September / October 2015 Newsletter
In This Edition
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Club Board Members
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Committee Chairs
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Lake Clean-up
Cindy Turlington / Bob Rowe Club Photographer Bob Rowe Joe's Coffee Joe Wolf Christmas Party Rick Boettcher Tournaments Steve Nagel |
Upcoming Meetings & Events
Unless otherwise noted, Club meetings are held at 7pm, the 1st Friday of each month at the Moneta Community Center - in the back-side, lower-level of the Pharmacy building on Rucker Rd, just off VA-122. Visitors and New Members are always welcome.
September Club Meeting - 9/4
Understanding your Sonar - please submit (via e-mail or the Club's Facebook page), those sonar images which you are curious about and not sure what you are seeing. We will review & discuss various images to help each other better understand what we are seeing when out no the water. We will also get an update on late Summer fishing, and talk about preparation for Fall fishing.
October Club Meeting - 10/2
Speaker TBD. We will also be holding a mandatory "Captain's Meeting" for the Open Tournament which will be held the next day.
Striper Club Open Tournament - 10/3
The Club will be hosting an "open" tournament on Saturday, October 3rd. See additional information later in this newsletter
November Club Meeting - 11/6
Chili Night, Swap Meet, Annual Review & Board Elections
Club Christmas Party - 12/4
Join us for our annual Club Christmas party at Casa di' Amici. See additional details later in this newsletter.
September Club Meeting - 9/4
Understanding your Sonar - please submit (via e-mail or the Club's Facebook page), those sonar images which you are curious about and not sure what you are seeing. We will review & discuss various images to help each other better understand what we are seeing when out no the water. We will also get an update on late Summer fishing, and talk about preparation for Fall fishing.
October Club Meeting - 10/2
Speaker TBD. We will also be holding a mandatory "Captain's Meeting" for the Open Tournament which will be held the next day.
Striper Club Open Tournament - 10/3
The Club will be hosting an "open" tournament on Saturday, October 3rd. See additional information later in this newsletter
November Club Meeting - 11/6
Chili Night, Swap Meet, Annual Review & Board Elections
Club Christmas Party - 12/4
Join us for our annual Club Christmas party at Casa di' Amici. See additional details later in this newsletter.
President's Corner
By the time you read this we will be on the eve, or just past the "official" end of Summer - Labor Day. I nominate that we make the day after Labor Day a National Striper Fishing Holiday - the "We Get Our Lake Back" day! There will likely be a number of nice weekends remaining that will keep the jet-skis and wakeboard boats out, but with each passing day there will be fewer and fewer - the waters will be more and more calm.
For the live-bait crowd, fishing downlines with alewives will transition to pulling planer boards with big gizzards for many. The artificial guys an put their jigging rods away till winter and focus on covering water with trolling spreads and keep those top-water lures rigged at the ready. The striper will start to put on the feed-bag as they prepare for winter - and slowly but surely the bigger fish will start to show in more numbers and if we are lucky, surface breakings will become more frequent
Fall is nearing - not quite here, but you can almost smell it. The first weekend of October we will be holding our first "Open" tournament in three or four years. This is a good way to get folks in the striper community to come and and get involved with a Striper Club tournament. You should consider this tournament as a Club meeting - and be present, and greet, talk, mingle and make welcome those that come to the Captain's Meeting and the Check-in / Awards presentation just as you would greet guests at a regular meeting. This is an outreach tool for the Club and you as a member have a responsibility to help make that a success. So pair up with one, two or three or more of your Club buddies, plop down the entry fee (I don't want to hear any "I'm not good enough to win so I'm not going to participate - you never know what's going to grab a hold of your line if you don't try), participate in the event to have strong showing of Club members in the tourney (I'll be embarrassed for our Club - a FISHING Club, if there are more non-member participants than Club members), and then invite and encourage these guests to become a part of our group.
While still a bit away, in November the Board will be presenting the "State of the Union" - reporting out on the progress of the Club during the past year, including our financial status, and our outlook for the next year. We will also be holding Board elections in November as as is customary. I'd like each of you to give consideration to throwing your hat into the ring to serve a term as a Board member. I realize that many of you have served in the past - but your history & experience is valued and can be benefited from by the Club yet again. Many of you are new to the Club - and do not feel you have that history - well, your fresh thoughts and new ideas are just as important and what helps to invigorate the Club - you have a place here as well. If you think you might be interested but have questions, please pull me or any other Board member aside or drop one of us a call to talk about those questions. I think you'll find it can be a rewarding experience.
