Lake Anna
Fish are turning on at Lake Anna. In the Big Fish contest at Anna Point, Mike Harper has a 1-8 crappie; Tom Lernihan has a 7-4 striper and Jeremy Cash put an 8-1 largemouth on the scales. During a 3-19 tournament, Ken Pressley and Mike Hicks combined for an impressive limit of bass totaling 24.61. The big’un went 7.51.
Crappie are making their move to shallow water and many are being caught beneath docks at the mouths of coves. Shiners and curly tail grubs are productive.
Potomac River
The Bass Season is Underway
Finally, stable warmer water temperatures have fish on the shallow flats near their deeper winter haunts. Water clarity will dictate approach in areas with grass or wood cover.
Looks like mid- to upper 50-degree water. Let’s say goodbye to the cold weather. A dry week ahead with a chance of showers and a slight cooling for the weekend.
In clear water, cast suspending Lucky Craft Pointer 100 jerkbaits in clown patterns on 10 pound test GAMMA Edge fluorocarbon line. Use slight taps and pauses to provoke strikes. With shallow areas downsize to the Pointer 78. Work over grassy areas or along sides of weed. Make repeated casts to wood.
Over grass, red Lucky Craft LVR D-7 lipless cranks work well when snapped and paused over grass, in areas without grass, try slowly crawling Lucky Craft LV-500 lipless cranks along the bottom. Cast both on 12-pound test Edge.
Target dock pilings with shaky head stickworms. Try black ones on Mizmo 3/8-ounce BarbWire heads. Using 8 pound test Edge, pitch to pilings and shake. Let them sit, watching line for movement. Also keep Mann’s Stingray grubs on ¼ ounce ball head jigs tied on. Soak soft plastics in garlic Jack’s Juice Bait Spray.
Also give Mann’s Classic spinnerbaits a try. Use willow/Colorado 3/8-ounce with white skirts for open flats, cast and slowly drag on the bottom. For cover, with cloudy skies or stained water, use a ¼-ounce gold Colorado/Indiana with a white skirt and slowly retrieve around grass or wood cover. Use 12-pound test Edge.
Capt. Steve Chaconas is a guide on the Potomac River. info@nationalbass.com
Chickahominy Lake
Capt. Art Conway out of Ed Allen’s Boats and Bait reported that Chickahominy Lake mid-day water temperatures were in the low to mid 50’s in the lower main lake and in the major creeks on Wednesday. The lake level was a few inches above the top of the dam.
Some blue cats and a few bullheads were still in channels and winter holes, but others had moved onto flats and into creeks. Cats were hitting live minnows and cut bait. Crappie had migrated into major creeks and were beginning to assemble in spawning sites by last weekend. Then they left after the cold front and were moving back into the creeks over the last few days. Active crappie were hitting live minnows, Wright Bait Co. and Southern Pro curlytail jigs, small tubes, Kalin crappie scrubs, and small swim baits. Small to medium yellow perch were scattered or in loose aggregates on some main lake flats and in channels and on flats in major creeks and were hitting live minnows, small drop shot baits, and small jigs. Small to medium bluegills and shellcrackers were starting to accumulate along some shorelines in major creeks and were hitting flies and small jigs. Some bass, pickerel, and bowfin were along shorelines, on flats, and along drop-offs in the major creeks. When active, bass and pickerel were hitting live minnows, spinnerbaits, swim baits, stick worms, crank baits, jerk baits, and jigs.
Fishing with Capt. Conway, Lynn Wolverton and Dean Miller had 16 crappie, 1 yellow perch and 1 pickerel. Brian Martin and Clemet Custer had 4 bluegills, 19 crappie, 1 blue cat, 4 pickerel, and 6 bass.
