Thursday, August 28, 2008
Fishing report
Mark Taylor
Mark Taylor's Outdoors column and notebook appears regularly in The Roanoke Times.
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Overview
In last week's report, I wrote that weekend fishing prospects could hinge on what would happen with tropical system Fay.
That wasn't wrong -- just a week early.
And now we know that Fay will indeed shape fishing in Western Virginia for a while.
In the short term, streams have been rising fast since the heavy rain arrived Wednesday. At this writing, the only streams in the region that aren't blown out are tailwaters directly below dams.
Once the rain stops, smaller waters will be the first to become fishable. Barring follow-on thunderstorms, those creeks will probably be in decent shape by the weekend. Larger streams will take longer to rebound, but should provide action before the weekend is over.
For the longer term, this rain doesn't mean drought worries are over. However, it is great news for water levels at lakes and ponds that were really starting to suffer due to the drought. The biggest impact on fishing will be that boating access should improve at least for a while.
Now it's time to start watching Gustav.
Lakes
At Smith Mountain Lake, bass fishing has been tough, reports Mike Snead at the Virginia Outdoorsman. Fish had been scattered and it was difficult to find a consistent pattern. Creeks and the upper ends of the lake's main river arms will certainly be heavily stained from the rain.
Stripers remain bunched in the mid-lake area, where trolling is taking some fish. Live bait fished in treetops has also been effective.
John Zienius at Big Z's in Radford reports that bass action has been slow at Claytor Lake.
Streams
Despite paltry flows prior to this week's rain, the New River had been producing some decent smallmouth bass action. Guide Tom Maynard of New River Angler reported that popping bugs produced several nice smallmouths on Tuesday. Zienius said a customer reported six bass topping 17 inches, including a 22-incher. But those fish came over several days of intense fishing.
James River smallmouth action has also been OK.
Look for bass fishing to be good in both rivers once they drop into fishable shape.
Tailwaters such as the Smith and Jackson rivers should offer decent trout action. Just make sure to check flows in case dam release levels are increased.
Saltwater
The big news on the Outer Banks is that barriers have finally been dropped to allow driving out to Cape Point near Buxton. Red Drum Tackle reports excellent Spanish mackerel action at the Point.
