Thursday, July 22, 2010
Fishing report: July 22
Courtesy of Karl Uotinen
Karl Uotinen of Daleville caught this sleek Spanish mackerel on a spoon while fishing in the surf at Ocracoke Island during a recent vacation to North Carolina's Outer Banks.
Mark Taylor is outdoors editor at The Roanoke Times.
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Mark Taylor
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Overview
On a sultry summer day in Western Virginia, there are few better places for an angler to be than floating on one of the region's smallmouth bass rivers.
The James, New and Roanoke rivers all hold smallmouths, as do many of their tributaries.
Unlike largemouth bass, which slink to the depths and can be tough to coax into biting in the summer, smallmouths usually stay pretty active, even on the hottest days.
Live bait such as minnows and hellgrammites can be almost a sure thing, but smallish lures, such as spinners and grubs that imitate minnows or crayfish, are also excellent.
Summertime smallmouths can be found in riffles and also in bouldery runs. They prefer rocky cover to woody hideouts, but can be found around fallen trees when it's the best cover available.
Lakes
Mike Snead at the Virginia Outdoorsman reports that striper fishing has been excellent at Smith Mountain Lake.
The fish, which are schooled up around the mouths of creeks, will hit live bait or lures -- such as flukes on jig heads -- dropped into the schools. Warm water temperatures have made catching bait difficult, Snead said, but using live alewives isn't necessary. Snead said he had a great evening of action recently with his grandkids fishing with jumbo shiners.
Bass anglers probing deep brush with soft plastics and crankbaits are taking some decent largemouths.
At Claytor Lake bass fishing remains stable, with it taking about a 2-pound average to finish in the money at tournaments. Fishing around milfoil remains a key tactic.
Streams
Shawn Hash at Tangent Outfitters in Pembroke reports that river traffic from anglers and recreational floaters has been heavy, but smallmouth bass action remains good. The fish are hitting the normal summertime offerings, including soft stickbaits and small jerkbaits and crankbaits.
Anglers floating the James River are catching lots of smallish bass on spinners such as Joe's Flies and Rooster Tails.
Terrestrial flies such as ants and beetles are taking some trout from shady spots along the banks on the region's trout tailwaters.
Saltwater
Spadefish are plentiful around the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, but fishing is only so-so.
