Thursday, May 01, 2008
Outdoors overview
Mark Taylor
Mark Taylor's Outdoors column and notebook appears regularly in The Roanoke Times.
Recent columns
Overview
Many anglers' eyes are on Smith Mountain Lake heading into a big tournament weekend at the lake. Not only is the 20,000-acre reservoir hosting the 40th annual Cave Spring Optimists Tournament on Friday through Sunday, but the David Fritt's Outdoors Team Tournament Trail bass tourney is Saturday.
Because of the attention on the lake, it's going to get nearly all the attention in this week's fishing report.
Heavy rains over the weekend muddied the upper sections of the Roanoke and Blackwater arms. Water should clear somewhat by the weekend, but expect to find stained conditions up the rivers.
Water temperatures were around 70 degrees before the chilly weather of the past few days pushed temps back down again. With sunny weather forecast for the next couple of days, temperatures are climbing again.
As for the fishing, action should be pretty good for five of the six of the species included in the Optimists' tournament. As for the sixth, maybe someone will finally get lucky and break the 19-year drought on muskellunge.
Lakes
Action should be solid over the weekend for species included in the Optimists' tournament.
As is normal for this time of year, spawning alewives are hitting the banks at night in a ritual that shapes much of the fishing action at the lake -- especially for large predators such as largemouth, smallmouth and striped bass.
Throwing big plugs at the banks has, year after year, produced some of the top catches in the Optimists' tournament.
Although veteran pluggers have their favorite lures -- among them big Rapalas, jointed Thundersticks and Redfins -- the key is getting the bait in front of fish, which is often just a matter of making lots of casts. Most anglers retrieve the lures slowly waking under the surface.
The technique will produce the occasional flathead catfish, but most catfish fanatics prefer to baitfish likely areas with live shad or sunfish.
Most crappies have spawned and have moved off the banks. They are holding around docks at depths of 8-10 feet.
A new moon is coming Monday, so sight fishing could turn up some largemouth and smallmouth bass on spawning beds.
Streams
High flows on the James River have halted smallmouth action, but fishing is good on the New River. Stocked streams are producing good trout fishing.
Saltwater
A few big bluefish and red drum are showing up at Cape Point near Buxton on the Outer Banks.
