Thread: Smith Mountain Lake

Well, now that I know I'm not booted from the site �� (thanks Bill & Slab) I just have to post this pic of our very first citation! Hubby (Bill) caught it with a lazy cast to some rocks at the bank in the shallows by a dock last Sunday. We grinned the whole rest of the day. We measured him at 15.5 inches but our scale wouldn't work right so didn't get a weight (at least we're pretty sure he weighed more than .087!)

We've had a couple great weekends at the lake (for us 'great' is more than 5 fish, we're still newbies) and got 16 nice keepers April 5th weekend and 25 keepers last weekend. We set our minimum at 10" for keeping so most were 10-13" or so. Sure worked hard for them though with fighting the wind (which is my job since I'm up front at the trolling motor, so hubby gets to just sit back and fish...lol) and trying to find them, took all day each day to get that many. Some were real shallow in about 3 fow and others were 6-8 feet down. All caught in the south end of the lake, we went to the north end, at Hardy Rd, a couple times but couldn't come up with anything, not even our usual good spots, but little ones so went back to launch at the south end and they were on the banks there but not the north. Water temp was a degree or two different. So we learn something all the time.

I know one thing, at least in this area, I've heard it said when the dogwoods are blooming the spawn is on but I found last year and this year that when the redbuds first show color, which is about 2 weeks before the dogwoods, is when the big ones are on the banks or at least in more shallow water in trees. By the time the dogwoods bloomed last year most of the ones caught at the banks that we saw or caught were smaller, around 10" or so. I'm anxious to get out this weekend and see what this weather has done.

Sure is a lot of learning to catching this fish!

Nice fish and a great dy also. Can't go wrong with that.