Fish On! - Mike Ward
For the live-bait crowd, fishing downlines with alewives will transition to pulling planer boards with big gizzards for many. The artificial guys an put their jigging rods away till winter and focus on covering water with trolling spreads and keep those top-water lures rigged at the ready. The striper will start to put on the feed-bag as they prepare for winter - and slowly but surely the bigger fish will start to show in more numbers and if we are lucky, surface breakings will become more frequent
Fall is nearing - not quite here, but you can almost smell it. The first weekend of October we will be holding our first "Open" tournament in three or four years. This is a good way to get folks in the striper community to come and and get involved with a Striper Club tournament. You should consider this tournament as a Club meeting - and be present, and greet, talk, mingle and make welcome those that come to the Captain's Meeting and the Check-in / Awards presentation just as you would greet guests at a regular meeting. This is an outreach tool for the Club and you as a member have a responsibility to help make that a success. So pair up with one, two or three or more of your Club buddies, plop down the entry fee (I don't want to hear any "I'm not good enough to win so I'm not going to participate - you never know what's going to grab a hold of your line if you don't try), participate in the event to have strong showing of Club members in the tourney (I'll be embarrassed for our Club - a FISHING Club, if there are more non-member participants than Club members), and then invite and encourage these guests to become a part of our group.
While still a bit away, in November the Board will be presenting the "State of the Union" - reporting out on the progress of the Club during the past year, including our financial status, and our outlook for the next year. We will also be holding Board elections in November as as is customary. I'd like each of you to give consideration to throwing your hat into the ring to serve a term as a Board member. I realize that many of you have served in the past - but your history & experience is valued and can be benefited from by the Club yet again. Many of you are new to the Club - and do not feel you have that history - well, your fresh thoughts and new ideas are just as important and what helps to invigorate the Club - you have a place here as well. If you think you might be interested but have questions, please pull me or any other Board member aside or drop one of us a call to talk about those questions. I think you'll find it can be a rewarding experience.
Fish On! - Mike Ward
July & August Meeting Overviews
Club members discuss recent fishing reports
In July we held a fish-fry and had an opportunity to socialize with each other without a formal structured meeting. We did of course share current fishing reports and discuss a few topics of interest to the group - such as the current lack of vegetation in the lack and the impact that could be having to the various fisheries. This is a topic which the Club will be talking more about in the coming months.
In August planned to have a representative from the Rescue Dive Team, but due to the Governor visiting SML a change of plans had to occur. As a result Mike Ward led a presentation on Late Summer Fishing, discussing tips, tactics and target locations for August & September. Live-bait tips such as using cool water pumped from deep (and well aerated) or cooled with ice water in bottles, and using approx 1 cup of water softener salt per 10 gal of tank water were covered. For the artificial crowd, we discussed various jigging setups
As with most of our recent Club meetings - both meetings were recorded and you will be able to view the meeting in its entirety once we have a chance to process and upload the material by going to the Meeting Videos & Notes section on the Club Website
- http://www.smithmountainstriperclub.com/meeting-videos--notes.html.
In August planned to have a representative from the Rescue Dive Team, but due to the Governor visiting SML a change of plans had to occur. As a result Mike Ward led a presentation on Late Summer Fishing, discussing tips, tactics and target locations for August & September. Live-bait tips such as using cool water pumped from deep (and well aerated) or cooled with ice water in bottles, and using approx 1 cup of water softener salt per 10 gal of tank water were covered. For the artificial crowd, we discussed various jigging setups
As with most of our recent Club meetings - both meetings were recorded and you will be able to view the meeting in its entirety once we have a chance to process and upload the material by going to the Meeting Videos & Notes section on the Club Website
- http://www.smithmountainstriperclub.com/meeting-videos--notes.html.
Striper Club Fall Open Tournament
On Saturday, October 3rd, we will hold our first Open tournament in several years. This tournament will be a boat/team-based 2-fish, Catch-Photo-Release model with a per-boat entry fee of $75, and an optional $25 Big Fish prize (100% payout on Big Fish).
80% of the Entry Fees will be paid out for Placing prizes. Multiple places will be awarded pending the number of entries. 10% of the entry fees will be used for one or more cash raffle prizes, presented to all those who are present at the check-in at the conclusion of the tournament.
There will be a mandatory Captain's Meeting as a part of the October Club meeting - so at least one representative from each team must be present at the Club meeting on Friday, October 2nd, 7pm to receive the Tournament Token Card and measuring device (or to discuss arrangements for the measuring device). Entries will be accepted up to the end of the Club meeting on Friday, Oct 2nd.
A copy of the Tournament Rules & Entry Form will be available on the the Club Website, and a copy will be included along with this newsletter.
We look forward to your participation and perhaps standing upon the winners podium!
80% of the Entry Fees will be paid out for Placing prizes. Multiple places will be awarded pending the number of entries. 10% of the entry fees will be used for one or more cash raffle prizes, presented to all those who are present at the check-in at the conclusion of the tournament.
There will be a mandatory Captain's Meeting as a part of the October Club meeting - so at least one representative from each team must be present at the Club meeting on Friday, October 2nd, 7pm to receive the Tournament Token Card and measuring device (or to discuss arrangements for the measuring device). Entries will be accepted up to the end of the Club meeting on Friday, Oct 2nd.
A copy of the Tournament Rules & Entry Form will be available on the the Club Website, and a copy will be included along with this newsletter.
We look forward to your participation and perhaps standing upon the winners podium!
Member Catches
Summer brought out a number of our members - and they were caught in the act. As always, we love to feature member catches - please submit yours - you can post them to the Club Facebook page, or send them to [email protected].
