Stripers helped make the lake famous for its fishing but our waters also host excellent populations of largemouth and smallmouth bass, crappies and bluegills. Other gamefish of note dwell in the lake as well, and all have their followers. Channel catfish are found in the deeper points of the lake and there is a dedicated group of walleye hunters. Muskies, white bass, rock bass and redbreast sunfish round out the gamefish contingent.

Whether you're new to fishing or just new to the lake, a popular way to learn the ins and outs of our huge lake is hiring a pro. Our professional fishing guides are listed and linked below.

A Sport Fishing Expedition w/PointRunner
Captain Travis Fitzgerald
Phone Number: 540.836.0145

A Striper Adventure with The Shad Taxi
Captain Todd
Phone Number: 540.797.2528

Captain Bert's Fishin Charters & Waterfront Lodging
Pam or Daniel Berthiaume
Phone Number: 540.721.5788

Captain Earl's Fun Time Fishing
Earl Williams
Phone Number: 800.270.1687

Rockfish Adventures
Fitzgerald, Erik
Phone Number: 866.943.1125

Stone Mountain Guide Service
Goyne, John
Phone Number: 540.297.6898

Mike's Striper Guide Services
King, Mike
Phone Number: 540.980.7527

SML Guide Services
Dale Wilson
Phone Number: 540.297.5650

Price, Capt. Fred
To Fish On Striper Guide Charters
Phone Number: 540.721.4442

Rodbender Striper Guide Service
Capt. Steve Fitzgerald
Phone Number: 540.297.1982
800.820.2575

Trophy Stripers II Guide Service
Rudisill, James
Phone Number: 540.721.6780

Spike's Prime Time Fishin' Inc.
Spike & Kathy Franceshini
Phone Number: 540.297.5611

Trophy Stripers
Phone Number: 540.576.1174

Terrys Guide Service
Capt.Matt Terry
Phone Number: 540-309-3087


Fishing On Smith Mountain Lake And Surrounding Waters

You are up and on the lake early. The sky on the eastern horizon starts to lighten in anticipation of the coming daybreak. There is a slight mist blowing gently across the surface of the water and your boat is rocking slowly in the cool morning breeze. You’ve positioned your boat off a long point near the mouth of a large creek and the Roanoke River in the lower lake. The point extends out into the river over 100 yards and offers you a good view up and down the lake. As the sky brightens, Smith Mountain towers in the background and the lake starts to come to life. Geese fly down the creek and you can hear them pushing through the wind as they swing just overhead. You see several deer on the distant shore and hear the gobble of a turkey in the distance. You cast your favorite topwater plug up as far as you can toward the bank and start to work it back toward you with short jerks that make it sputter and spit water on the surface.

You work it half way to your boat when all of a sudden the water around it explodes as a large striper takes a swipe at it. Your plug is blown several feet into the air before it lands back on the surface of the water. You fight off the urge to pull your plug quickly back to your boat. You continue to retrieve it with short deliberate rod twitches when out of nowhere the striper returns crushing your plug in another surface explosion before taking it down out of sight. Your rod jerks in your hand and the line tightens, your drag starts to scream and you raise the rod tip to keep pressure on the fish as it heads for deeper water. As you hold on and try to recover some line, you notice the fish is pulling you and the front of your boat off the point and out into deeper water.

Your thoughts drift off for a moment as you marvel at the strength of this fish as he continues to pull the bow of your boat slowly across the water. You begin to think about the fish and how large it might be when all of a sudden you’re brought back to the present. You realize he is taking you into deeper water where there is standing timber submerged below the surface. He makes another run and this time he is headed straight down. Your heart starts to race as your drag starts to scream again. You put your thumb on your reel spool in an effort to slow this fish down. As the fish continues to dive deeper, you can feel your line rubbing against the limbs of trees that have been standing below the surface for over 30 years. All of a sudden, your line goes slack. He’s broken off….

Whether you enjoy the solitude of fishing for small native trout in mountain streams, catching trophy bass or stripers in large lakes and rivers or watching a child catch their first sunfish, you can find it all in Southwest Virginia. Fishing doesn’t get any better than on the waters in and around Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia. Let’s take a look at some of the opportunities available to anglers in the many lakes, ponds, rivers and small streams that abound in this area.

Smith Mountain Lake

This 22,000 acre lake, bordering the three counties of Bedford, Franklin and Pittsylvania with over 500 miles of shoreline, offers incredible angling opportunities. The most sought after species are black bass (largemouth and smallmouth), striped bass, catfish, crappie and sunfish. Largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, crappie, white perch, yellow perch, channel catfish, white catfish and flathead catfish are all maintained through natural reproduction. Striped bass cannot reproduce naturally in the lake, so the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries stocks over 350,000 striper fingerlings each year.

Black bass are the most sought after species in the lake with largemouth bass outnumbering smallmouth about 10 to 1. Boat docks can be found in most sections of the lake and provide a prime source of cover for largemouth bass. They seek cover and shade under and around docks for much of the year. In hot summer months bass move near the deep water found in the main channel and can be found off points. Natural cover including fallen trees, stump fields, natural rock points and shoals are also prime seasonal areas.

