PJ Cox with an 8 pound 3 ounce Lake Anna largemouth
Lake Anna
November Forecast by Chris Craft
Bass – Look for fish to be aggressive and chasing pods of baitfish (Threadfin Shad & Blueback Herring) at anytime throughout the day. Top water baits are an exciting way to catch these feeders. My choices are a Paycheck Baits Repoman, Damiki Rambler, Don Iovino Spash It, Cotton Cordell Broken Back Redfin and Damiki MTB Noisy Buzzbait.
Another great way to catch these fish is with a Damiki Anchovy Shad rigged on a 1/4oz jighead or a Damiki Armor Shad rigged on a Gamakatsu 4/0 EWG Hook. Try a 1/4oz Longbill Scrounger with your favorite soft jerkbait.
If you can’t find schooling action, there are many other ways to catch bass. If you are headed up lake, Dave’s Tournament Tackle Tigershad Spinnerbaits fished over top of and through the willow grass will produce violent strikes when the fish are actively chasing.
If they are not active, jig & pig combinations will catch heavy, fall bass. Coming to Fish Tales soon is the Double D Custom Baits Hybrid Jig. Until then get yours at www.double-d-jigs.com. If the water is stained, darker colors like Black, Black/Blue Flake and Brown dressed with a Snack Daddy Lures Ditch Chicken. Try throwing a Bullshad Swimbait around flats, docks and willow grass. These big baits can and will draw violent strikes for non-aggressive fish.
Lipless crankbaits are great search-baits this time of year, whether it is a Red Eye Shad, Rat L Trap or any other lipless bait, covering water is the key to finding fish. A slow steady retrieve is my favorite tactic, bumping the bait off of the bottom.
Around mid-lake, the water clarity will be much better, and shakey head rigged plastics and soft jerkbaits skipped underneath boat docks, shallow running crankbaits and lipless baits fish around docks during the middle of the day are all good ways to entice fish into biting.
Down-lake you will find fish beneath boat docks. The water is really clear down there. Lighter line and smaller baits will produce best. Try pitching a dropshot with a small finesse worm.
Crappie – Currently, there are still good numbers of fish on the uplake bridge pilings. As the water cools into the low 50’s, they will make a move to shallow water and begin to feed up. Small minnows on jig heads or slip bobbers work best as long as the fish are deep (8-14 feet). After they move up, 2″ Kalin Curly Tail grubs rigged on a 1/16oz jig head work great.
Stripers – If stripers are actively chasing and swirling on baitfish, my favorite way to catch them is with a Broken Back Redfin, waked just under the surface. Once the feed is over, look for the schools with your electronics, and after you locate them, drop a Toothache Spoon or Damiki Vault to them and hold on. Casting Bass Assassin Sea Shads or Damiki Anchovy Shads rigged on 1/4oz jigheads into the schools of breaking fish will usually attract the bite of larger fish.
This month, look for fish from Christopher Run all the way to Goldmine Creek on the Anna arm and from Hunters Landing up to Little Florida on the Pamunkey arm, and behind the bridge in Terry’s Run.
Current Conditions
Lake Level – Full Pool
Water Clarity –
Up Lake- Moderate Stained
Mid Lake- Slight Stain
Down Lake- Clear
Water Temps –
Up Lake- 55-57
Mid Lake- 57-59
Down Lake- 62-65
Dike 3- 69
Potomac River
Falling Water Temperatures
Last week’s warm up activated shallow water fish. This week will be a cool down. Time to adjust tackle.
Water temperature will drop to upper 50s from the mid 60s of last week.
Crankbaits still the best bet. Very shallow with Mann’s Baby 1-Minus to deeper with Lucky Craft 1.5 to 2.5 cranks. In clear water, go with shad patterns and fire tiger. Craw patterns in stained water or when cloudy. Downsize line to 10-pound test. GAMMA Edge fluorocarbon adds sensitivity and makes it easier to snap baits out of grass remnants.
Use spinning rods for drop shot, shaky head, split shot and Texas rigs. Thinner wire Mustad Ultra Point Mega Bite hooks penetrate easier on hook sets. Line is key as well. Use GAMMA Torque braid, either 15 or 20-pound test as main line with a 10-pound test Edge leader for these techniques. A reel with a good drag is important too. Quantum EXO size 30 spinning reels are faster and have smooth drag systems. For Texas rigs, try a medium heavy rod. For the other techniques use a medium action or technique specific rod. The Texas rig hookset is a snap set, the rest require a pull set.
With cloud cover, chop or stained water, keep a spinnerbait tied on to burn in clear water or slow roll in stained water. Use 12-pound test Edge.
Capt. Steve Chaconas is a guide on the Potomac River. info@nationalbass.com
Chickahominy Lake
Capt. Art Conway of Conway’s River Rat Guide Service out of Ed Allen’s Boats and Bait reported that Chickahominy Lake mid-day water temperatures were in the high 50’s to low 60’s in the main lake on Wednesday.
Blue cats and a few bullheads were still scattered throughout much of the lake, but were moving toward the channels and winter holes, and were hitting live minnows and cut bait. Moderate numbers of crappie were in loose schools in the main lake on deeper flats and channel edges, usually at depths of 7 to 15 feet, sometimes suspended, and frequently in the neighborhood of wood cover. Active crappie were hitting live minnows, Wright Bait Co. curlytail jigs, small tubes, Kalin crappie scrubs, small swim baits, jigging spoons, and blade baits. Some small to medium yellow perch were scattered on main lake flats and on flats in creek mouths and were hitting live minnows, small jerk baits, and small jigs. A few bluegill and shellcrackers were scattered along some shorelines and shallow flats and were hitting live crickets and worms and small jigs. Many bluegill and shellcrackers had moved to the deep edges of hydrilla flats, to mid-depth wood cover, or into channel edges and were hitting live crickets and worms, small blade baits, tubes, and jigs. Some bass and pickerel were on lily pad flats and along shorelines in lower reaches of major creeks and in shallow bays and some shorelines in the main lake, while other bass and a few pickerel were on deeper flats and channel edges in the main lake. Bass and pickerel were hitting live minnows, spinnerbaits, swim baits, stick worms, crank baits, jerk baits, and jigs, with some topwater action early and late on many days.
Fishing with Capt. Conway, Mickey Cleveland had 13 crappie, 5 white perch, and 1 blue cat. Ron Hepp had 13 crappie, 2 white perch, and 1 bullhead. Peder and Randahl Pedersen had 5 bluegills, 11 crappie, 1 white perch, 1 yellow perch, 1 bullhead, 1 pickerel and 2 bass.
River Reports
Shenandoah and James are back to normal levels after a weekend rain. Water is in low 60’s and falling. Sunny days draw smallmouth close to shore. The musky bite is picking up as the water cools.
Trout Stockings
Bland Co.: Lick Creek (11/10)
Dickenson Co.: Cranesnet River (11/09); Pound River (Flannagan Dam) (11/09); Russell Fork River (Bartlick) (11/09); Russell Fork River (Haysi) (11/09)
Lee Co.: Martins Creek (11/10); North Fork Powell River (11/10)
Page Co.: Upper Passage Creek (11/10)
Prince William Co.: Locust Shade Park (11/10)
Shenandoah Co.: Passage Creek (11/09); Peters Mill Creek (11/10)
Tazewell Co.: Lake Witten (11/09); Lincolnshire Lake (11/09); Laurel Creek (11/10)
Wythe Co.: Rural Retreat Lake Pond (11/07)