What you might not know unless you are an avid fisherman, is that there are a whole boat-load of other species of fish in the lake that are fun to look at and/or good for bait or eating. Just to name a few there are crappie, sunfish, muskies, white perch, yellow perch, channel catfish, white catfish, flathead catfish and shad. There are also spotted bass, walleye, muskellunge, ring perch, crappie, bluegill, rock bass (redeye) and catfish.

For a map of Smith Mountain Lake so you can see where you are going and where you have been and even be better able to find the best fishing spots, click here. That link takes you to the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. On that same site you can find thousands of other fishing and hunting facts to guide you in your favorite sport.

The 18-hole event is a modified four person best-ball with prizes awarded. Lunch will be at 11:30am and the Tee Off at 1:00pm. Other great perks will include free lunch as well as cart and green fees. Refreshments and a grand awards/prize ceremony will cap off the event.

If you and others in your company love to golf you can combine business with pleasure by entering the Corporate Cup. The tournament field is limited to 100 players, so please return your entry form as soon as possible to ensure your spot.

ESPN Bassmaster Elite “Blue Ridge Brawl” Returns to Smith Mountain Lake on April 15 – 18

7th Annual Smith Mountain Lake Business Expo on April 30 The Smith Mountain Lake area has a very dynamic business community. New businesses are starting, existing businesses are changing and expanding, but so many people are unaware of what is available locally. The upcoming SML Business Expo can change that. April 30th from Noon to 6pm, Route 122, Downtown Moneta is the perfect opportunity for all businesses to showcase their products and services. 140 businesses will be represented in three large covered venues as well as outside exhibits.  Volunteers are needed for Thursday(setup) and Friday.  Please contact Jim Shauberger, Event Manager at 540-721-1203 if you are interested in helping out.        

Save $7 on Early Bird tickets AND get a FREE Wine Glass! Get an “Early Bird” start on your Smith Mountain Lake Wine Festival weekend, September 25th & 26th with a special “Early Bird Package”. For a limited time, when you buy a ticket to the Wine Festival receive a FREE SML wine glass.  
“Early Bird’ Taster tickets are $15 and designated driver tickets are $10, good either day, helping to make the event affordable for everyone. Prices at the gate are $22 – taster and $15 – designated driver. The special discount package is in effect until May 1. 
To get your “Early bird” tickets and souvenir wine glass stop by the Smith Mountain Lake Visitor Center Front Desk, Route 122, Bridgewater Plaza, Moneta.

Like myself you are probably asking what a Fishers of Men Tournament Trail is and what it entails. As you might suspect from the name, it is indeed a fishing tournament. It is also a nonprofit, nondenominational ministry whose mission is to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ to fishermen and their families through competitive and professionally run fishing tournaments.

What began in 1998 as a small four division tournament trail with a total of 21 events has now grown into one of the largest fishing tournament organizations in the country. During the 2008 season, 53 team tournament divisions and 37 legacy divisions combined for a total of 355 tournament events.

Now we get to experience the Tournament Trail here at Smith Mountain Lake. Launch time on Sat. and Sun. are scheduled for 6:45am. with weigh in and tournament activities planned for each day at 3:30pm.

For more information you can call 540-483-9293 or visit their site at http://www.fomntt.com/about.php.

The event will be held on Saturday, Oct. 10th from 9:00 in the morning till 1pm. It is open to ages 17 & Under. Fishing contests, fly fishing demo and contest, prize drawings, fly tying, and trout fishing. For more info. contact Angel Young at angelyoung@franklincountyva.org. 

You can also go to http://www.franklincountyva.org/parks/ for information.

It never ceases to amaze me how frequently I forget to use the internet to find things. As many years as I’ve been using the net and as many things as I have found to be lifesavers there, I still don’t always think to look there first. Needless to say I have found some great sites that give free golf lessons, videos and the whole nine. Here are just a few of the ones that looked helpful to me. You may be able to find even more on your own.

Save A Million Shots - A nifty site where many of the world’s best golf coaches have come together to give free tips and input to improve your game.

Learn About Golf - offers golf drills, video lessons and free golf tips.

Tom’s Golf Tips - has free coaching, feature length lessons and tips for specific problems.

