• Smith Mountain Lake Stripers are some of the most sought after gamefish in Virginia. Striper Fishing at Smith Mountain Lake is some of the best in the country. Definitely hire a Striper Fishing Guide if you've never fished for stripers before here at Smith Mountain.

• Striper Fishing in Smith Mountain Lake can be either relaxing or fast-paced, depending on your preference.

• Smith Mountain Lake Stripers are ferocious fighters and can be caught all year long.

• Smith Mountain Lake Stripers generally prefer a live shad over other baits/lures and over the years we have "Taxied" shad over the whole lake in order to catch these beasts.

• We've given Shad free rides for over 20 years and we could not think of better name for our service... The Shad Taxi

I Look forward to fishing with you!

Captain Todd

540-797-2528

What's in The Shad Taxi 's Striper Schedule for the upcoming months?

January- Follow the Birds! Seagulls will move in and take us to the action. The 'gulls follow the feeding stripers and can give you the location. Stripers can be caught on jigs/spoons throughout the day. We'll be freelining big shad and alewives on Planers boards when the birds are not diving.

February -Stripers start getting active and schools form over underwater humps and islands. We like to troll for these and also cast to submerged humps for bigger than average stripers. Still chasing the birds!

March- Planer Board Time! The action starts heating up by pulling bait on Planers for action throughout the day for big stripers getting ready for the spawn. March is historically known for catching big stripers

April- Planer Board action gets hotter. The warming water gets the stripers active and wanting to feed for the soon to be spawn at the dam later in the month. Busting stripers in the morning and evening. In 2005 and 2006, our biggest catches came in April.

May- Cedar Key / Dam Spawn- The stripers used to spawn exclusively in Cedar Keys, but now, the stripers have changed their spawning habits. Now, they go to the dam to spawn. This is a favorite time to fish for stripers for alot of clients since the fish are so schooled, that when they come through, all of the rods will get hit! This is the time to catch a fat female striper. Night fishing may be available for catching the big boys.

June- Last year, June was a great month for numbers and size. A variety of techniques can be used in this time of the year with a mixture of live-baiting and light tackle jigging.

July- When the summer heat pushes the stripers deep, different techniques ranging from deep downlines to jiggin' will be implemented. I discovered some new techniques last year that really paid the bills and I'll show ya'. Bass and Catfish outings are also available.

August- The stripers at Smith Mountain begin schooling deep. Still using deep downlines and jiggin' to catch stripers. We'll be jiggin' these bad boys up on light tackle. Its a blast!

September - Cooling water temperatures begin raising stripers thoughout the water column. In '03 and '04 we got into several huge surface feedings and also had tremendous success fishing with big bait after dark. Alot of big fish start feeding since they haven't been able to eat during the summer.

October- Stripers turn on their ferocious appetite and begin busting in the morning and evening. During October we'll be chasin' bustin' stripers and pullin' big baits on planers. Possibly the most exciting time of the year to fish Smith Mountain Lake.

November- Stripers begin to blitz the shallows and more surface action occurs. Great time for casting to busting fish. The bigger stripers are feeding more and are caught mostly on live bait. November 2006 was our 2nd best month for size.

December- Stripers feeding in the shallows early and late in the day. Late morning we pull live bait on planers and downline on big stripers. We also start jigging up good numbers on light tackle with spoons and jigs. December 2006 was possibly the best month for numbers that I've ever had.

What's in a charter when going striper fishing with The Shad Taxi?

Different Fishing Seasons:

Mid-October through the end of October: This is the time of the year to see the infamous Striper Bustings. When the water temperatures drop to their liking, the stripers will school up the bait on the surface and ACRES of stripers can be busting these shad at the same time. Its the most heart-pounding experience to see thousands of stripers splashing the surface and they'll hit what we're casting everytime. These striper frenzies usually occur in the evenings, but can happen in the morning as well. If the stripers are not busting, we'll be pulling big bait on planers and shallow downlines.

November is the month for early morning casting. Early mornings and late evenings the stripers will be feeding in extremely shallow water. In the mornings we'll get out there before the sun rises and wait for the stripers to come in and start feeding. If they're blitzing, we'll be casting plugs to the shallows and it'll be a giant explosion when the striper crushes you plug. After the stripers leave the shallows, we'll be pulling bait strategically at the mouths of coves and creeks.

December through February: Its cold, but its the best time of the year for numbers. During this period, we won't have to get up early, and we head out mid-morning through mid-afternoon. When the sun is at its highest and brightest, its time to pull out the spoons. This time of the year the stripers school up in massive schools and are mostly in the trees. This is a good time to bring a bunch of friends and have a jiggin' contest. Jiggin' spoons takes a little skill to do it right and to be able to set the hook quick enough. Once you get the hang of it, its awesome to talk 'junk' to your buds who haven't picked up on the skill yet.

March through April: Time to pull out the planer boards. This is a very exciting time to fish for stripers because they will stalk your bait behind the planers and then explode on them like only a striper can. We'll be catching stripers in shallow water, so there's alot of visuals of the bite and fight. While we're pulling planer boards, I encourage my clients to cast to the banks as well. Somedays artificials will out-produce live bait. No joke. The fish are not schooled up this time of the year, and its mostly individuals and pairs of stripers cruising the banks.

May through June: The weather starts warming up and the fish make a mad dash downlake. The fish school up and try to spawn. This is a great time for those who want to relax and just watch the live bait rods. Very popular time to fish since the fish are so schooled up, that when they come through, get ready because they'll hit ALL the rods at once.

July through September: This is my busiest time of the year. The stripers school up in even bigger schools and migrate to their summer hideouts. Its alot of fun to jig these stripers up on light tackle, rather than a heavy trolling rod with 50lb test.