Beaverdam Reservoir
Contributed by Park Supervisor Michelle Maynora-Hostinsky. The water temp has averaged 64 degrees during the height of the day in most of the lake. The entire lake has turned over and the fish are active with the spawn. Crappie are still being caught in large numbers and we are measuring citations bigger than we have ever seen on a daily basis. Most crappies are in the channel while some are in shallow water still on their beds. Most of the bass are in pre-spawn. The bucks are fanning their beds and the big girls are slowly cruising around looking for the prettiest bed to lay her eggs. Chain pickerel are on the prowl and they are feisty, biting hooks that are meant for a bass and tearing up the fancy lures. There has been a lot of action from the shoreline lately, from mud dogs to perch and everything in between. Minnows have been the bait of choice for the land man.
This past Saturday March 19th we hosted our first Tournament for the Beaverdam Big Bash open series. We had 47 boats on the water and we weighed 204 beautiful bass. The biggest fish of the day was a fat female with a belly full of eggs. She weighed in at 6 pounds 8 ounces, and was caught by Jimmy Reed of Gloucester. Jimmy and his Partner Jerry Hogge won first place with the biggest bag of the day totaling in 22 pounds 5 ounces. It was a cold day on the water, but it did not slow down the anglers. Every fish weighed looked healthy and all 204 fish are now back in the lake.
Blackwater and Nottoway Rivers
Contributed by Riverkeeper Jeff Turner. Spirit of Moonpie and I spent the 15th through the 17th on the Nottoway in the Delaware area, launching from Hercules Landing. The water was muddy, a little high and 50 degrees. The fishing on this trip was good. I did not catch any stripers, but other folks I talked to were catching plenty on cut shad fished on the bottom. Lots of catfish were being caught, also on cut shad. I caught a couple a nice largemouth while casting for stripers along many white perch. On the last day we caught about 50 shad. I was catching so many I was able to do some experimenting. I was catching them on a custom, hot orange spoon I painted, so I tried the pink twisty tail, nothing, tried hot green, nothing, hot yellow, nothing. I even tried a little spinner, nothing. The only other thing that they would bite was a gold spoon.
James at Lynchburg
Doug Lane at Angler’s Lane says that the smallie action is “getting started”. Crawdad and baitfish patterns fished deep are a good bet. The water is murky, but clearing up, with highs approaching 50.
Trout Update
Angler’s Lane reports that rainbows and browns in the Jackson are responding to Green Monsters, Kreelex and Green Hornets. The water is clear and 45 degrees. Brookie fishing in the Mountains is “excellent” with flies hatching all over the place. Try Elk Hair Caddis, Purple Haze and Green Monsters. The water is clear, high and in the 40s.
Harry Murray notes that the stocked and delayed harvest streams in the Valley are producing well. Good spots are Big Stoney Creek west of Edinburg, the Hidden Valley of the Jackson and the Bullpasture River.
The mountain brookie streams are in very good shape, especially in the upper reaches of the streams. The water is at a good level, clear and 48 degrees.
