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| Smith Lake Reports |
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| Smith July 2012 Fishing Report |
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| By AON Staff |
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Originally published in the July 2012 issue of AON
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Smith: Level: 0.3 feet below full pool. Temp: 82 degrees. Clarity: Clear.
Bass: Good at night. Rex Chambers reports, “Water levels are surprisingly high on Smith Lake for this time of year. June put the lake up around the yard swings for a week or so, and the fish went super shallow. July provides bass anglers with higher-than-normal lake levels, better-than-normal-bass bites and a weather forecast that is hard to beat. Hitting Smith Lake at night in search of those elusive bass is the way to go for July. You escape the heat, the pleasure boaters and jet skis, and all you have to worry about is making sure you have plenty of bug spray and plenty of spinnerbaits. A 3/4-oz. black-and-red spinnerbait with a No. 5 gold Colorado blade, trailed with a Zoom chunk in either chartreuse or pumpkin is just about all you need in July on Smith Lake. Either slow-roll or yo-yo the spinnerbait around docks, bluffs, points and blowdowns for some of the best bass fishing of the year. Alternate between the yo-yo technique and the slow-roll until you find just which retrieve the bass are wanting more. Dusk until daylight will provide you with plenty of time to throw the blades in search of monster spotted bass and largemouths alike. For those who aren’t accustomed to fighting the bugs at night, the early morning bite in July can sometimes be good. Find the long points, and make long casts with the Lucky Craft LC series 3.5XD in T.O. Shad color. This crankbait will dive 18 to 20 feet where the bigger spotted bass hang out early and can provide a great morning and afternoon bite. Summer tournaments are in full swing on Smith Lake. Dates and times can be found at www.smithlakebass.com.” Brent Crow said the daytime bite has gotten tough, but the night fishing is pretty good. If you want to fish during the day, fish the first hour and the last hour and a half of daylight. Crank deep ledges, points and humps in the 15- to 20-foot range with a deep crankbait like a Strike King 6XD or a Norman DD22. Brush or scattered rock will help your chances. A finesse worm on a shaky head can be a good fall-back bait if they won’t hit the crankbait. At night, it’s all about spinnerbaits, said Brent. Slow-roll a 1/2- to 3/4-oz. spinnerbait with a single Colorado blade in black and red or black and purple. Brent said to keep the bait in 25 feet of water, throw up to the bank and roll it out. The fish should hit somewhere between 5 and 15 feet. Look for rocky ledges and shallow brush.
Stripes: Guide Bill Vines reports, “Nighttime striper fishing has been very good for June, and should be just as good for July. The stripers are schooling up at the mouths of the major creeks and around the deep lighted piers. Look for bait on your depthfinder in these areas of the lake to find your stripers. To catch these stripers, fish live bait on downlines 25 to 35 feet deep or use 1-oz. jigging spoons and white bucktail jigs.”
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