August fishing report

OVERVIEW: Fishing will be good. After dark will be the best time to bass fish. Stripers have been very active and are in large schools. Water temperature will be in the 80s.

Largemouth bass: Fishing is good. Best lures will be plastic worms, Carolina rigs, jigs, shaky heads and top-water lures. Best areas will be points, ledges, deep docks and brush piles. Night will be the best time to catch bass. Try fishing in deeper water this month.

Smallmouth bass: Fishing is fair. Look for humps and main channel points. Best lures will be hair jigs, plastic crawfish imitations, swim baits and top-water lures. Best areas will be in the mid- to lower sections of the lake. Smallmouth will be found suspended under schools of bait fish this month.

Striped bass: Fishing is good. Stripers will be caught early morning and late in the afternoon. The best areas will be from mid-lake to the dam. The fish will be found near the larger creeks and the main channel. Best lures will be swim baits, Hopkins spoons and Zoom flukes fished on ¹₂- to ³₄-oz. lead heads. Live bait and trolling will also be productive. Schools of stripers will surface on cloudy mornings and later in the afternoon around sunset. Most schools of fish will be found in 30 to 50 feet of water.

Crappie: Fishing will be fair. They will be in deep water this month. Best areas will be in the main creeks around docks and brush piles. Small live minnows and 1½-inch tubes fished on ¹₁₆-oz. lead heads will work best. Try fishing at night around lights.

TIP OF THE MONTH: Fish will suspend under and around schools of baitfish this month. Try to keep your lures as close as possible to the depth you see fish on your electronics. Most fish are hard to catch when your lures are below their eye level.

www.captaindalewilson.com, 297-5650, 874-4950

Photo caption: Caleb Page, 10, of Roanoke holds a 12-pound striped bass he caught July 26 while fishing with Capt. Dale Wilson. The trip was a Christmas gift from Caleb's parents.