Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 1, 1990 TAG: 9006020446
SECTION: SMITH MOUNTAIN TIMES PAGE: SM-5 EDITION: BEDFORD
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN OUTDOOR EDITOR
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
It normally is a prime time to make some hefty catches, but many anglers at Smith Mountain Lake are discovering tough fishing when it should be easy.
Most of the bass appear to have spawned, but they are yet to take up reliable post-spawn patterns, said Ron Lazenby.
The fisherman able to unravel the riddle of where the bass are and what they are eating will be the ones who finish in the money Saturday during the Bay Roc Marina Fishing Team tournament, said Lazenby, the tournament chairman.
"I personally feel like it is going to be pretty tough, unless the weather makes a real break and the bass go back to eating," he said.
Lazenby predicts it will take 14 to 16 pounds to win the tournament, and the top team will have to catch a couple of 3- to 4-pounders to put such a total together.
Most of the fish likely will come from the middle-to-lower end of the lake, because of highly discolored water in the upper Roanoke and Blackwater river arms, following recent rains.
Even with challenging conditions, interest in the seventh annual contest is higher than ever, said Lazenby, who expects 75 to 85 two-person teams. A co-sponsor is Cajun bass boats.
What makes the tournament enticing is the $60-per team entry fee, about $40 less than many tournaments on the lake, and the 100-percent pay back, he said. That and the fact that earlier tournaments have turned up some excellent catches.
Contest headquarters is Bay Roc Marina at Hardy. Registration is between 5 and 6:30 a.m. Saturday. The first flight is 7 a.m.
Much of the lake's striped bass fishing is found in the lower lake. The after-dark hours - 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. - often are most productive.
Very few citation-size fish of any species have been registered the past week.
by CNB