Cold winter weather and snow continue to dominate our weather, keeping water temperatures suppressed and contributing to the runoff that has muddied waters in many sections of the mid and upper lake. The current long term forecast is for more precipitation in the form of snow and wintry mix as fronts continue to move through our area from the west every couple of days. When it isn’t snowing or raining, the skies will be sunny to partly cloudy. Daytime high temperatures over the next several weeks will range from the mid 30’s and low 40’s during the day and will drop down into the mid 20’s at night. The next new moon will be on February 14^th and a first quarter moon on the 22^nd so there will be limited moonlight at night for the next several weeks. The lake is currently several feet below full pond and all public ramps are open. There continues to be a substantial amount of debris floating in the mid and upper sections of the Blackwater and Roanoke Rivers.

Winter fishing patterns continue and fishing for most species continues to be challenging. Cold winter weather continues to keep lake water temperatures below 40 degrees in most sections of the lake. Colder waters are keeping fish deep and have slowed their metabolism, making them far less active than in the spring and fall. Bass continue to be found suspended in submerged timber and drop offs, steep bluffs and along the sides of deep water points. While jigging spoons (Kastmaster, Hopkins, Cotton Cordell, Luhr Jensen), blade baits and flukes rigged on jigheads are conventional winter lures for suspended bass, more are being reported caught on drop shot rigs and selected deep diving jerk and crankbaits than other lures. Small minnow imitating plastics like the small Basstrix and flukes are working on drop shot rigs as are small light hair jigs presented deep below small floats.

Stripers are being caught on spoons and flukes as well, but many report spending increasing amounts of time on the water without much success. Most stripers are being located deep, sometimes as far down as 65 feet below the surface. Flukes on custom jigheads and jigging spoons are good choices for stripers and according to a number of striper fishermen have been producing better than live bait lately. Anglers trolling Umbrella rigs with both gas and electric motors are also catching stripers.

Crappie were caught during the last warm spell by anglers putting small minnows in submerged timber and brush on gold, thin wire hooks, but crappie fishing slowed when the colder weather moved into the area. Most crappie anglers reported having little success using small jigheads and plastic trailers as the bite was very light.

Winter bass tournaments continue to be held around the lake. The Smith Mountain Lake Bassmaster Club has two tournaments coming up which are open to all anglers. The first is on February 28 and the second on March 14^th. Their next club meeting is on February 17^th. Anyone interested in fishing in their open tournaments or in more information about the club should contact Travis on (540) 537-4390. The Region 5 B.A.S.S. Federation Nation Open Spring Classic is scheduled for February 20^th. This open event will be held at the Penhook ramp. Anyone interested in additional details can find them by going to their website, http://www.vabassregion5.com. The Smith Mountain Striper Club (SMSC) recently established the date for their first open tournament of the year. It will be a team event and is scheduled for April 3^rd. Questions about all SMSC tournaments should be directed to Frank Skillman, their tournament director on (540) 797-9958.

At the national level, this year’s BassMaster Classic will be held in several weeks. This year it will be held at Lay Lake near Birmingham, Alabama on February 19-21. Local bass tournament angler Jeff Freeman, from Max Meadows, has qualified through his performance in the Atlantic Division regional events to travel there and compete against the best bass anglers in the world. Congratulations, Jeff, and good luck at the Classic.

As many of you already know, the 2010 BassMaster Elite anglers will be returning to Smith Mountain Lake. The 2010 Blue Ridge Brawl will be held on April 15-18 and will be hosted by Parkway (Saunders) Marina. In the current format each of the professional Elite anglers will be accompanied, while competing, by an observer (marshal) who rides on their boat with them and has the opportunity to watch them fish. The Smith Mountain Lake/Bedford/Franklin County Fishing Tournament Committee has two marshal positions they plan to raffle off. The proceeds of the raffle will be used to support fishing events around the lake. The cost of each raffle ticket is expected to be $25, and they should soon be available in the Bedford, Franklin County and Smith Mountain Lake Visitor Centers as well as in the Virginia Outdoorsman. Other local merchants may also have tickets. Deadline for ticket sales is March 1^st.

New fishing products are arriving in the store each week. The new Skeet Reese series fishing rods, Jewell "Squirrel Head" finesse jigs, "Jeff Kriet" Big Bite Bait Squirrel Tail Worms, Spro Little John and Strike King XD crankbaits arrived early last week. Spoons by Kastmaster and Cordell, new Lucky Craft DD jerkbaits and new plastics by Roboworm and ZOOM are also available. If you want to check out the new fishing lures and products for 2010, stop in the Virginia Outdoorsman Sporting Goods shop for a look.

A number of people have expressed interest in our popular spring and summer workshops. The schedule will be finalized over the next couple of weeks, so if you are interested in attending, stop by or call the shop to verify your current email address. The workshop schedule will be distributed to our regular customers before we advertise it publicly. Seating is limited and the popular sessions often fill quickly, so if you are interested let us know.

While we continue to stock Arctic Armor cold weather gear in the popular red and Duckblind patterns, we will be reducing our inventory as we move toward spring. As most who have seen it know, it is the lightest, warmest, waterproof, breathable cold weather gear you will find and it will float the wearer should that person fall in the water. It is also less expensive than comparable cold weather clothing. If you are interested in seeing or picking up an Arctic Armor outfit or checking out the new lures and tackle for 2010, just stop by the shop whenever you are out our way.

We have increased our supply of ammunition, firearms and optics. For those who are buying firearms online, we continue to process all gun transfers for just $25, including the NICS fee. Just call us to have us send a copy of our FFL to the seller and we will call you when your firearm arrives.

We buy guns, trade guns and sell guns on consignment. If you have firearms you want to sell, just give us a call to make an appointment to discuss our different programs. We also pack and ship firearms that need to be sent to others within the USA for a very modest fee. We have special shipping permits and can send firearms to licensed (FFL) dealers in other states using the U.S. Postal Service (right next door). This insures accountability and conformance with local firearm laws and ordinances.

We continue to maintain our winter store schedule and are open from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and are closed on Sunday and Monday. 

More cold weather and precipitation is on the horizon, so stay warm and be careful whether you are heading out on the water or shoveling snow.

Mike Snead
Virginia Outdoorsman Sporting Goods and Guide Services
Smith Mountain Lake, VA

                                           

                                               

 

40 Village Springs Drive, Hardy VA 24101

 In Westlake Directly Across From Wendy’s On Rt 122
 (About 3 Miles South Of The Hales Ford Bridge)