“The smallmouth bite should be pretty good and the largemouth bite is probably going to be decent,” Jennings said. “The fish should be on their fall feed and some may be starting their winter patterns.”

Most of the fish will probably come 12 to 20 feet deep over rock piles and other structure, he said.

“Fishing jigs is normally good this time of year up there, along with Shakey Heads and drop-shots. And if you can get on some schooling fish, topwater will come into play, although you might have to weed through the stripers. Depending on the weather, there could be a good crankbait bite, too.”

Jennings said the forecast calls for a chance of rain on Friday and a slight chance of rain on Saturday, with temperatures in the upper 50s to low 60s.

“If it does do that I hope there will also be a slight breeze to get the surface churned up just a little bit,” he said.

Jennings said he anticipates anywhere from 15 to 25 anglers for the tournament, possibly even 30. In a five-fish limit two bass can be at least 12 inches long and the other three have to be 14 inches or better, according to Virginia fishing regulations, he said.

Entry fee for the tournaments is $70, with $5 for Big Fish. Anglers can register at DrawTrail.com or at the ramp the morning of the tournament.

The top 500 Ram American Fishing Tour anglers in national points standings for the 2016 season will be invited to fish the 2016 Ram American Fishing Tour National Championship at Lake Eufaula in Eufaula, AL on October 16-21. Jennings said anglers must also fish four one-day tournaments and the two-day championship to qualify.

The remaining schedule for the Virginia Western Division includes: Nov. 21, Smith Mountain Lake; Dec. 5, Kerr Lake; March 26, Smith Mountain Lake; April 23, Philpott Lake; May 28, Kerr Lake; and June 25-26, Kerr Lake.

 

Ram American Fishing Tour – Virginia Western Division

Sat, Nov 21, 2015

Smith Mountain Lake

Parkway Marina

www.drawtrail.com/2016DivPage.php?Division=102