Water Temperature: 83 degrees                                                          Water Clarity: Good

The temperatures will remain seasonally warm this week with highs exceeding 90 degrees early in the week and reaching into the upper 80’s each day thereafter. The low temperature at night will be in the 60’s. The Smith Mountain Lake surface water temperature is around 83 degrees and on warm days will climb a degree or two by late afternoon. The continued warm air temperatures are heating both the surface water and waters beneath the surface. This is pushing baitfish and other species that prefer cooler water, like the striped bass, into deeper water that is colder and has good oxygen content. The increasing surface water temperatures have stimulated changes in the patterns and locations of many species and that will continue as we move into the warmest summer months. We will have sunny to partly cloudy skies most days this week with a good chance of scattered thunderstorms in the late afternoon and evenings. With a full moon late last week, there will be good light on the water at night. The next third quarter moon will be this Friday, July 25th.
 
The bass fishing continued to be good this past week although tournament weights were a little less than last week. There is still a topwater bite early in the morning and Rico’s and Pop-r’s are producing nice fish. Buzzbaits, like those by Pulsator are also working as are spinner baits when it is windy. The spinnerbait  imitates shad and small panfish. When imitating shad, the spinnerbait skirt should be of a color that is similar to the color of the fish being imitated, like pearl or white with light blue flecks. Some fish continue to be caught in relatively shallow water using the shakey head, particularly in shady areas around docks. Tru-tungsten, Giggy Head and Owner jigs are good jighead choices. Shakey head worms by Gambler, Roboworm, Deep Creek and ZOOM are all producing fish. Pig and jigs are also working on shallow fish. Most of these baits are imitating crawfish and they change colors frequently. I suggest you check with your local tackle shop for the best colors of plastics to use. We still catch crawfish every week and bring them to the shop to help us determine the best color plastic trailer or worm to recommend. Last week the crawfish were a light green pumpkin base color with a little red in their craws. It will likely be a little different this week. Yamasenko worms are also working, especially when wacky-rigged and presented off pilings on deep water docks.
 
Many bass have pulled back into deeper cooler water. These fish are often found on points or humps with natural rock and submerged brush piles. They can be caught using a variety of different lures including both Carolina and Texas rigged plastics. V&M, ZOOM and Deep Creek worms, lizards and creature baits are all producing fish. Deep-water crankbaits are also working and should continue to produce all summer. Lures by Bandit, Bomber, Rapala and others that get down deep are good choices. You want to run these crankbaits across the tops of brush and into other structure, so it deflects when it makes contact. Jigs are also a good choice for deeper water fish on rock, especially jigs with football heads.
 
Participation at local tournaments was good this past week with fields of 20 or more boats common. The team of Mayhew and Mitchell claimed first place in the Tuesday night event with a total weight of 16.90 pounds. They also brought the big fish weighing 5.90 pounds to the scale. The Friday night tournament out of the State Park was won by the team of Mike Johnson and Glen Sink with a five fish weight of 16.70 pounds. The team of Jacob Bumgardner and Jonathan Bryant caught a 5.46 pound largemouth Friday night to claim big fish honors. The State Park Friday night event will not be held next week, but will resume the following Friday, August 1st. Glen Sink had a great weekend tournament fishing as in addition to winning on Friday night he teamed up with Jim McCullough to win again Saturday night at the Foxport tournament. Their total team weight was  19.00 pounds Saturday. Tracey Bowles and Kenny Newton caught the big fish Saturday night weighing 6.95 pounds. The Saturday night event out of Foxport will be held next week, and there will be an all night event out of Sportsmans that same evening. The all night event will run from 8 pm until 8 am. The Sunday morning tournament series out of the Hardy Road state ramp kicked off the second half of their trail this past week. The event was won by the team of Johnny Stutts and Jason Otey with a total weight of 14 pounds 7 ounces. Johnny and Jason also caught the big fish of the tournament weighing 4.5 pounds. For information about local tournaments, just call the Virginia Outdoorsman on 540-721-4867.
 
Striper fishing was good this past week for anglers using live bait on downlines and shot lines. Fish were found in numerous locations in the mid and lower lake, often in deep water close to the bottom or down in submerged trees. Small shad and store-bought shiners both produced good fish. Some had success jigging for stripers using the Virginia Outdoorsman custom jigheads with ZOOM Salty Super Flukes. Stripers were also caught by anglers trolling Sutton spoons, plastic swim shad (Storm, Calcutta), sassy shad and Umbrella rigs (Urigs). Chartreuse curly tailed grubs and sassy shad have been good rig colors, as have both light blue and white sassy shad.  
 
The catfish bite continues to be strong with stinkbaits, nightcrawlers, shad and live bluegill all working. This week we are running a “Crappie Workshop” this Thursday night, July 24th that will focus on the selection and use of artificial lures. Attendance is limited. The workshop costs $20 per person. For more details or to reserve a seat call the Virginia Outdoorsman on (540) 721-4867.

Good luck and tight lines.