The second most sought after species is the striped bass. While they are distributed around the lake for much of the year, they school up in the deeper, cooler water found in the mid to lower sections of the lake in the summer (July- Sept). When the water cools, some stripers move up the lake in both the Roanoke and Blackwater Rivers seeking baitfish and remain there for much of the year. One of the greatest attributes of the striper fishery is the wide range of tackle and techniques that can be used to catch them. Stripers can be caught using live bait fished on freelines, downlines, floats, planer boards and bottom rigs. They can be caught trolling with downriggers, deep diving lures, leadcore line, planers and weighted umbrella or parachute rigs pulled with braided or monofilament line. Casting and retrieving topwater plugs, bucktails, shallow diving jerkbaits, swimbaits and flukes will also catch stripers as will jigging with spoons and lead headed jigs rigged with flukes. Stripers, like black bass, can be caught all year round. Many feel the best fishing at the lake is in the late fall, winter and early spring.

Flathead and channel catfish are abundant in the lake and flatheads in excess of 30 pounds are common. Occasionally, one weighing over 50 pounds is caught. Channel catfish like prepared “stinkbaits” while flatheads prefer live shiners, shad or bluegill. Crappie and yellow perch are two other species of fish often sought by anglers as they both make excellent table fare. Most are caught using small “crappie” minnows on #6 hooks and curly tailed grubs and tubes on small jigheads. If you just want to catch fish and have a great time doing so, try fishing for sunfish or carp. Sunfish can’t resist “red wiggler” worms presented below a float around a dock, and carp like prepared bait or a high quality canned corn fished on the bottom.

Fishing from a boat on this lake is preferred as most of the species sought are more readily caught from a boat and much of the shoreline is privately owned. There are several areas open to the public. These include the state park in Bedford County and the new Franklin County Park, which is under construction. Numerous boat rental businesses surround the lake including some that offer fishing boats with trolling motors and fishfinders. There are also several good local tackle shops in the area where you can obtain current fishing reports and purchase proven lures. A number of professional licensed fishing guides operate on the lake for those interested in a charter-fishing trip.

Leesville Lake

Located just below Smith Mountain Lake this 3,400 acre impoundment is used for pump-back water storage. The discharges from Smith Mountain create cooler water temperatures and dramatic water level fluctuations in the upper lake. This reduces the fish habitat and makes the lower portion of the lake a more productive fishery, so anglers should concentrate their efforts in the 5 miles of water above the dam. All of the species in Smith Mountain are also found in Leesville Lake. There are limited numbers of smallmouth bass in this reservoir but the largemouth bass population is very good. Leesville also has a good catfish population with channel and white catfish the dominant species. Large flathead and nice blue catfish are also caught quite frequently. This reservoir has received annual stockings of striped bass and walleye for a number of years and the state record striped bass was caught there several years ago. The walleye population is good and the fishery consistently produces nice sized fish. Walleye are generally caught using deep diving crankbaits, bottom bouncers and worm harnesses, often off deep-water points especially at night. Yellow perch, a cousin of the walleye, are also abundant and Leesville Lake provides some of the best perch fishing in the area.

James River

Running along the border of Bedford and Amherst Counties, the James River offers some excellent angling opportunities for those that like to wade or fish from a canoe or kayak. The James dominant gamefish is the smallmouth bass. They are often found in rapids, eddies below large rocks, along undercut banks with overhanging trees and along underwater drop-offs and ledges. There are a number of artificial baits that work great on this river including plastic hellgrammites, tubes, flukes, worms and the old stand by of river plastics the curly-tail grub. In addition, swimbaits, jerkbaits and spinner baits will produce good fish at times. One of the most recent baits to gain popularity for smallmouth on the James is the 9S Senko worm either deadsticked or drifted. Those who like to fly fish will also want to take their fly rod and a selection of topwater bugs, poppers and weighted tiny flukes along. The James is also a good channel and flathead catfish fishery. Muskie are stocked annually which has produced good musky populations in some sections of the river. Anglers seeking this species need to use special tackle and baits. There are many river launch and take out points along the James River and information about them is available through the VDGIF office in Forest.

Trout Streams

There are a number of nice trout streams within a half-hour or so of Smith Mountain Lake. These include stocked trout streams like the Pigg River and Runnett Bag Creek in Franklin County and Liberty Lake in Bedford County. For those who prefer wild trout streams, there are several worth considering. These include Hunting Creek and Overstreet Creek in Bedford County. It is important to recognize that wild trout streams are subject to special regulations and some sections are on private property and not open to the public. It is wise to call the area fishery office in Forest on (434) 525-7522 to check on the status of specific wild trout waters before fishing them.

There are additional fishing opportunities found in the numerous streams and ponds around Smith Mountain Lake. Local county, church and private groups frequently conduct fishing derbies for children during the summer months. There are also many fishing tournaments held throughout the year that are open to everyone. For additional information on fishing opportunities or tournaments, just contact one of the local tackle shops or Chamber of Commerce offices.

Mike Snead is a licensed USCG Captain who has fished in and around Smith Mountain Lake for over 20 years. He operates the Virginia Outdoorsman offering tournament tackle, outdoor sporting goods equipment, licenses and guide services. He can be reached at (540) 721-4867 or http://www.virginiaoutdoorsman.com.