Mark Taylor

Mark Taylor's Outdoors column and notebook appears regularly in The Roanoke Times.

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• Waterfowl regulations announced
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• Fishing report

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Overview

The oppressive heat that gripped the region last week is finally letting up. But it gave us a good preview of what the next couple of months will hold.

And that's not too appealing.

"Hot and slow," is how Mike Burchett at Rockhouse Marina described things at Claytor Lake.

Most species of game fish don't like brutally hot weather any more than we do.

When the sun is high and temperatures top 90 degrees, they hunker down in the depths or, at the very least, in shady spots that can be tough to fish.

And even if you can reach them -- with a perfect skip cast under a dock, for example -- there's a good chance they won't be in the mood to bite.

There are exceptions, of course. Sometimes a big propbait can produce amazing midday action for stream smallmouths.

For the most part, anglers serious about catching fish during the heat of summer need to be on the water in the early morning, late evening or after dark.

Lakes

Bass fishing has been pretty slow on the region's lakes and ponds. Topwater lures will get bites early and late, while jigs and soft plastics will pull some fish from deep brush after dark.

At Smith Mountain Lake, a trio of female anglers from the Smith Mountain Striper Club had great striper action Tuesday morning on live bait on planer boards, reports club president Angie Behan. The women had eight fish up to 16 pounds. They were fishing with guide Dewayne Lamb, who was coming off a win in the club's Spring Fling tournament over the weekend. In the tournament, Lamb had two fish totaling 31.46 pounds.

Swimbaits are still producing decent nighttime striper action at Claytor Lake, reports Mike Burchett at Rockhouse Marina.

Streams

Stream conditions are all over the map across the region. Some waters have gotten big shots of water from heavy thunderstorms, while others have been largely spared.

The New River is one that's still running low and clear, and that's made for some tough smallmouth fishing, reports John Zienius at Big Z's in Radford.

Fishing has been slow on the James River, where the ongoing fish kill problems persist.

Stocked trout action is toast after the heat wave.

Saltwater

Kayakers and surfcasters are catching some nice cobia along North Carolina's Outer Banks, reports Red Drum Tackle.

Action has been good for small stripers around the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.