It was a one-for-the-record-books striper trip for Jim Hemby, a striper guide at Lake Anna. Here is his report for Saturday May 9:
Today Tony and I both had trips with Doug Myers and his company. We caught bait early and both started fishing at the same location. Tony put out a spread of boards and headed uplake, and I put out a bunch of down lines and headed down. My boat went through 130 baits by 9:15, so I went and caught more bait. We came off the water at 11 this morning and had good results for a weekend day. Our boat caught about 70 stripers and ended up with 17 keepers. Tony’s boat caught about 20 stripers and ended up with 12 keepers. Tony had asked his crew this morning if they wanted to catch numbers or size, they elected size. Their fish were nicer fish and Tony gave them what they wanted. Fishing is only going to get better daily from here on out. We are looking forward to a great summer bite. It is not uncommon to catch hundreds of stripers in a morning trip, and this year should be one of the best in recent history.
Lake Orange
“They’re killing ‘em,” said Darryl Kennedy at Angler’s Landing on Lake Orange. Darryl was speaking about the yellow perch catch in recent days. “They’re catching them on live bait off the beaver huts. One angler ran out of minnows before bringing in a full stringer of the tasty perch, which averaged about 10-inches.
The water is clear at the Orange County lake and in the mid 70’s. Fishing is also red hot for bluegills and shell crackers, both on spawning beds and close to shore. Some nice walleye were reported, up to 23 ½ inches and a 16-½ inch citation crappie was also checked in. Bass and crappie are both post-spawn. Bass are on the flats and taking soft plastics at 4 to 10 feet depths. Crappie have also moved out to 6 and 8 foot depths. Not much action yet on catfish, but everything else is on fire at Lake Orange. Call Darryl Kennedy at 540.623.6085 to reserve a boat or for more information.
Potomac River
Time to Walk the Dog
Many bass spawned last week. Still more to go. For post spawn fish, move out to first drop, cover and to deeper docks.
Water will be in the mid 70s. Our first-90 degree-day came on Tuesday after a near 90 degrees on Monday. Then it cools off for pleasant upper 70s for the rest of the week. A mix of sun and clouds every day.
For spawner and post spawners, try walking the dog with a Lucky Craft Gunfish in Aurora Black. Keep baits moving especially if fish miss! Tie to GAMMA Torque 30-pound braid. Use a Texas rigged Mizmo Quiver Stix on a 3/0 Mustad Mega Bite hook to cast to missed blow-ups on 12-pound test GAMMA Edge fluorocarbon line. Rig on spinning gear with 15-pound test Torque braid for longer casts. Also, try ¼ ounce buzzbaits on braid. White skirts and baits with clackers work in open water, but even better close to grass, wood or dock cover. Try replacing skirts with toad style soft plastics.
Wacky rigged stick worms are still producing. Use a wacky tool to put a rubber O-ring in the middle to slip a size 2 Mustad Octopus hook under. I wrap thin wire solder on the hook shaft to get them to sink faster and stay closer to the bottom. Soak plastics in garlic Jack’s Juice Bait Spray. Also rig this bait on an 1/8 ounce Barb Wire shaky head.
Drop shots work on bedding bass! Use a 1/8-ounce Water Gremlin
Bullshot weight and a 2/0 Mustad Mega Bite hook. Make leaders about 8 inches. Tie 10-pound Edge to 15-pound Torque braid on spinning gear.
Capt. Steve Chaconas is a guide on the Potomac River. info@nationalbass.com
Chickahominy River
Mike Johncox at Riverside Camp at Lanexa says bass fishing has been on fire. It has been taking better than 15 pounds to win 5-fish night tournaments. Todd Ramer reportedly caught five bass averaging 5 pounds or better on Senko worms. Both crappie and bluegill action is hot. One angler caught over 100 ‘gills on small jigs. Catfish to 10 pounds are coming to the scales. Cut eel has been the best bait. Herring have slowed at the Chickahominy Dam.
Chickahominy Lake
Capt. Art Conway of Conway’s River Rat Guide Service (804-746-2475) out of Ed Allen’s Boats and Bait reported that Chickahominy Lake mid-day water temperatures were in the high 70’s in the main lake and the high 70’s to low 80’s in the major creeks on Wednesday. The lake level was slightly above the top of the dam. The water was moderately brown and very slightly cloudy in the lower lake.
