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Smith Mountain Lake Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Smith Mountain Lake: a 20,600-acre power-company reservoir that Virginia DWR manages for black bass and stocked striped bass.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Flow
182 cfs
Air / High
64 / 66 F
Wind
NE 7 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 02056000, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Smith Mountain Lake lines up a genuinely fishable day across the board. The main inflow is running 182 cfs, falling. Today brings clear skies, wind NE around 7 mph, steady pressure near 1025 hPa and a high of 66. Water sits around 74 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:53 AM-11:53 AM and 10:21 PM-12:21 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Striped bassExcellent

Use electronics to find shad schools in open water, and watch for birds working over bait.

MuskellungeExcellent

Main open-water season: cast or troll large bucktails, spoons and plugs along weed edges and other cover where muskies wait in ambush.

Largemouth bassGood

The main feeding season after the spawn: work moving baits along weed edges, points and wood, and follow up with a soft plastic where a fish swirls.

Catfish (blue, channel)Good

Spawning season from late May into summer: Iowa DNR suggests drifting bait under a float along riprap and snags where males guard nests in cavities.

Smallmouth bassGood

Post-spawn and summer feeding: cover rock, wood and current breaks with crankbaits, jigs and tubes, and use live crayfish, minnows or hellgrammites where bait is the plan.

CrappieFair

Early in this band crappie are spawning in protected coves; afterward they move to docks, brush piles and standing timber near deeper water.

Tomorrow: Similar at 62 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

Virginia requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $23.00 for residents. What a Virginia licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing largemouth bass here? Check the size and bag limits with DWR before you keep anything. The season dates for Virginia, read off the agency, are on the Virginia seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings from ROANOKE RIVER AT NIAGARA, VA (inflow).

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 02056000.

7201,8432,966182 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp64 F
High / Low66 / 36 F
WindNE 7-10 mph
Pressure1024.5 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain4% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:33 / 18:31
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~74 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Smith Mountain Lake this week

The best day on Smith Mountain Lake this week looks like Saturday Oct 24, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Saturday, Oct 24 β€” good at 4/5, steady pressure, neither help nor hindrance.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
9:53 AM-11:53 AM and 10:21 PM-12:21 AM
Minor period
4:15 AM-5:15 AM
Sun
07:33 to 18:31
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Clear, 8 mph
Rain chance
0%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Smith Mountain Lake: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: the spring pre-spawn and the fall feed

A warm-water sunfish of lakes, reservoirs, ponds and slow river backwaters that holds tight to cover: weeds, logs, rock ledges and docks. In Texas, TPWD surveys rank it "by far" the freshwater fish anglers most want to catch. The main feeding season after the spawn: work moving baits along weed edges, points and wood, and follow up with a soft plastic where a fish swirls.

Striped bass illustration

Striped bass

Best: spring and fall inland; on the coast, during the seasonal migrations

The largest of the temperate basses, a sea-run fish of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts that now also lives in reservoirs across much of the country after hatchery stocking. Inland, it follows schools of shad and herring through open water. Use electronics to find shad schools in open water, and watch for birds working over bait.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Year-round, best at dusk and after dark

Three big catfish share most of the country's rivers and reservoirs: the channel catfish, the most widespread; the blue catfish, the largest; and the flathead, which hunts live fish. All feed mostly on or near the bottom. Spawning season from late May into summer: Iowa DNR suggests drifting bait under a float along riprap and snags where males guard nests in cavities.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: the spring spawn; summer around docks, brush and the thermocline

Two slab-sided panfish, the white crappie and the black crappie, that gather around submerged timber, brush piles, docks and bridge pilings in lakes, reservoirs and slow river backwaters. Texas Parks and Wildlife counts crappie as the state's most popular panfish. Early in this band crappie are spawning in protected coves; afterward they move to docks, brush piles and standing timber near deeper water.

Smallmouth bass illustration

Smallmouth bass

Best: spring and fall, when bigger fish come shallow

A bronze-brown black bass of clear, cool streams and rocky lakes, with dark vertical bars instead of a side stripe. Michigan DNR says its southeastern coast, from Port Huron to Lake Erie, is known nationally for both the size and the number of its smallmouth. Post-spawn and summer feeding: cover rock, wood and current breaks with crankbaits, jigs and tubes, and use live crayfish, minnows or hellgrammites where bait is the plan.

