Fishing Report For Claytor Lake, VA
By Rick Seaman
March 18, 2025
Fishing Reports
Popular Fish Species Claytor Lake, VA
Largemouth Bass
Current Report: Fair To Good
Outlook: Good
According to the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, Peak Creek, Clapboard Hollow, and larger coves toward the lower end of the lake hold the best concentrations of bass. The fishing is seldom fast and furious, but dedicated anglers are managing to catch decent numbers. A wide variety of lures are catching nice largemouth bass here, but those that mimic bluegill, shad and crayfish are the most productive. During slow periods, when the bass are not hitting reaction baits, a stick worm, rigged wacky style, is proving to help fill a limit.
Smallmouth Bass
Current Report: Fair To Good
Outlook: Fair To Good
Claytor Lake has a decent population of smallmouth bass, which are forced to compete with largemouth and spotted bass for forage. Fishing for smallies is often good on cold, windy, cloudy and rainy days. Locals report catching smallmouth deep, off points, ledges and humps, nearby deep water. When they are shallow, Summer mornings, and daytime in Spring and Fall, mid-range crankbaits, jerkbaits and spinnerbaits are catching them. Tube baits, jigs, drop shots and spoons all work when the smallmouth are deep.
Striped Bass
Current Report: Fair
Outlook: Good
Claytor Lake has had a long recovery from a fish kill that decimated the striper population, nearly a decade ago. Stripers prefer deep cold water, and only move shallow to feed or spawn. Their primary diet consists of alewives and gizzard shad, so locating bait schools is a good way to find stripers, and hybrid stripers here. Fishing for stripers is working best by those who are trolling to locate the fish. Once located, locals report using spoons, blade baits, bucktail jigs, and live alewives or shad, with good success. Fish finders are a big help in locating schools of both bait and stripers.
Fish species to fish for...
Guide to fishing for largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, spotted bass, channel catfish, flathead catfish, black crappie, walleye, bluegill, white bass, yellow bass, yellow perch, striped bass and hybrid striped bass at Claytor Lake in Virginia.
Claytor Lake is a 4,500-acre lake with over 60 miles of shoreline. It is home to bass, crappie, walleye, catfish, stripers, hybrid striped bass, perch, bluegill, white bass and sunfish. Boat docks, trees and fish habitat are the primary cover for fish and baitfish.
Primary fish species to catch
Click images for fishing tips and details about each species.
Today's Weather & Forecast
Fishing Boat Rentals
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Public Boat Launch Ramps & Landings
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Marinas
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Fishing License
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Map - Fishing & Access
Rick Seaman is a fishing enthusiast with over five decades of fishing experience, a retired tournament fisherman, author of numerous published articles on fishing, and co-author of the book "Bass Fishing - It's not WHAT you throw, It's WHERE you throw it".
Contact Information
Claytor Lake
Claytor Lake State Park
6620 Ben H. Bolen Dr
Dublin, VA 24084
540 643-2500
Fishing lakes in each state.
031825
Claytor Lake, Virginia Report
VIRGINIA
Information about fishing lakes in Virginia
Fishing in southwest VA, at Claytor Lake, for bass, crappie, walleye, catfish, stripers, hybrid striped bass, perch, bluegill, white bass and sunfish .
