Discover Smith Mountain Lake
WINTER 2015/16
20
21
would be in this lake, but I loved it.
I wanted the answer, so I searched and found that there are two main types of
euryhaline fish. Some fish are born in saltwater, live in fresh water, and return
to saltwater to spawn....These are called catadromous fish; North American and
European eels fall into this category, according to the National Marine Fisheries
Service. Then there are fish that are born in freshwater, live in saltwater, and
return to freshwater only to spawn, these are called anadromous fish. Salmon,
Smelt, Shad, Striped Bass (Rockfish) and Sturgeon are in this group, according to
the Alaska Department of Game and Fish.
There came a time when Tennessee wanted to build a dam on one of its rivers.
This was a river that was used by some saltwater fish (anadromous types) to
spawn. The dam was built, and they waited until all the spawning fish went back
to the ocean before they closed the gates to start filling this lake. Later, they
found Striped Bass in the lake, and concluded that these fish would die. They did
not; in fact, they survived very well. Needless to say, Striped Bass became a very
popular fish to stock in lakes. However, these fish needed to be able to swin up a
feeder stream or river so that they could spawn in rapidly moving water.
The eggs from the spawn must float and tumble FOR AT LEAST 72 HOURS
before entering the lake. If this does not happen, the spawn is considered a false
spawn, since the eggs cannot survive without this action. This is the case with
respect to Smith Mountain Lake. Thus, it is a “put and take” lake for Striped
This is the most asked question I receive about fishing:
“What’s the secret to catching fish?”
There is no one general answer; in fact there are many. A lot depends on
when you are fishing, what you are fishing for, and where.
When I was young, I fished with my older brother in near-by streams;
unfortunately, he was killed by a drunk driver when he was 15 yrs old and I
was only 9. That was the end of my fishing for quite a while.
Much later, when I started fishing with my four young sons, my two
daughters, and my niece (whom I was raising as my own), we fished in
streams, farm ponds and at the ocean’s shore, in Maryland, Virginia, and
the Carolinas. These times spent fishing with my children were some of the
best times of my life. Once, my oldest son caught a bluegill that was as big as
a dinner plate. I’m sure it must have been a trophy or maybe even a record,
but we only cared about the fun and excitement of these times. These are
great memories that I’ll never forget, and neither will you when you take
your kids fishing.
About 40 years ago, we moved to Roanoke. I was very busy for a while
working my new position with my new employer. After a while, I went
fishing with one of my customers, whereupon I got the chance to experience
Smith Mountain Lake on a night fishing trip. I was surprised to see Striped
Bass (Rockfish) being caught, and did not understand how a saltwater fish
Almanac
Fisherman’s
WHAT’S THE
SECRET?
by Bob King
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