Striped Bass

Fishing with Dustin and Cedric and Dustin hooked into a huge Striper:

A beautiful fish from the cold January waters up at Smith Mountain Lake

January 2012

Striped Bass

Smith Mountain Lake has gained national attention for its striped bass fishery which is the second most popular sport fish at Smith Mountain Lake. Striped bass have been stocked into this reservoir since impoundment in 1963. Limited spawning habitat for striped bass prevents successful natural reproduction. Stocking is required to maintain the fishery unlike other species such as bass, crappie, catfish, and shad.

The number of striped bass in the population increased beginning in the late 1990's due to increased stocking rates and improved stocking survival. However, the Smith Mountain Lake striped bass fishery experienced a major setback in 2003. A parasitic copepod (Achtheres) infestation of striped bass began in the fall of 2002 and the shad population was severely reduced for several months due to a shad winterkill in 2003. As a result, a major striped bass kill occurred in the spring of 2003 for a minimum of two months. Based on observations during the fish kill, gill net data, VDGIF citation program data, and angler diary data; the fish kill eliminated most of the striped bass over 10 pounds. The number of bigger striped bass has been improving since the fish kill in 2003 but most of the larger fish are still limited to 10-18 pounds. However, there are a few striped bass available up to 20 pounds. A new slot limit, designed to expedite the recovery and improve the number of trophy stripers in the reservoir, was instituted in 2006; see �News� and �Regulations� sections for more details. It is unknown at this time what the long-term impacts of this parasite will have on the striped bass population at Smith Mountain Lake.