Blue cats were scattered throughout the lake and creeks and were hitting live minnows and cut bait. Crappie were in several different patterns and were biting moderately aggressively. Some crappie were in loose schools in the main lake on flats and channel edges, frequently near creek mouths, usually at depths of 6 to 12 feet. A moderate number of crappie were scattered or in small schools on shallow to mid-depth cypress knees, wood cover, and shoreline weed beds in the main lake and in mouths of major creeks. A few crappie were in the major creeks scattered along the channels. Active crappie were hitting live minnows, Wright Bait Co. curlytail jigs, small tubes, Kalin crappie scrubs, and small swim baits. Some nice yellow perch were in loose aggregates in some creeks and on main lake shoreline flats and were hitting live minnows and small jigs. Bluegill were still accumulated near shorelines in some areas of major creeks and the main lake and were hitting live crickets and worms, flies, and small jigs. Some bass and pickerel were on lily pad flats and along shorelines in major creeks and in shallow bays in the main lake and were hitting live minnows, spinnerbaits, swim baits, stick worms, and jigs.
Fishing with Capt. Conway, Mickey Cleveland had 18 bluegill, 6 crappie, 1 bass, and 1 blue cat. Karen Anderson and Maggie Billingslea had 31 bluegill, 1 shellcracker, 3 crappie, 4 yellow perch, and 1 bass. Tom Porter had 27 bluegill, 1 shellcracker, 6 crappie, and 1 yellow perch.
Buggs Island Lake
Bobby Whitlow at Bobcat’s in Clarksville says there have been two crappie spawns at Buggs Island, one in April and one in May, yet some fish are still carrying eggs, indicating another spawn to come. Fish are scattered, some are still close to shore while other schools are settling over brush piles in 12- to 20-feet of water. Boat docks have been good as of late and bridge pilings are beginning to draw fish. Bobby says that anglers generally have to fish several spots until they find the schools, then it’s easy pickings. Things are about 3 weeks behind at Buggs, but bass fishing remains strong. It takes at least 17 pounds or better to win a 5-fish bass tournament. Bass are going for spinnerbaits, plastics and small crankbaits. Best depths range from 4 to 15 feet.
Catfish anglers “wore ‘em out” during a recent water flow increase. The cats went on the feed as the water levels rose and lots of blues and flatheads were caught, up to 40 pounds. Cut shad was the ticket. Stripers are beginning to return from the Dan and Staunton rivers, but not much action has been reported in recent days.
James River
It has been a slow and difficult spring for smallmouth anglers on the James River above Scottsville, but Chris Wilkes at James River Runners says things are starting to look up, especially the top water bite. The river is at 4-8, a good level, but water temperatures have been up and down, which slows down the bite. Smallmouth should be on the beds in the next two weeks, offering some good close-to-shore opportunities.
Shenandoah River
The water is still a little chilly, but close to normal levels for this time of year. A big fish kill last spring has seriously affected angling on the lower stretches of the Shenandoah, from about Port Republic on down. The upper part of the river was not affected.
Trout Report
South River Fly Shop in Waynesboro reports phenomenal fishing on the South. The water is clear and cool, in the low 60’s. Browns and rainbows to 20-inches came to nets last week. Numerous insects are hatching including Yellow Sallies, Dark Caddis, Sulfurs and Isonychias. The Shenandoah Park streams are also in excellent shape. March Browns, Little Sallies and ants, particularly ants, have been hot patterns.
The special reg section on the Buffalo River near Lexington is also fishing well.
The Bull Pasture and Jackson rivers continue to be productive with bi-weekly stockings. Water levels have improved below Gathright Dam and some nice trout are being landed.
Saltwater
Dr. Ken Neill
Drum fishing is nothing short of fantastic. Big red and black drum are being caught in large numbers. Big black drum are being caught in the general areas of Buoys 16, 13, and 10, and in some of the seaside inlets of the Eastern Shore. Big red drum are being caught in the seaside surf and on Nautilus, Latimer, and 9-Foot Shoals. You have some time to get in on the red drum bite, but the black drum will not hang out for long. They may or may not stage around the islands of the CBBT for the summer after they leave the areas they are now. The good news is that about the time that the black drum bite wanes, cobia will be here. There have been some cobia caught out of Hatteras but it has not taken off yet. This should be the week. There will be some in the bay later this month with our cobia fishery really getting going in June.
There are some striped bass being caught. Larger fish are being found at the CBBT and around the barrier islands of the Eastern Shore. Smaller fish are being caught up in the rivers and on the flats. If you plan on keeping any striped bass that you catch, make sure that you know the current regulations. They are a little complicated this time of year: www.mrc.virginia.gov. In an effort to better communicate with the angling public, VMRC also has a Facebook page but you have to be sure that you are on the official page: www.facebook.com/MRCVirginia .
