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Philpott 12-14-19

Freshwater 
3K views 7 replies 7 participants last post by  kb_rn 
#1 ·
My girlfriend lives near Martinsville, VA so I had been thinking about trying out Philpott for a while. It is a deep highland reservoir that has smallmouth in addition to largemouth. I love wintertime fishing for bass when I can use a float and fly technique. Not much info available on the internet about fishing and no lake topo maps online so I was just going to learn as I went. I decided to start on bluff walls as I know these hold fish in winter time.

I caught a 15.5" smallmouth about 30 min into the day on the fly. Thought it was going to be a good day but I struggled. Fished what I thought was the main river channel for about 2 hours without another bite (I later found out it wasn't the channel) and saw very little bait. Made a move into a creek and found lots of bait and other fishermen. The day started calm and overcast but the a front was blowing through and the winds picked up to over 20 mph so it was hard to fish where I wanted. The bait I found was deep near the bottom with very little suspended. Conditions were tough to say the least.

For the rest of the day I got 2 bites on a swimbait, hooked one vertical jigging a tailspinner, and caught a tiny 6" bass near the end of the day on the fly. I only got to explore about 1/4 of the lake but what I did see definitely looks like it could be a good winter fishing destination.

Water clarity was at least 8-10 feet and the temp was 51.5 degrees. I later found a paper map online which shows lots of locations I can try on my next trip. It was $12 from Kingfisher maps if you are interested.

Hopefully, my next trip will have a bit better weather and I can get some more action but I caught a couple and got on the water for the first time in months. Overall a nice day.


PS. There are quite a few ramps on the lake but not all are open this time of year. I used the one near the dam where the marina is. The marina operator said this one stays open all year. There is a $5 fee to park and you need cash for the drop box.
 

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#6 ·
I like to use duck feathers over craft hair. I also drill a small hole in the jig head and take two strands from a bass jig weed guard and super glue them in the hole. Makes is possible to get the fly through most any wood cover without hanging up.
 
#3 ·
Nice Bass! I grew up about 1 mile from Philpott Reservoir and have many fond memories of fishing there. My first (and only) trophy fish citation was a channel catfish taken from that lake. I remember my dad catching lots of walleye there. I haven't fished there in years but you are making me want to take a trip for old times sake! Maybe I will get my Va license for 2020! Thanks for posting!
 
#7 ·
I fished Philpot once a few years back. I had planned a 3 day trip to Claytor Lake to try to cathc my first smallmouth. First day I caught 2 or 3 largemouth in the first hour and a spot later... fished sun up to sun down the next day without a bite so I left the next morning for Philpott on the way home. Been toying with the idea of going back soon.
 
#8 ·
That’s a pretty fish.

I went up to philpott the first week of December in hopes of catching smallies on the float and fly as well. Fished sunrise to sunset and caught 1 2 lb largemouth on a spoon. It was very calm and sunny, not ideal conditions. I would probably go back and try it again if it ever gets really cold. I love smallies. I did get the idea that it doesn’t have a huge fish population while I was there. I’ve just never been able to really figure them out on the mountain lakes any time of year other than spring.
 
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