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Seasons of Stripers
How to catch striper in Smith Mountain Lake
If your want to catch stripers, you need to be fishing where the baits are hanging out. The baits location will be related to the water temperature they prefer and stripers should be close to proximity.
Stripers prefer water temperatures around 55 - 68 degrees. If the water is too hot, they may feed shallow occasionally, but quickly return to the oxygenated rich, cooler water. Same goes for extremely cold water. But between the extremes comes your best bet for some of the most exciting fishing fresh water has to offer.
Locating stripers in transition is a challenging task. "Here today, gone tomorrow," is how you can describe it. Any time of year when they are migrating or transitioning, they're searching out baitfish and water with the right temperature and oxygen content, but those two characteristics aren't the only things dictating their location.
Stripers can be finicky eaters during periods of transition. It's the one time that matching the hatch can make the difference between catching one or never getting a bite. A good general rule of thumb is use smaller lures or multi-lure rigs during the winter and spring months and go to larger baits in late spring and early fall. Stripers will be in transition twice during the year. Usually the beginning of October and again toward the end of April. Just watch your calendar and the water temperature and get in on some of the most exciting fishing in fresh water.
Stripers will be aggressive and shallow early and late feeding on baitfish in coves, pockets, points and flats. They can be viciously feeding on baitfish on top one moment then disappear the next. It doesn't mean they've stopped feeding or abandoned the area. In some cases, the baitfish move down in the water column and regroup while the stripers do the same.
Some techniques used throughout the year include down lining live bait, pulling live bait under planner boards at different depths, freelining live bait, and casting or jigging artificial.
FALL - October, November, December
In the fall as the water circulates from bottom to top and "turns over," stripers spread across the entire impoundment. During the turnover and shortly afterward, stripers are harder to catch as they migrate from one end of the lake to the other. But when things settle down, the fishing can be fantastic. On highland reservoirs like Smith Mountain Lake, turnover usually begins around the middle of September. It's during this season that stripers will travel toward the upper section and into major tributaries while feeding on big schools of baitfish. This is the best time for fishing with live bait on schooled stripers and topwater action on breaking stripers.
WINTER - January, February, March
During the colder months of Winter may just be some of the best striper fishing. Although the smaller fish become less active and they do not eat, the larger stripers seem to be less affected by the cold water. Striper usually slow down as water temperature goes below 48 degrees. They may become more active after the water temperature stabilizes. Keep your eye out for seagulls and you will likely find striper near their location. Aggressive diving seagulls from above often mean stripers below. This a good time for casting and jigging artificial baits.
SPRING - April, May, June
In the spring as the water temperature begins to rise, stripers slowly begin transitioning from the upper section and major tributaries of the reservoir back toward the dam. Stripers migrate toward major tributaries and feeder creeks in search of schools of baitfish, which move into these areas to spawn and feed on plankton. These are the same areas they use in the fall when the agenda is to fatten up and simply stay alive. The month of April is the best time for casting artificial throughout the day for stripers and bass. It is also a great time to catch that trophy fish. During the spawn that occurs late April through May, live baits are best when fishing massive schools or "breaking fish" in the morning. During the month of June mostly live bait is used as the stripers will be hungry and aggressive.
SUMMER - July, August, September
During the summer months when the water is hotter than 70 degrees, stripers have no other habitat to migrate to except for the lower end of impoundments. These areas offer stripers the oxygenated, cooler water temperatures they require. Best time for lots of schooled stripers and vertical jigging live bait on half day morning trips.
