Thursday, May 15, 2008
Fishing report
Mark Taylor
Mark Taylor's Outdoors column and notebook appears regularly in The Roanoke Times.
Recent columns
Overview
During a recent kids fishing excursion to a friend's pond, I found the water along one bank extra muddy -- the kind of thing you'd see at a big lake on a wave-whipped clay bank.
But there was no wind.
The turbidity was caused by sunfish that had stirred up the bottom in a spawning frenzy.
Let's just say the kids got a little spoiled by the fast action.
With seasonably warm weather predicted leading up to Monday's full moon, look for a major wave of sunfish spawning action over the coming few days. Remember, bass are members of the sunfish family, so you'll find plenty of largemouths on beds, too.
Bluegills, redears and similar panfish often spawn in colonies. So where you find one nest, you'll probably find many more. If the water is relatively clear the pie-plate sized depressions are easy to spot in the shallows. If the water is turbid, you can often find colonies with your nose because of the strong fishy smell.
It's pretty much impossible to overharvest those species so don't feel guilty about taking home a mess.
Lakes
Action has been mixed at Smith Mountain Lake, reports the Virginia Outdoorsman's Mike Snead, who notes that water temperatures have fallen from recent cool weather.
Striper action is just fair, while the night topwater bite is still producing some decent bass catches. Big plugs are also resulting in a surprising number of flathead catfish. Both Snead and avid cat angler Travis Patsell of Vinton report that catfishing has been solid in general.
Action for stripers and hybrids has slowed some at Claytor Lake, but fishing is still pretty good. Finesse tactics are taking some good smallmouths on the lake's lower end, reports Mike Burchett at Rockhouse Marina.
Sunfish action is good on lakes and ponds, where fish on spawning beds will hit just about any small bait or lure that invades their space.
Streams
Trout stocking is slowing down significantly, but plenty of fish are still available in most waters. Recent rains that raised water levels helped spread fish out in streams.
Smallmouth action has been fair on the New River, reports John Zienius with Big Z's tackle shop in Radford. Plenty of small muskies are also keeping things interesting for bass anglers.
Saltwater
Some good-sized bluefish were available to surf anglers on the Outer Banks before winds blew things out early this week. Tuna action has been good offshore on days when the charter fleet can get out.
Lakes
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Streams
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Saltwater
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