Smith Lake March 18th

[deer0373]

My son's HS club has a tourney on Smith March 18th, out of the ramp at the dam (don't know the name of it). I used to fish Smith quite a bit (30 years ago) but haven't been on the lake at all in several years. Any ideas on what may work that time of year?

[Itismemc]

We'll be there too.

[Buccaneer]

My buddy has a place on the Ryan Creek side of the lake, Good Hope area. We go down there in March and generally it is a jerk bait and topwater whack fest. The lake has really changed over the years and lately the blueback herring seem to be the primary forage. I would think you could do well with a small swimbait like a Storm 360 GT or similar. Fish primary and secondary points leading into the back of the sloughs for spot and all the way into the back of the sloughs for green fish.

[deer0373]

Thanks for the tips! Kinda thought jerk bait and top water might be a decent bet.

[Itismemc]

This weekends not looking like too much fun.

[deer0373]

No it ain't. Practice hasn't gone well at all.

[bhambassin]

Did you go back out today?

[Itismemc]

Practice was terrible for just about everyone I talked to, one guy has a school
hes found and he's hoping they hungry tomorrow, I only saw one pic of a 4# plus, and we'll have a wet butt blast off, I think those later flights really have the advantage tomorrow

[mrlawler1]

How'd did this turn out and how was the fishing...? Curious cause I'll be down in a few weeks for a club tournament...

[deer0373]

Welllll, we practiced Wednesday and it was bad. Weather was rough (about 23 deg when we put in and ~15 mph wind). Water temp was between 53 and 55. We caught 1 fish and it was in the slot. Saturday's weather was nicer but fishing wasn't good (for us). No fish and only 1 significant bite on a swimbait. Out of about 250 anglers, 68 teams zeroed. There were several limits caught but most were small. Winning weight was 19.69 with a BF of 6 lbs.We were in flight 4 out of 10 and I agree. I think the guys with the later flights had a much better day after the water temp warmed up. It was 54 degrees when we hit our first spot and by the time we pulled off the lake it had warmed up to 58 (at least in Ryan Creek).