Ed Wall (left) of Collinsville had some great fishing on Aug. 17-18 in the Chesapeake Bay with guide Jorj Head (right). Sight-fishing around buoys, Wall, 69, hooked seven cobia and managed to boat these two beauties.

Mark Taylor is outdoors editor at The Roanoke Times.

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Mark Taylor

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Overview

The Labor Day weekend marks the unofficial end to summer, but the fish never seem to notice. September is clearly a transition month, but weather patterns can often have more of an impact than the calendar on fishing trends in determining when that transition gets going in earnest.

When the weather stays hot, summer fishing patterns can endure well into the month. But arriving cool fronts can speed along the transition to fall patterns.

Of course, it's rare that cool weather -- such as what we're seeing this week -- comes in and stays. Some more hot spells seem likely. So there will be fluctuation, with those back-and-forths making for generally challenging fishing conditions.

Lakes

Recreational boat traffic could be heavy this weekend on larger lakes, making for tough fishing.

The night bass tournament schedule is dwindling at Smith Mountain Lake. The timing is appropriate as the catches in those after-dark events are shrinking. Daytime catches are improving, with a recent tournament producing a 17-pound bag.

Carolina-rigged soft plastics are pulling bass from some main lake points, reports Dewayne Lamb at Captain's Quarters Marina. Plastics on heavy shaky heads are working off the ends of some deep docks. Stripers are still in deep schools in the mid-lake area, with live bait on downlines best for larger fish. Trolled Sutton Spoons and umbrella rigs are working OK, but producing mostly small fish.

At Claytor Lake, bass fishing remains pretty tough, reports Glendon Jones at Rockhouse Marina. Stripers are being found at depths of 30 to 40 feet.

Streams

Smallmouth fishing has been fair on the James and New rivers. Senkos, tubes and small hard minnows will catch smaller fish on both rivers. Tony Boggess at Pembroke Stop and Save reported hearing from an angler who caught some nice smallmouths on live madtoms in the New, but big fish have been fairly scarce.

Saltwater

The Outer Banks surf around Buxton has been producing a good mixed bag, including whiting, flounder and Spanish mackerel. Windy weather has kept the charter fleet in port for much of this week.