A Value in Striper Fishing
by Bruce Brenholdt
For much of the past 15 years living in North Carolina, I’ve been buying an annual non-resident Virginia fishing license - - at nearly $50.00 per year. We became official Virginia residents in 2015, so as soon as I had my VA driver’s license to prove my new residency status & address, I decided to check out the cost of a “lifetime” VA resident fishing license.
What a pleasant surprise - - for an old guy like me, a lifetime fresh & salt water fishing license was only $20. It was another $20 for a lifetime trout add-on, and another $5 for a permanent waiver of the annual salt water registration requirement. So for less than the $47.00 cost of my 2014 non-resident license (without any add-ons), I am now licensed for fresh, salt & trout water in VA for as long as I’m a resident. Lifetime licenses for non-residents are also available, but they seem a little pricey to me, especially now that I’m a VA resident.
And then came the best part. When my VA driver’s license arrived in the mail, it was a drab, dull, uninspiring design and color. The license from the VA Department of Game & Inland Fisheries, on the other hand, is a cool looking, multi-colored credit card style ID. A bargain is a bargain, so if you expect to be fishing in VA for several more years, take a look at a lifetime VA fishing license. If you are younger, then the upfront cost is more significant, but over a lifetime you will eliminate the renewal hassle and also save money. If you are a non-resident, then depending on your “permanence”, a lifetime or multi-year license may still save you some money & the renewal requirement.
The full resident and non-resident application forms and cost schedules for a lifetime VA license are available on-line at www.dgif.virginia.gov/licenses/lifetime. The resident lifetime license application form, the cost schedule for all age groups & the application instructions are reprinted below. You can even give your spouse a lifetime license as a gift!
For much of the past 15 years living in North Carolina, I’ve been buying an annual non-resident Virginia fishing license - - at nearly $50.00 per year. We became official Virginia residents in 2015, so as soon as I had my VA driver’s license to prove my new residency status & address, I decided to check out the cost of a “lifetime” VA resident fishing license.
What a pleasant surprise - - for an old guy like me, a lifetime fresh & salt water fishing license was only $20. It was another $20 for a lifetime trout add-on, and another $5 for a permanent waiver of the annual salt water registration requirement. So for less than the $47.00 cost of my 2014 non-resident license (without any add-ons), I am now licensed for fresh, salt & trout water in VA for as long as I’m a resident. Lifetime licenses for non-residents are also available, but they seem a little pricey to me, especially now that I’m a VA resident.
And then came the best part. When my VA driver’s license arrived in the mail, it was a drab, dull, uninspiring design and color. The license from the VA Department of Game & Inland Fisheries, on the other hand, is a cool looking, multi-colored credit card style ID. A bargain is a bargain, so if you expect to be fishing in VA for several more years, take a look at a lifetime VA fishing license. If you are younger, then the upfront cost is more significant, but over a lifetime you will eliminate the renewal hassle and also save money. If you are a non-resident, then depending on your “permanence”, a lifetime or multi-year license may still save you some money & the renewal requirement.
The full resident and non-resident application forms and cost schedules for a lifetime VA license are available on-line at www.dgif.virginia.gov/licenses/lifetime. The resident lifetime license application form, the cost schedule for all age groups & the application instructions are reprinted below. You can even give your spouse a lifetime license as a gift!
Welcome New Members
We'd like to take a moment to welcome our newest Members in the Smith Mountain Striper Club! Thus far in 2015 we've had 28 new members join the Club, and we want to say "Thank You & Welcome" to each of you. We look forward to your involvement in the Club.
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We always welcome new members to the Club and ask all our existing members to make a point of inviting a guest to a meeting or event so that they too can see what the Club is about and learn & share with us.
From now until the end of 2015, New Members can join the Club for 1/2 Price - $15 will provide membership for the balance of 2015, along with access to the Club Website's Member's only area, Newsletter, Discussion Forums and other member-only discounts such as 50% off Fitec Cast Nets, 10% off Rock Creek Planer boards and more!
From now until the end of 2015, New Members can join the Club for 1/2 Price - $15 will provide membership for the balance of 2015, along with access to the Club Website's Member's only area, Newsletter, Discussion Forums and other member-only discounts such as 50% off Fitec Cast Nets, 10% off Rock Creek Planer boards and more!
In Our Thoughts
Our condolences go out to the family of Club member Travis Graves in the recent loss of his 24 year old nephew, Michael Perry.
Our thoughts and prayers are also with an un-named long-term Club member who is battling cancer.
While not Club members, the terrible events of the previous week weigh heavily on all our hearts. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of Alison Parker & Adam Ward, and our best well wishes for a speedy recovery go out to Vickie Gardner.
In you are aware of a Club member (or their family member) who is experiencing sickness or has suffered a loss, please pass along the information to one of the Club board members so that we can reach out to let them know the Club is thinking of them and see if we can aide them in any way.
Our thoughts and prayers are also with an un-named long-term Club member who is battling cancer.