Recent stockings:
Albemarle Co.: Mint Springs Lake (Middle) (3/21); Mint Springs Lake (Upper) (3/21); Scottsville Lake (3/19)
Allegheny Co.: Clifton Forge Reservoir (3/19)
Amherst Co.: Little Irish Creek (3/22); Pedlar River (Lower) (3/22); Rocky Row Run (3/23)
Augusta Co.: Falls Hollow (3/21); Lower Sherando Lake (3/23); North River (Gorge) (3/22); North River (Natural Chimneys) (3/22); Upper Sherando Lake (3/23)
Carroll Co.: Crooked Creek (3/21); Little Reed Island Creek (3/21)
Chesapeake (City of): Northwest River Park (3/21)
Frederick Co.: Clearbrook Lake (3/21); Wilkins Lake (3/21)
Giles Co.: Dismal Creek (3/22)
Grayson Co.: Big Wilson Creek (3/23); Elk Creek (3/23); Hales Lake (3/23)
Hampton (City of): Armistead Pointe Park Pond (3/21)
Henry Co.: Smith River (Lower) (3/21)
Lee Co.: Martins Creek (3/22); North Fork Powell River (3/22)
Montgomery Co.: Craig Creek (3/22)
Patrick Co.: Poorhouse Creek (3/23); Rockcastle Creek (3/23)
Roanoke Co.: Roanoke River (City) (3/23)
Russell Co.: Big Cedar Creek (3/23)
Smyth Co.: Middle Fork Holston River (Upper) (3/19); South Fork Holston River (Lower) (3/21); Staley Creek (3/19)
Warren Co.: Happy Creek (3/23)
Washington Co.: Beartree Lake (3/21)
Wise Co.: Middle Fork Powell River (Appalachia) (3/22); South Fork Powell River (3/22)
Wythe Co.: Cripple Creek (Rt. 94) (3/22)
Lake Gaston
Holly Grove Marina reports that crappie are biting small minnows in the backs of the creeks. Largemouth bass are getting ready to spawn, and will go for jigs, spinners, cranks and rattletraps. Anglers are using red for hard lures and dark colors for soft plastics. The water is clearing, at normal level and in the upper 60s.
Top New River
Contributed by local guide Richie Hughes: The late winter fishing up on the “Top New” has been great with this warm weather. Water temps are in the mid 50s causing the fish to be more active than usual for this time of year. We have had good results fly-fishing with crawfish and baitfish flies. Spin fishing has been productive with tubes, jigs, spinners and crankbaits. Water levels are still above average, but the heavy rain has stayed away.
New, Clinch and Holston Rivers
Contributed by Tommy Cundiff of River Monster Guide Service.
The good news is that the smallmouth really responded to the warming weather. We boated some quality bass during the past two weeks. The spawn is definitely influencing their movements and feeding patterns as they begin to move out of wintering holes. Most fish that we caught over this period were on mid-river humps and above push water where there was a significant depth change. They are hitting crankbaits and jigs. Color has been key, so I suggest throwing some variety until you can pinpoint what triggers the most bites.
Fishing will continue to improve for smallmouth as the spawn approaches. Muskie are hitting whatever crosses their path. They have been heavily stacked at their usual spring holes.
This is a very exciting time to be on the river. There is potential to land a trophy smallmouth, walleye and muskie on a single outing.
North and South Forks Shenandoah River
According to Harry Murray, both the North and South Forks of the Shenandoah are cool and clear, with a temperature of 47 degrees. The best area of the South Fork is from Luray to Bentonville. In the north it is from Edinburg to Tom’s Brook.
James Below Richmond
Around the 95 bridge, some white perch are being caught on bloodworms. Catfish are taking cut gizzard shad baits in the outside channel bends of the main river. Striped bass are taking Rat-L-Traps and crankbaits, as they start their spawning run. Sassy Shads and grubs are the ticket for smallmouth bass, while cut bait and nightcrawlers are tempting the bream and catfish. Largemouth bass are moving into the shallows, staging for the spawn. Shallow sand or gravel banks, adjacent to deeper water is the best place to find these fish.
Smith Mountain
Largemouth bass fishing is good, with a number of fish weighing over five pounds caught last week. Small jigs, and pumpkin, blue-flash or smoke colored, four-inch plastic worms are the best choices for lures. Crankbaits and spinnerbaits are also taking some fish. Small stripers are being taken between the islands at the lower end of the lake in shallow water. Stripers are also active on the points in Craddock and Witcher Creeks. Crappie are biting well on live minnows.
Occoquan River
Contributed by local angler Jim Thomas. The fishing in the Occoquan River is picking up quickly. On Friday morning I caught a couple of bass moving up to the shallower water. I also caught a catfish and a yellow perch while working a blade bait around pilings at a marina. Then in the afternoon I tried for hickory shad. To my surprise they were already in the river and I caught about a dozen on shad darts and spoon rigs. For the next few weeks this fishery will only pick up.