Thursday, September 09, 2010
Fishing report
Courtesy of Wayne McGhee
Mark Taylor is outdoors editor at The Roanoke Times.
mark.taylor
@roanoke.com
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Mark Taylor
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Overview
Save for a little cloud cover on Wednesday, skies have been bright and blue across Western Virginia for a long spell. Rivers are flowing low and clear.
In short, that's a recipe for tough fishing.
Yet smallmouth bass action has been pretty solid, and will likely get even better over the next few weeks.
In the fishing world, timing is a key, and September is typically a magical month for smallmouth anglers.
The onset of fall brings waning daylight hours and cooling river temperatures, which trigger feeding urgency in smallmouths trying to pack in the food before the winter.
It's a great time to float a river in a canoe or beat up johnboat, stopping to wade and fishing likely spots. Because minnows are such an important food source this time of year, anything that imitates one should work well.
Lakes
Bass fishing remains pretty challenging on the region's larger lakes.
The night tournament season is winding down, with most regular weekly events either already having concluded or nearing their end.
Tournament regulars, who are some of the most accomplished anglers in the region, are picking up fish on a variety of patterns. Some are still pulling fish from deep brush and rock using Texas-rigged soft plastics. Finesse presentations, such as trick worms on shaky heads or drop-shot rigs are also working.
But even the best anglers are having trouble putting five-fish limits in the boat, and when they do those who can find a 4- or 5-pound kicker are almost assured a tourney win.
Stripers are providing a bright spot at both Claytor and Smith Mountain lakes.
John Zienius at Big Z's tackle shop in Radford said balls of bait fish near the lake's surface have been drawing stripers from the depths and producing good action.
At Smith Mountain Lake, trollers continue to pick up fish with umbrella rigs.
Streams
As mentioned in the overview, smallmouth action is good on area streams.
Zienius said deeper holes on the New River are producing some good catfish action.
Saltwater
Red Drum Tackle in Buxton reports excellent bluefish action at Cape Point over the past few days, with fish to 8 pounds.