While not Club members, the terrible events of the previous week weigh heavily on all our hearts. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of Alison Parker & Adam Ward, and our best well wishes for a speedy recovery go out to Vickie Gardner.
In you are aware of a Club member (or their family member) who is experiencing sickness or has suffered a loss, please pass along the information to one of the Club board members so that we can reach out to let them know the Club is thinking of them and see if we can aide them in any way.
Opportunties for Competitive Fishing
While a lot of our members enjoy getting out for a relaxing day of fishing, others enjoy the thrill that a little competition brings with it. Those competitions that "sweeten" the pot with a chance for some winnings can make it even more interesting. For those interested in the competitive side, in addition to our own Club Open tournament on October 3rd, there are several other upcoming opportunities at SML, or in the region that you may want to check out.
Striper Mafia Tournament Series - 11/7/15; 12/5/15; 3/19/16 & 4/9/16 - Smith Mountain Lake. $60/boat entry fee per tournament with optional $20 Big Fish. 2-fish Catch-Photo-Release format. Details at http://www.smlstripermafia.com/tournament-series.html
The Striped Bass Challenge - December 5, 2015, Lake Murray SC. Registration deadline ends 8/31. Fees: Open Class - $150/boat, "Pro" Class - $500/boat. Many prizes and larger payouts (1st place is currently $14,000). Live-release & use of "Striper Tubes" encouraged. Details at
http://thestripedbasschallenge.com/index.html
The Smith Mountain Striper Club has no direct affiliation with these events, but is passing along the information for the interest of our members.
Striper Mafia Tournament Series - 11/7/15; 12/5/15; 3/19/16 & 4/9/16 - Smith Mountain Lake. $60/boat entry fee per tournament with optional $20 Big Fish. 2-fish Catch-Photo-Release format. Details at http://www.smlstripermafia.com/tournament-series.html
The Striped Bass Challenge - December 5, 2015, Lake Murray SC. Registration deadline ends 8/31. Fees: Open Class - $150/boat, "Pro" Class - $500/boat. Many prizes and larger payouts (1st place is currently $14,000). Live-release & use of "Striper Tubes" encouraged. Details at
http://thestripedbasschallenge.com/index.html
The Smith Mountain Striper Club has no direct affiliation with these events, but is passing along the information for the interest of our members.
My First Striper
by Joe Prinzinger
Editors Note: In August the Club had the opportunity to submit articles to be included in an upcoming edition of Lake Life magazine, or future printing in the Smith Mountain Eagle. Keep your eyes out on the newsstands for the articles from your fellow Club members. Below is one of those submissions that has been commandeered for our newsletter.
It was way back in the early 1990s, a friend and I were bass fishing early one morning in a cove down near the dam when all of a sudden the water exploded. There were really big fish jumping out of the water everywhere in the cove. The commotion was violent and the sound was like standing at the base of a really big water falls. In fact it looked like one of those specials on the National Geographic Channel where you cannot believe such things actually take place in nature.
We looked at each other and shouted cast. I had eight pound line on the rod and a bass lure which I quickly threw out. It hit the water and immediately had the biggest fish of my life on the end of the line. I went to pull the fish in and the line broke like it was made out of sewing thread. The exact same thing happened to my friend. At no time at all we had lost all our bass lures and the stripers kept breaking our fishing lines.
Now we looked at each other. What do we do? It still sounded like the bottom of a water falls and the water was exploding all around us. We needed more lures. At that time the only place you could get fishing lures was just about the bridge, halfway up the lake. Fortunately my boat was a bass boat with a 200 HP outboard. So off we went full bore up to the fishing supply store. The boat literally flew up the lake faster than the speed limit out on 122.
We ran into the store, pulled out some plastic and in a minute had a bunch of striper lures. Now we ran full bore back down to the dam. We flew into the cove and it was as quiet as could be. They had gone. We immediately decided to be back at the same spot tomorrow morning at the same time. But now we had an advantage. We had a whole day to prepare.
As the sun came up the next morning we were there floating in the middle of the exact same cove. Things were peaceful and the birds were singing. I was thinking what happened yesterday could never happen again when the water exploded. The sound was the same deafening noise as being at the bottom of Niagara Falls. But now we had striper lures and heaving lines on our rods. The first cast was amazing. The lure had not been in the water for a second when a striper hit it. It felt like a log had the line and the log was swimming off at a tremendous speed. But now I had the line that could handle the fish. Ten minutes later I had landed the biggest fish of my life. This amazing adventure went on for about forty five minutes and then all was still. They had left.
My friend and I just sat down in the boat and looked at each other. Had this really happened? We had heard of such “blow ups” but did not really believe anything like that could actually happen. For the next three weeks we were there every morning as the sun was about to rise and had the same experience. Then one morning the beautiful peaceful morning stayed peaceful and they had stopped coming to that cove. But one thing had changed permanently, I was hooked on striper fishing.
This, of course happened before the famous striper die-off. The great schools of stripers ended with the co-pod infections. Although DGIF has worked hard at restoring the great striper schools, the good old days of striper fish may never come back. Today there are times when the stripers still come up in schools to feed on shad but it does not sound like being at the bottom of a water falls. Still striper fishing is a very rewarding pursuit, one that I do almost every weekend of the year.
