August fishing report

Photos courtesy of Capt. Dale Wilson

Lucus Sullivan of Bedford reeled in these two stripers on different days in July.

Phil Christopher of Greensboro, N.C., caught a citation striper.

OVERVIEW: Striper fishing has been great. Most other species of fish have been hard to catch so far this month. Water temperature will be in the 80s. Early morning, late afternoon and after dark will be the best times to try your luck.

Largemouth bass: Fishing will be fair. Best lures will be large plastic worms, Carolina rigs, shaky heads, and deep-diving crank baits. Most largemouth bass will be caught near humps, ledges and brush piles near deep water. Deep docks will also be productive. Best depths will be from the surface to 20 feet. Night fishing will be good. Bait fish will start to come to the surface later this month.

Smallmouth bass: Fishing should be fair. Best areas will be on ledges, deep rocky banks, humps and long flats. Best lures will be deep-diving crank baits, top-water lures, drop-shot rigs and shaky heads. Best areas will be in the mid- to the lower sections of the lake. Cloudy days will be the best time to try your luck. Most smallmouth bass will be suspended near bait fish.

Striped bass: Fishing will be great. Stripers will be caught mostly in the midsections of the lake. Best lures will be swim baits, buck tails and Zoom flukes fished with 1/2- to 3/4-oz. lead heads. Vertical jigging will be the best method to catch stripers. Live bait and trolling will also be productive. The best depths will be from the 30 to 100 feet. Best time will be early mornings.

Crappie: Fishing will be poor. They will be found 15 to 25 feet deep. Best areas will be in the main creeks around deep docks, fallen trees and brush piles in the mid- to upper sections of the lake. Small live minnows and 1 1/2-inch tubes fished on 1/16- to 1/8-oz. lead heads will work best.

TIP OF THE MONTH: When using plastic lures, try replacing your lead weights with Tungsten weights, which are smaller in size than lead weights. Tungsten is much harder than lead. This gives you a better feel of the structure you are fishing and you will be able to detect more strikes.

Capt. Dale Wilson: 297-5650, 874-4950, captaindalewilson.com