Paul Wilson Golf - the inventor of the swing machine golf technique offers free lessons for beginners, woman/ladies, average players and experts.

To me this water sport looks a bit like canoeing from a surf board. According to a Florida news clip it’s getting a lot of attention these days. Some even say it’s one of the fastest growing water sports in the world, and Smith Mountain Lake is catching the SUP bug too.

SUP is an ancient form of surfing. It started with surfing beginners using a one-bladed paddle to remain upright while learning to surf. Standing up on the board gave them a higher viewpoint, enabling them to better see big waves and such coming at them. It gradually evolved into a shorter board and a permanent paddle blade.

SUP board prices range from $500 to $1500, and most use glass-reinforced plastic construction. The boards are generally 9 to 12 feet in length, with features such as padded decks, concave hulls and surfboard-style fins for stability.

Apparently out on the West Coast, Maui, Hawaii and other ocean-side places, stand-up paddleboards are all the rage. If you love water sports you will no doubt be curious about this sport and how you can have fun SUPing at Smith Mountain Lake, so I found a You-Tube video where you can see how it’s done: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vLHihGleJU

Listed as one of the “Best Places To Play” in the 2008/2009 Golf Digest, this 18 hole championship golf course is a must for those who appreciate the sport. Mariners Landing offers several possibilities as far as membership options and is open to the public as well. Also their membership rates and other fees seem reasonable compared to other top of the line courses in the region.

There are a number of special golfing activities at Mariners Landing throughout the year. Two of the most popular events each year are tje Four-Ball Open, where local professionals and low handicap amateurs can show their stuff, and the Andrew Haley / SML Lions Memorial Junior Tournament. Other fun events are the Monday Night 9 hole captain’s choice and covered dish dinner, Wednesday evening captain’s choice, known as Boy’s Night Out, and Senior Men’s Golf Association (Greybeards) play each Tuesday and Thursday morning.

Any way you play it, if you love golf, you will love the Mariner’s Landing Golf Course!

The Craigcat sounds and looks extremely interesting, and if you visit the website he mentions, you may just fall in love with this little darling. I know the Craigcat will be on my Christmas wish list.

Here is how Alex McDaniel got into the Craigcat business and how you can find out more info. about the boat for yourself: “My mother came across this unique product and ask if my brother and I would be interested in selling these boats. We took a trip to the manufacturer’s location and factory in Orlando, FL and here we are today in business to sell Craigcats.

The craigcat is a very unique product designed/built by a 30 year catamaran builder. The product itself has been around since 1990 and it started out much like what you see at www.craigcat.com, which is called a classic. It has morphed into a multi-use “power cat” that can become a fishing boat or hunting boat painted in Camo. There is even a green friendly version in electric or gas electric, or solar. The price ranges vary from $2,691.00 – $6,129.00 in the electric models and start at $6,999.00 and go to $11,476.00 in the 4 stroke versions. Our goal for bringing this product to the lake was to help out in the low water situations you find in some areas plus they are a lot of fun. I hope to do rentals in the future but I am just starting out and I want to grow in that direction. If you have any questions that are more directly dealing with a topic about them I will be happy to answer them.”

Our family recieves the Field and Stream Magazine  and in the May issue there was a great interview by Colin Kearns with Doug Hannon. Some of you are no doubt familiar with this man as he is a noted Florida bass expert, tackle designer and has a record of having caught more than 800  10lb. bass! Yes, you read that right, over 800 ten pounders.

Anyway, he offered some tips on what makes him an expert ”Bass Professor”.  Below are just a few of the ideas he presented in the interview.

- After speaking with anglers known for 15lb. catches he found that one thing they had in common was that they were all caught in 6ft. of water or less.

- Fishing after the spawn is best, in late spring and early summer. Then, Hannon says, “the fish will attack anything, and all of your different lures and presentations work because the fish are so aggressive.”

- Hannon favors small lures and has caught 90% of his big fish on a 7 inch, straight-tail worm.

- The most important thing Doug Hannon ever learned “is to have enough patience and confidence to believe that where you are fishing is where the fish are – and to rely on the fact that when you do get it right, it’ll work.

If these pointers intrigue you, you can read more at  www.fieldandstream.com.