Editors Note: In August the Club had the opportunity to submit articles to be included in an upcoming edition of Lake Life magazine, or future printing in the Smith Mountain Eagle. Keep your eyes out on the newsstands for the articles from your fellow Club members. Below is one of those submissions that has been commandeered for our newsletter.
It was way back in the early 1990s, a friend and I were bass fishing early one morning in a cove down near the dam when all of a sudden the water exploded. There were really big fish jumping out of the water everywhere in the cove. The commotion was violent and the sound was like standing at the base of a really big water falls. In fact it looked like one of those specials on the National Geographic Channel where you cannot believe such things actually take place in nature.
We looked at each other and shouted cast. I had eight pound line on the rod and a bass lure which I quickly threw out. It hit the water and immediately had the biggest fish of my life on the end of the line. I went to pull the fish in and the line broke like it was made out of sewing thread. The exact same thing happened to my friend. At no time at all we had lost all our bass lures and the stripers kept breaking our fishing lines.
Now we looked at each other. What do we do? It still sounded like the bottom of a water falls and the water was exploding all around us. We needed more lures. At that time the only place you could get fishing lures was just about the bridge, halfway up the lake. Fortunately my boat was a bass boat with a 200 HP outboard. So off we went full bore up to the fishing supply store. The boat literally flew up the lake faster than the speed limit out on 122.
We ran into the store, pulled out some plastic and in a minute had a bunch of striper lures. Now we ran full bore back down to the dam. We flew into the cove and it was as quiet as could be. They had gone. We immediately decided to be back at the same spot tomorrow morning at the same time. But now we had an advantage. We had a whole day to prepare.
As the sun came up the next morning we were there floating in the middle of the exact same cove. Things were peaceful and the birds were singing. I was thinking what happened yesterday could never happen again when the water exploded. The sound was the same deafening noise as being at the bottom of Niagara Falls. But now we had striper lures and heaving lines on our rods. The first cast was amazing. The lure had not been in the water for a second when a striper hit it. It felt like a log had the line and the log was swimming off at a tremendous speed. But now I had the line that could handle the fish. Ten minutes later I had landed the biggest fish of my life. This amazing adventure went on for about forty five minutes and then all was still. They had left.
My friend and I just sat down in the boat and looked at each other. Had this really happened? We had heard of such “blow ups” but did not really believe anything like that could actually happen. For the next three weeks we were there every morning as the sun was about to rise and had the same experience. Then one morning the beautiful peaceful morning stayed peaceful and they had stopped coming to that cove. But one thing had changed permanently, I was hooked on striper fishing.
This, of course happened before the famous striper die-off. The great schools of stripers ended with the co-pod infections. Although DGIF has worked hard at restoring the great striper schools, the good old days of striper fish may never come back. Today there are times when the stripers still come up in schools to feed on shad but it does not sound like being at the bottom of a water falls. Still striper fishing is a very rewarding pursuit, one that I do almost every weekend of the year.
Smith Mountain Striper Club Christmas Party
We will hold our annual Christmas party this year again at Casa di' Amici, located in the "Moneta Town Center" off Hwy 122. The cost this year will be $15/person, which is a great deal for a wonderful meal and time to socialize with fellow Club members and their spouses / significant others.
We'll also spend some time "looking back" at 2015 - and taking time to recognize those that helped support the Club in it's activities during the year.
And.... if everyone has been really good this year.... Santa may just pay a visit with some goodies for all the little (and big) boys & girls!
The deadline to register and pay will be at our November meeting, but we will begin taking registrations at the September meeting. You can also submit your registration via e-mail and submit payment thought PayPal (using the Club's PayPal address - [email protected]).
We'll also spend some time "looking back" at 2015 - and taking time to recognize those that helped support the Club in it's activities during the year.
And.... if everyone has been really good this year.... Santa may just pay a visit with some goodies for all the little (and big) boys & girls!
The deadline to register and pay will be at our November meeting, but we will begin taking registrations at the September meeting. You can also submit your registration via e-mail and submit payment thought PayPal (using the Club's PayPal address - [email protected]).
2015 Fish Ladder
Bruce Brenholdt turned in an impressive summer striper to secure a spot on the Ladder - sneaking in to steal 4th place from Stephen Bartnett with a nice 35.5" fish that weighed 15 lbs, caught on the morning of 8/26.
As fall approaches and the fish begin to put on their feed-bag, don't forget to keep a camera ready to submit a pic of your catch from Smith Mountain or Leesville on a measuring device and secure a spot on the ladder. You can submit multiple fish throughout the year - but you can hold only one "rung" - so as you improve on your year's personal best you can improve your chances. Pictures can be submitted via e-mail to the Club's e-mail address ([email protected]), post to the the Club's Facebook page, or bring a copy to a meeting.
