At Lake Anna, the bass are hungry after a grueling spawn – and so are the crappie. Last Sunday at Anna Point, Preston Cox and Larry Wollersheim weighed in a bag of bass at 20.41 pounds. Their big fish went 6.52.
Wayne Holder weighed in the best crappie in April at two pounds even while Kurt Hammerschmidt caught – and released – the best striper weighing 14 pounds, 9 ounces.
Potomac River
A break in the weather.
Topwater fishing is good right now with many effective techniques working. Watch the weather to make changes.
Water temperature is in the mid to upper 60s. A couple of dry days followed by more rain in midweek. Slowly warming back to near 70 with overnight lows in around 50.
It’s still good to cover water with Lucky Craft LVR D-7 lipless crankbaits. With clouds, go with red. Sunny days shad patterns will work. But also try Lucky Craft RTO 1.5 crankbaits, same colors to reach grass and to deflect off wood. Use 12-pound test GAMMA Edge fluorocarbon line.
As for topwater lures, Lucky Craft G-Splash poppers work when the water is calm and clear with cloudy skies. Also better at lower tides. These can be fished over grass, on grass edges and over wood. Skip them under docks on sunny days. Walking baits like the Gunfish will also work well just about anywhere and even with a bit of chop on the water. Fish topwaters on GAMMA Torque braid.
Double willow spinnerbaits are working very well now too. Make long casts when there are clouds, a bit of chop on the water. Works very well with high water and even better with clear water. Try white skirts with a bit of color to the water and fire tiger or chartreuse skirts when water is clear. Use 14-pound test GAMMA Edge fluorocarbon line.
Soft plastics pitched to grass clumps or to docks will also work. Try docks at higher tides and when the sun is up. Pitch Mizmo tubes, River Craw, with 3/16 or heavier bullet weights to targets. Use 16-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 mid 60’s in the lower main lake and in the major creeks on Saturday The lake level was about 4 inches above the top of the dam.
Most blue cats and bullheads were on flats in the main lake and scattered in creeks and hitting live minnows and cut bait. Some crappie were still scattered in major creek channels, some were on cypress knees and along shorelines in the main lake, and most were accumulating on mid-depth wood cover and along drop-offs in the main lake. 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 swim baits, and small jigs. Small to medium bluegill and shellcracker were scattered along some shorelines in major creeks and in the main lake and were hitting flies, small jigs, and live worms. Bluegill should accumulate over the next week for a spawn on the full moon. Some bass, pickerel, and bowfin were along shorelines, on lily pad flats, and along drop-offs in the major creeks and the main lake. When active, bass and pickerel were hitting live minnows, spinnerbaits, swim baits, stick worms, crank baits, jerk baits, and jigs.
Fishing with Capt. Conway, Mickey Cleveland had 28 bluegill, 1 shellcracker, 13 crappie, and 2 yellow perch.
Lake Orange
Contributed by Darrell Kennedy of Angler’s Landing (540-672-3997). The water is clear with temperatures in the upper 60’s. Largemouth bass are post spawn with some nice size fish being caught on top water. One local angler, Steven Jones, used soft plastics and caught a 7.8 lb. bass in the mid-lake area. The walleye bite is excellent right now throughout the lake. Live bait is producing some nice walleye in the 3 to 4 pound class. Black Crappie have moved a little deeper, setting up in brush piles in 8-10 ft. of water where they are taking live minnows. The bluegills are beginning to spawn. Any angler looking to catch a good mess of bluegill look to the shallows to catch a nice mess o fish. Catfishing remains strong throughout the lake on live bait and chicken liver with the upper end of the lake producing the most bites.
Buggs Island
The lake is full and bass are back in the willow bushes, in some cases behind the brush. Crappie are finished with their spawn and are drifting out to deeper water. The catfish bite is terrific. Stripers are hit or miss.
River Update
The James and Shenandoah rivers have been largely unfishable, but water levels are currently receding. Up and down water temps have the smallmouth bass unsure about spawning.
The New River, however, is hot with muskies and smallmouth bass on the rampage.
Stripers are moving up into the Dan and Staunton rivers to spawn. The Dan is still muddy but the Staunton is clearing – could be a good weekend for stripers in the Staunton.
Trout Update
The mountain streams are in tremendous shape after several weeks of rainfall. Numerous mayflies and caddis flies are hatching.
The trout hatchery trucks are busy, coming down to the wire and filling numerous streams and lakes with nice size rainbows, brookies and brown trout. The streams below were recently stocked.
Albemarle Co.: Mint Springs Lake (Middle) (5/14); Mint Springs Lake (Upper) (5/14)
Bath Co.: Douthat Lake and Wilson Creek (Fee Area) (5/16); Cowpasture River (5/18)
Grayson Co.: Elk Creek (Kids Day) (5/14)
Henry Co.: Smith River (Lower) (5/17)
Lee Co.: Martins Creek (5/16); North Fork Powell River (5/16)
Madison Co.: Robinson River (5/17)
Patrick Co.: Dan River (below Powerhouse) (5/18)
Roanoke Co.: Roanoke River (City) (5/18)
Smyth Co.: South Fork Holston River (Lower) (Kids Day) (5/14)
Washington Co.: Tennessee Laurel (5/17); Whitetop Laurel (Lower) (5/17); Whitetop Laurel (Upper) (5/17)
Wise Co.: Middle Fork Powell River (Appalachia) (5/16); South Fork Powell River (5/16)
Wythe Co.: Cripple Creek (Ravens) (Kids Day) (5/14)
Cobia On the Way
In late spring, the cobia begin moving up the Atlantic Coast after wintering off Florida and Georgia. Capt. Reese Stecher with Beach Bum Guide Service in Nags Head said the cobia are now in Carolina waters.
Most boats are catching cobia in Hatteras, Stecher said, but they showed up this week at Oregon Inlet where only a handful of boats have been fishing. That should change soon, as the big red drum made an Oregon Inlet appearance as well. Contact Stecher at www.beachbumfishing.com or (252) 449-0232 to book a trip.