It will fish a little slower for numbers but the size will be some of the biggest for the entire year. Stripers are chasing bait both on main lake points and also in the main river channel sometimes as deep as 80 feet. Crappie fishing is lights out right now with big fish being caught out of secondary and main lake brush.

Baits for largemouth and smallmouth should mostly be shad based as they are chasing around the shad stun bite. This occurs when the water temps fall below 50 degrees. On a super cold night the shad that are higher in the water column will become stunned the following day. It’s easy to spot because birds will be everywhere. This is the best time to be fishing a jerkbait. Be sure to get an eye on how big the shad are to match your jerkbait size. This is also an amazing time to fish a spoon. A damiki rig can be a great follow up bait this time of year as well to target fish that are hanging lower in the water like 30-60 feet. Another great bait for the dead of winter is pulling around a football jig as slow as you can. Focus on rock and steep banks during the next few months.

Stripers will be mainly chasing large bait balls around on points and the main river channel. This is a great time to learn how to use either you 2D A-Scope or your front facing sonar as these fish are going to be moving around a lot. A heavy spoon is about all you need to catch some fun striper fish or grab a 3/8 or 1/2 jig head with a fluke and just slow reel it through those giant schools of fish. On a shad stun morning you can also target those bigger fish with a jerkbait to get those super aggressive bites. This time of year up the Roanoke river or Blackwater river on the bluff walls is a great place to start on.

Crappie are LOADED in brush right now. If you have livescope its game on for some slabs. A minnow and a bobber is all you need but you can also just any type of artificial crappie bait to load the cooler. I hope everyone has an amazing Merry Christmas and New Year!