Muskellunge illustration

Muskellunge

Fished from late spring into late fall where seasons allow

Muskellunge are solitary, fish-eating ambush predators of the pike family, holding in weed beds and other cover in lakes and rivers of the Great Lakes, upper Mississippi and Ohio basins. Main open-water season: cast or troll large bucktails, spoons and plugs along weed edges and other cover where muskies wait in ambush.

When to come: the Smith Mountain Lake calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Largemouth bass
Striped bass
Catfish (blue, channel)
Crappie
Smallmouth bass
Muskellunge
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 74 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~74 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Smith Mountain Lake today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 74 F, wind to 7 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Largemouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 72 F, wind to 7 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Largemouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 77 F, wind to 8 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

Virginia requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Virginia fishing license. 2026 Freshwater Fishing Digest: black bass 5 a day, only 2 under 14 inches; striped bass 2 a day, with no fish of 30 to 40 inches kept from Nov. 1 to May 31 and no length limit from June 1 to Oct. 31; muskellunge 1 a day, 40-inch minimum. DWR's lake page still shows an older muskie rule (30 inches, 2 a day): follow the digest.

Access

Smith Mountain Lake State Park, 1235 State Park Road, Huddleston: boat ramp and accessible fishing pier. DWR also lists accessible fishing piers at Franklin County Park and the Oak Grove, Scruggs and Penhook public access facilities.

About this water

A 20,600-acre American Electric Power hydroelectric reservoir on the Roanoke and Blackwater arms, Bedford and Franklin counties, Virginia.

Fishing Smith Mountain Lake: the full guide

The lake

Virginia DWR describes Smith Mountain Lake as a 20,600-acre impoundment near Roanoke in Bedford and Franklin counties, built in the early 1960s and owned by American Electric Power for hydroelectric generation. Most of the shoreline is developed with homes; DWR warns of heavy boat traffic in summer and little competition in the cooler months.

Black bass

DWR calls black bass the most sought-after species here. Largemouth far outnumber smallmouth, which are more common in the lower lake, and DWR's spring electrofishing surveys typically produce many largemouth of 2 to 4 pounds. The highest largemouth densities are above the Hales Ford Bridge area on the Roanoke arm and above buoy B26 on the Blackwater arm, and the lake has hosted a Bassmaster Elite Series tournament for several years.

Stocked striped bass

Striped bass have been stocked since impoundment in 1963, because limited spawning habitat prevents natural reproduction. DWR says most are caught between the dam and buoy 64 on the Roanoke arm and up to buoy 40 on the Blackwater arm, that they gather in the lower lake in summer and early fall, and that many fish released in summer will not survive, so it asks anglers to stop fishing after reaching their limit in the summer months.

Other species

DWR lists channel, flathead and white catfish, quality crappie in limited numbers, abundant but small sunfish, and white perch throughout the lake. Musky fingerlings are stocked every year, but DWR says only a few muskies are caught, mostly by bass and striper anglers.

About the gauge

USGS has no gauge on the lake itself; the flow shown here is the Roanoke River at Niagara (02056000), the main inflow above the lake.

Common questions

Can I keep a big striper?

Not from November through May: striped bass from 30 to 40 inches must be released then. From June 1 to Oct. 31 there is no length limit; the limit is 2 a day all year.

Why not release stripers in summer?

DWR says many striped bass released in the summer months will not survive, so it asks anglers to stop once they reach their limit.

Where are most largemouth?

DWR finds the highest densities above the Hales Ford Bridge area on the Roanoke arm and above buoy B26 on the Blackwater arm, with docks, boathouses and coves among the best cover.

Is fishing good at Smith Mountain Lake right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Philpott Lake30 miNew River53 miClaytor Lake55 miLake Moomaw62 miJackson River63 miGreenbrier River72 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 02056000 β€” ROANOKE RIVER AT NIAGARA, VA (inflow)
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 15:45 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 37.0700, -79.6200 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 12, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 12, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.