Forget warm summer evenings as the best time to catch catfish. Now is the time to catch the big ‘uns. The Rappahannock River below Fredericksburg has been giving up lots of 20-pound class fish. On the James, near Hopewell, fishing is hot for blue cats to 50 pounds. The best baits have been cut gizzard shad and cut eel. The Mattaponi and Pamunkey rivers have been producing lots of 20-pound fish. Catfish action has also been good on the Chickahominy River.
Lake Anna
At Anna, walleye continue to bite, especially around the rocky points near Dike III. Striper fishing has been good from the Rt. 208 Bridge and further down lake. Bass have worked their way to main lake points, making occasional forays into shallow water. Crappie are deep.
Chickahominy Lake
Crappie continue to be active on the Chick in spite of dropping temperatures. This shallow lake warms easier than deeper impoundments and keeps fish more active in the winter months. Most crappie are on drop-offs and in channels in the main lake, especially near wood cover. Fishing with Capt. Conway, Tom Porter had 19 crappie, 19 white perch, and one bass.
Lake Gaston
Stripers in the 10 to 12 pound range are hitting around the mouth of Pea Hill Creek and in front of the Gaston Dam. Largemouth are schooling with the stripers. Crappie are on brush piles, and are fairly shallow, in 8 to12 feet of water.
Buggs Island
Largemouth bass may still be caught in shallow water of water on Speed Shads and square billed crankbaits. Crappie are on deep brushpiles. Vertical jigging with minnows is effective. Striper fishing has been slow.
Lake Moomaw
Trout action has picked up with the colder temperatures. A number of keeper browns were caught this past week on live minnows and jointed Rapalas. Smallmouth anglers are also catching some fish, including a couple over the four- pound mark. Yellow perch and crappie anglers are filling coolers.
Trout Streams
There is plenty of clear, cold water in the mountain streams but the bite is slow.
Bass Tips on the Potomac
Capt. Steve Chaconas
This should be a really good week of winter fishing. Think slow. Think drop offs. Think patient.
In warmer water, use light 10-pound test Gamma Edge fluorocarbon line, make long casts with Lucky Craft Pointer 78 suspending jerkbaits. Gentle taps and pauses. Note fish activity and generally pick up the pace slightly if water warms and gets clear. Pause near cover.
Otherwise, use Silver Buddy 1/2-ounce blade baits on 10-pound Edge on fast casting combos like Quantum Vapor with a medium action 7-foot rod. Cast to shallow side of drops. Use gentle upward pulls and semi slack line on the drop. Do not overwork. Allow baits to pendulum back to you after a gentle lift off the bottom. Bites come on the drop. Be prepared to pull up for hooksets. Fast reels help load the rod for a hookset. Don’t horse fish in as many are barely hooked with the number 6 trebles.
Work soft plastics slowly. Soak in an attractant like Jack’s Juice Bait Spray. Open hooks help with hooksets. Green pumpkin, chartreuse, and Smoke 4″ Mizmo grubs and Mann’s Stingray 3 inch avocado grubs can be threaded on a 1/4 ounce ball head jig. Insert heads with a thin wire weedguard work well for Mizmo tubes. Also 1/4-ounce black/blue Punisher hair jigs can be worked very slowly. Rig with 10-15 pound test Gamma Torque braid with 6-pound test Edge leader.