Fishing report for June 6, 2013

The official first day of summer is still a couple weeks distant, but it sure feels like summer out there.

Fishing patterns, like the weather, seem to be transitioning into summer mode.

When reporting results of the Tuesday night tournament out of his Captain's Quarters Marina business at Smith Mountain Lake, Dewayne Lamb mentioned tactics that worked well for his tournament. They included using shaky head worms around docks and topwater poppers such as the Pop-R before dark, then switching to big soft plastics and fishing around structure and points after dark.

Sounds like summer, doesn't it?

The other summerlike occurrence is the seemingly daily threat of afternoon thunderstorms. If you head out in the afternoon, have rain gear handy and a plan for getting to cover should a nasty storm show up.

Lakes

Topwater poppers such as the Pop-R and Rico are working well for bass at dusk, reports Mike Burchett at Rock House Marina on Claytor Lake. Big fish have been pretty hard to come by, however. Chatterbaits and spinnerbaits are good choices after dark until the alewives come up, when Storm Thundersticks and similar plugs work well. Those wake baits have been especially good for taking midsized stripers.

Claytor catfish action also has been good, with live shad the best bait.

Alewives are coming up later and later each evening. Ralph Barton reported that the night plug bite is slowing down but Thundersticks will still take a few stripers and bass.

Stripers are still holding around the mouths of big creeks in the lower lake. Alewives and gizzard shad on planer board rigs have been working well, reports Dewayne Lamb. Fish over 30 inches have been scarce, however.

Catfish action has been good.

At Lake Moomaw, night fishing with submerged lights and shiners or alewives are taking some good brown trout.

Streams

Guide Andrew Fenstermaker of James River Outdoor Company reports that topwaters are tricking bass in the shallows of the James River, which is in great shape. Soft plastics around deep structure are also working.

The same kinds of tactics are working on the New River and its tributaries.

Delayed Harvest trout waters still have some good fish left.

Saltwater

Yellowfin tuna action has been great off the Outer Banks.

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