1st - Mike Ward - 38.25" caught on 4/9
2nd - Tyler Early - 37" caught on 4/4
3rd - Keith Matteson - 36.25" caught on 4/4
4th - Bruce Brenholdt - 35.5" caught on 8/26
5th - Stephen Bartnett - 34.5" - caught in the 1st days of January
6th - 10th - Plenty of room on the ladder to claim a spot....
1st - Mike Ward - 38.25" caught on 4/9
2nd - Tyler Early - 37" caught on 4/4
3rd - Keith Matteson - 36.25" caught on 4/4
4th - Bruce Brenholdt - 35.5" caught on 8/26
5th - Stephen Bartnett - 34.5" - caught in the 1st days of January
6th - 10th - Plenty of room on the ladder to claim a spot....
What Happened Here?
Board member Bruce Brenholdt poses this question on the Club's Discussion board:
"I've occasionally had small alewives get "nibbled on" from behind, leaving the hook & the head, but I don't recall ever having a big alewive get nailed quite like this (see picture of member Ron Aimonetti & his mangled bait). Is that a striper strike, a catfish frenzy, or a baracudda bite?"
What do you think? Pop over the the Discussion board and see what there members' thoughts are - and share your own. While you're there, post a report of your recent trip, or some tackle tips - or just join in the conversation - http://smsc-forums.proboards.com/thread/455/barracuda-bites
"I've occasionally had small alewives get "nibbled on" from behind, leaving the hook & the head, but I don't recall ever having a big alewive get nailed quite like this (see picture of member Ron Aimonetti & his mangled bait). Is that a striper strike, a catfish frenzy, or a baracudda bite?"
What do you think? Pop over the the Discussion board and see what there members' thoughts are - and share your own. While you're there, post a report of your recent trip, or some tackle tips - or just join in the conversation - http://smsc-forums.proboards.com/thread/455/barracuda-bites
Fishing Outlook for September & October
September and October are transition times for stripers on Smith Mountain Lake. We start on the tail of Summer, and end in the prime-time of Fall. As a transition occurs during this time - it can sometimes be challenging and frustrating to adapt to the fish movement changes.
In September, the fish will still be generally holding deep, and schooled up. On the Roanoke side, target the S-turns near the State Park on down below towards Sportsmans Marina. On the Blackwater side, the Three Islands area, the S-turns just above there - and around Christmas Tree island can always produce. Jigging (or dead-sticking) a fluke on a 3/8 - 3/4 oz jig head are popular artificial techniques, and down-lining alewives will generally yield fish. You may find that you need to downsize to smaller baits as the fish may be keyed in on "young of the year" alewives of gizzard shad.
As the water begins to cool and we enter October, the fish will begin to move back up the river arms, hungry from reduced feeding during the summer, ready to put on some weight for the coming winter. The mouths and inside main feeder creeks on the upper 1/2 to 1/3 of the lake on each river arm are good targets. The fish will have started to move out of the big schools and roam more independently, or in smaller packs. They will also move up higher in the water column thanks to the cooler water. As such, you may not mark as many fish on your sonar, when they are in fact there - sometimes you just need to fish it to find out.
October can also be a time for surface feedings - with young of the year gizzard shad in large numbers all over the surface on the upper river arms and backs of creeks, the striper can have a field day blitzing through this bait for a quick mean. Always keep a rod rigged with a top-water lure or swim-bait at the ready to cast to breaking fish if you come across them.
In September, the fish will still be generally holding deep, and schooled up. On the Roanoke side, target the S-turns near the State Park on down below towards Sportsmans Marina. On the Blackwater side, the Three Islands area, the S-turns just above there - and around Christmas Tree island can always produce. Jigging (or dead-sticking) a fluke on a 3/8 - 3/4 oz jig head are popular artificial techniques, and down-lining alewives will generally yield fish. You may find that you need to downsize to smaller baits as the fish may be keyed in on "young of the year" alewives of gizzard shad.
As the water begins to cool and we enter October, the fish will begin to move back up the river arms, hungry from reduced feeding during the summer, ready to put on some weight for the coming winter. The mouths and inside main feeder creeks on the upper 1/2 to 1/3 of the lake on each river arm are good targets. The fish will have started to move out of the big schools and roam more independently, or in smaller packs. They will also move up higher in the water column thanks to the cooler water. As such, you may not mark as many fish on your sonar, when they are in fact there - sometimes you just need to fish it to find out.
October can also be a time for surface feedings - with young of the year gizzard shad in large numbers all over the surface on the upper river arms and backs of creeks, the striper can have a field day blitzing through this bait for a quick mean. Always keep a rod rigged with a top-water lure or swim-bait at the ready to cast to breaking fish if you come across them.
Tackle Tip for September - Using the Right Sized Leader
One important aspect of live-bait presentation that is often overlooked is the size of the leader used. With the ever-present amount of timber on SML, we often have the tendency to want to up-size the leader to provide some protection against that timber if the fish tries to head to the safety of that cover.
However, when fishing smaller baits, a heavy leader can result in an unnatural movement of the bait. Thus, is is recommended to always use the lightest leader you can get away with in the given situation - even it means more carefully fighting the fish once hooked up.
