hello

i will be visiting smith mountain the middle of october and have never fished there before this time of year. i was hoping maybe someone could lead me to some info on places to try or what is going on this time of year. i assume they could be schooling, is there certain areas better than other? please im me with any suggestions and i would appreciate your help kindly. have a great fall season!

october is a particularly tough month on smith... not really positive why but if you look at tournament weights they are historically bad compared to the rest of the year... the state park area is usually productive year round.

You're going to want to use... well... most anything. In deep water... 10ft +...I have seen good production with jigs and T and C rigs. Most always in Green Pumpkin or Watermelon. From 5 to about 15 feet...Rattle traps or cranks moved slow just off the points. Shallow water, try gold blade spinners in chartreuse on a slow roll... just enough to keep it off the bottom. I throw usually 3/4 to 1oz but have had to work down to 1/4 sometimes to get the bite. Start with larger baits and work down until they bite. Should see some good sunrise and sunset action as the baitfish move to the surface. I have been told that there was much success last year with weightless flukes and wacky rigs in brush/cover. SML can be very difficult to read in fall. The temperature fluctuates so much there. Even now... Last Thursday... the water temp near the Dam was 68 and in Blackwater it was 73. Went up to the Hale's Ford area and it was 78.

hey thanks for the replies. i was planning on topwater early and late, just wasnt sure if they would be exploding all day this time of year. i have my eye on gills creek done good there other times, then just point bouncing all day. probably focus on main lakeandmaybe by dam as i have done good on those littlepoints leading up to the island above dam. might knock the dust off the arig as well