Flounder are being caught inside of the seaside inlets of the Eastern Shore and some have been caught inside of Rudee Inlet. Hampton Bar, Back River, Back River Reef have produced some keeper flounder and some have been caught at the CBBT. The flounder fishery should continue to pick up as the water continues to warm. Some puppy drum have been caught inside Rudee and Lynnhaven Inlets and on the western side of the bay but not in the numbers we have had the past few years. The fish we were catching have mostly grown out of the fishery. Drum are batch spawners and we may need another big spawn before we see fishing return to those levels. A notable no-show so far this spring has been speckled trout. Very few have been caught so far. A species that did show up this past week is the sheepshead. Anglers targeting black drum caught several large sheepshead.
Croaker and sea mullet are providing plenty of action for bottom fishermen though much of the catch is smaller fish. Some spot have been caught as well. Small bluefish can be found in the lower bay and along the oceanfront.
Dolphin catches have been good out of the Outer Banks. There have been good catches of yellowfin tuna along with some big eye tuna out of Oregon Inlet. A few Virginia boats have made the long run to get in on the bite. It is time for our offshore waters to heat up.
Sea bass is open as of May 15. This will make wreck-fishing trips popular. There are still some cod hanging on ocean wrecks along with the sea bass. The sea bass opening will also make offshore bottom fishing more attractive as anglers can now keep the big sea bass that they catch while targeting blueline tilefish.
Our club has another record winner. The Carolina Hake, caught by Johnny Boyd earlier this year, has been approved as the All-Tackle World Record. Johnny’s fish weighed 5 pounds 10 ounces. He was fishing aboard the Healthy Grin on Super Bowl Sunday. On any other day, that fish would have been cleaned but we were in a hurry to get home for the game. Doug Olander saw a photo of his fish and thought it was a Carolina hake and a large one at that. Luckily, Johnny had not yet cleaned his fish and he is now a World Record holder. This is the 11th All-Tackle World Record caught on the Healthy Grin.
Chincoteague
Capt. Bob’s reports that flounder have begun their move into the Chincoteague Channel and many fish were caught directly in front of Capt. Bob’s Marina. A 5-9 beauty was weighed in. Jack Sperry from Charlottesville landed a 42-inch shark while trolling from buoy 19 to Queen Sound. John Miller and family from PA fished the Assateague Channel in about 8 feet of water and boated three keeper flatfish. Gary Wagner from NY had three flounder from 18- to 21-inches. Successful anglers are using both Berkley Gulp baits and live minnows.
Nags Head
TW’s Bait And Tackle reports:
Following the Hurricane Ana blow over the weekend, a few spot and sea Mullet reported north of the inlet Wednesday. Thursday should be a good fishing day. There should be bluefish caught and also bottom fish. The water is choppy, looking like good drum water. Wind is NE at 20 and the water temp is 63 degrees.
The Little Bridge on the Nags Head/Manteo causeway reported bottom fish and small trout.
Avalon Pier had Blues, Trout, Shad, Sea Mullet and a 36 inch/16-lb. Striper.
Nags Head had Bluefish.
Jennette’s Pier reported Bluefish, Sea Mullet, Spot, Puffers and small Trout.
Outer Banks: Spot and Sea Mullet. The pier reported a 29 in and a 30 in Drum caught yesterday.
Inshore Boats/Nearshore Report:
The inshore boats are catching Bluefish. The head boat fished yesterday catching Sea Mullet, loads of Croakers and Pigfish.
Offshore, the Oregon Inlet fleet brought in plenty of Tuna and Dolphin. Pirates Cove added a Wahoo to the mix, making it a meat fish Grand Slam.
Hatteras Surf
Red Drum reports for Monday:
Thank goodness Ana is gone. I had a few reports today considering it rained for the most part. A couple of guys went to ramp 49 and caught and released a pair of 30-inch drum and a few Bluefish. Also caught behind the motels were a few Sea Mullet.
On Tuesday, behind the motels, anglers beached some keeper Puppy Drum and Sea Mullet. Ramp 44 anglers produced Puppy Drum and Sharks. The Point had some 40-inch plus Big Drum caught early this evening along with Sharks.
Hatteras Offshore
Capt. Dave Wilson was back on the water on Wednesday after a stretch of bad weather.
“My buddy Howard and his gang had a good day of gaffer dolphin fishing, even with the challenging sea conditions. There were a few yellowfins caught but I got an early dismissal before we hooked one.”