However, when fishing smaller baits, a heavy leader can result in an unnatural movement of the bait. Thus, is is recommended to always use the lightest leader you can get away with in the given situation - even it means more carefully fighting the fish once hooked up.
Fishing Report - 8/1/15 - Now THIS Is What I'm Talking About!
Weather: mid-60's rising to low 80's, mostly sunny, slight breeze
Water: 84-85, visibility of just a few feet
Techniques: Medium, some large and one or two Jumbo Ales/bluebacks on 1/4 & 3/8 oz light-lines (2) and 2 oz downlines (6)
Locations Fished: Mid-lake channel & creek mouths on the Roanoke side
The family had been at this lake since Wednesday with some friends so I came on up Thursday night and worked from the lake Friday. Matt's friend that was up wanted to go fishing, so I decided that with the full moon, and the typical weekend crowd, I'd go catch alewifes Thursday night and it had the side benefit that I could get a few extra hours of sleep come Fri/Sat. Ales of small/medium size were VERY easy, but I had to work across several lights to get some larges and jumbos. Matt's friend that was up at the lake was VERY excited about striper fishing and even wanted to come along to catch bait, so I had 2 first mates with me for the evening.
Saturday rolled around and I had the boys up at 5:15a and we were on the water at 5:45. Looking back in my logs there had been fish very close to home this time of year the last several years, so I decided to spend a bit of time looking. Marked some scattered fish, enough that I thought we'd try and perhaps save some gas from running down the lake. We spent 30 minutes without marking anything again, and the bait was dying as soon as it crossed 20', so I packed it up and put the ol' Sea Hunt on plane pointed down-stream.
I pulled into one of the standard late Summer haunts and there were just a few boats already in there looking - we spent 15 minutes or so in search mode - looking at the mouth and then on back into the creek and even in a finger and some points where I've found them in the past - but did not seem more than a few scattered fish so we headed on down a bit further. Spotted Jay Baumgardner, one of our "new-again" Club members, who I'd not talked with in a while, so I stopped and chatted with him a few minutes and then idled on down a bit further looking - saw a decent number of scattered fish, and to keep the boys interest we dropped the trolling motor and put out bait.
Well, before long we had Matt's friend hooked up on his 1st striper! Though we definitely left him plenty of room for future personal bests :) Still, it was the biggest fish he's ever caught in his life, so that's cool - and it was still early. Well, Matt was next on deck - and had his chance soon enough...
Water: 84-85, visibility of just a few feet
Techniques: Medium, some large and one or two Jumbo Ales/bluebacks on 1/4 & 3/8 oz light-lines (2) and 2 oz downlines (6)
Locations Fished: Mid-lake channel & creek mouths on the Roanoke side
The family had been at this lake since Wednesday with some friends so I came on up Thursday night and worked from the lake Friday. Matt's friend that was up wanted to go fishing, so I decided that with the full moon, and the typical weekend crowd, I'd go catch alewifes Thursday night and it had the side benefit that I could get a few extra hours of sleep come Fri/Sat. Ales of small/medium size were VERY easy, but I had to work across several lights to get some larges and jumbos. Matt's friend that was up at the lake was VERY excited about striper fishing and even wanted to come along to catch bait, so I had 2 first mates with me for the evening.
Saturday rolled around and I had the boys up at 5:15a and we were on the water at 5:45. Looking back in my logs there had been fish very close to home this time of year the last several years, so I decided to spend a bit of time looking. Marked some scattered fish, enough that I thought we'd try and perhaps save some gas from running down the lake. We spent 30 minutes without marking anything again, and the bait was dying as soon as it crossed 20', so I packed it up and put the ol' Sea Hunt on plane pointed down-stream.
I pulled into one of the standard late Summer haunts and there were just a few boats already in there looking - we spent 15 minutes or so in search mode - looking at the mouth and then on back into the creek and even in a finger and some points where I've found them in the past - but did not seem more than a few scattered fish so we headed on down a bit further. Spotted Jay Baumgardner, one of our "new-again" Club members, who I'd not talked with in a while, so I stopped and chatted with him a few minutes and then idled on down a bit further looking - saw a decent number of scattered fish, and to keep the boys interest we dropped the trolling motor and put out bait.
Well, before long we had Matt's friend hooked up on his 1st striper! Though we definitely left him plenty of room for future personal bests :) Still, it was the biggest fish he's ever caught in his life, so that's cool - and it was still early. Well, Matt was next on deck - and had his chance soon enough...
We just kept pulling around in the area - the light-lines were getting almost all the attention - I think we got one on a down-line in the area - this after I had told my buddy earlier when talking with him that we'd gotten good action on downlines the other week so he re-rigged some of his rods..... Sorry about that Jay..... hope you left some light-lines out as well. We keep coming across small pods or a hand-ful of fish - some would hit - others wouldn't. But the boys stayed busy enough - I let them do the catching and the other would handle the netting, and then unhooking, for the fish we were keeping - if I saw it was a smaller one, sub 22" or so, I'd get it unhooked quickly and back in the water.
Things had gotten a bit slow when the back 1/4 oz light-line bent over just as we had hung 3 or 4 downlines in a tree. I thought it was hung as well until it pulled drag.... but was also tangled up in another line. I should have put this rod in Matt's buddy's hand but with the tangle I was trying to get it loose and then it was almost to the boat..... and of course it was our biggest of the day - 29" and 10 lbs..... sorry buddy.... I did let the boys pose with it though!
Around 9am I decided to pull up and go check another creek mouth - on my way I just had a feeling I should check the mouth of another creek that was on the way..... we dropped off plane and idled into the creek and a few hundred yards into the creek the screen blacked out. Chaos began as I leapt to the bow to drop the trolling motor, the boys and I started furiously hooking ales through the mouth and dropping them down to around 40' and trying not to step on my jaw that was on the floor of the boat watching the sonar screen with the biggest school I've seen in a few years.
It did not happen immediately, but quickly enough one of the down-rods bent to the water (I didn't even bother at that point trying to get out any light-lines, especially with the fish marking 30-60'). We got a small 3 lb or so striper to the boat and released when another rod went off. The boys stayed VERY busy for probably 10-15 min, though it seemed MUCH longer. I tried to get a jig down on them, but between trying to handle a few other things, as well as call Jay in on the fun (you'll learn not to have that phone on vibrate, huh.....), I missed at least 5 hits on the jig and then I had to help deal with a fish at the boat so I had to put the jigging rod away.
We were pulling back to the mouth of the creek and we moved off the school. As I tried to regroup I saw a boat near me towards the bank hook-up and he said he had gone over them - but I never found them after that - quickly there were 5 boats wide in the creek so someone should have found them - my guess, given the time of day, is we hit the fish schooling up and moving out of the creek into the main channel.
We called it a morning around 10:30 or so - heading back to the dock with some tired boys (and a tired Dad) - and 5 striper to clean..... We'll be eating good at lunch on Sunday!
It did not happen immediately, but quickly enough one of the down-rods bent to the water (I didn't even bother at that point trying to get out any light-lines, especially with the fish marking 30-60'). We got a small 3 lb or so striper to the boat and released when another rod went off. The boys stayed VERY busy for probably 10-15 min, though it seemed MUCH longer. I tried to get a jig down on them, but between trying to handle a few other things, as well as call Jay in on the fun (you'll learn not to have that phone on vibrate, huh.....), I missed at least 5 hits on the jig and then I had to help deal with a fish at the boat so I had to put the jigging rod away.
We were pulling back to the mouth of the creek and we moved off the school. As I tried to regroup I saw a boat near me towards the bank hook-up and he said he had gone over them - but I never found them after that - quickly there were 5 boats wide in the creek so someone should have found them - my guess, given the time of day, is we hit the fish schooling up and moving out of the creek into the main channel.
We called it a morning around 10:30 or so - heading back to the dock with some tired boys (and a tired Dad) - and 5 striper to clean..... We'll be eating good at lunch on Sunday!
Tackle Tip for October - Eheim EHFI-FIX
Anyone who has caught a fresh load of large gizzards (or even a bunch of small ones) has experienced the deluge of shad slime which quickly builds on your tank filter and can clog and ruin typical poly-fil filters if not rinsed well numerous times in the first several hours after catching bait.
A product is available which can help ease this hassle. A German company, Eheim, which specializes in products for the aquarium industry has a product called Eheim EHFI-FIX. This product which is essentially shredded plastic, resembles Easter basket grass, though is a bit more substantial. For bait-keeping applications, the EHIF-FIX is used as the first layer that water comes in contact with in your bait tank filter (or after the scale basket if you are using it - which you may not want to during the 1st hour or two after catching a load of gizzards). The EHFI-FIX does a great job of catching the majority of the shad-slime and even Shad poop, and it rinses clean very easily, allowing your filter-floss filters to last much longer, through many more usage cycles.
The EHFI-FIX also will last for a very long time - just rinsing it clean during filter cleanings and when emptying the tank after a trip. You can find EHFI-FIX at many Pet stores which carry Eheim aquarium products, or on-line.
A product is available which can help ease this hassle. A German company, Eheim, which specializes in products for the aquarium industry has a product called Eheim EHFI-FIX. This product which is essentially shredded plastic, resembles Easter basket grass, though is a bit more substantial. For bait-keeping applications, the EHIF-FIX is used as the first layer that water comes in contact with in your bait tank filter (or after the scale basket if you are using it - which you may not want to during the 1st hour or two after catching a load of gizzards). The EHFI-FIX does a great job of catching the majority of the shad-slime and even Shad poop, and it rinses clean very easily, allowing your filter-floss filters to last much longer, through many more usage cycles.
The EHFI-FIX also will last for a very long time - just rinsing it clean during filter cleanings and when emptying the tank after a trip. You can find EHFI-FIX at many Pet stores which carry Eheim aquarium products, or on-line.
Ignore the 2014 date in the form below - we'll eventually get around to updating that when we get a break in catching fish :)
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