By Capt. Steve Chaconas   Like clockwork, when my 60-year-old red azaleas bloom, it’s time for the bass spawn.The length of day and warm weather makes these events concurrent...almost. The water in the Potomac is holding around 60 and rising. Nice weather week ahead, 70s by the weekend. One issue: muddy water. Surprise torrential downpours in our area and especially in the West … [Read more...]

Shad fishermen! Now’s the time. The shad have arrived and fly anglers and spin fishermen are taking lots of hickory shad at the Route 1 Bridge. Herring and white perch are in the river in force. Catfish are taking cut bait, fished on the bottom, in the outside bends of the main river channel. Bass are taking shad-colored crankbaits along the South bank of the river and plastic worms and … [Read more...]

The North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries has certified a new state record bluefin tuna. Retired Army General Scott Chambers of Townsend, Delaware, reeled in the 877-pound fish on March 17 after fighting with the fish for 2 ½ hours off Oregon Inlet. The big bluefin measured 113 inches curved fork length (tracing the contour of the body from the tip of the nose to the fork in the tail) and … [Read more...]

Lots of big bass are now coming to the scales at Lake Anna, including a 9-10 bucket mouth caught by James Maupin. Big bass are taking crankbaits, spinnerbaits, plastic worms and topwater baits. Secondary points in the creeks are still producing a few good fish, with the best areas being from the Route 208 Bridge down lake. Crappie are biting well around shallow beaver lodges, submerged brush and … [Read more...]

Shad are making their move into Virginia freshwater. The herring, hickory shad, white perch and striped bass are now in the waters above Key Bridge in DC. Shad and herring have also arrived on the Rappahannock River at the U.S. Route 1 Bridge in Fredericksburg, with good concentrations of shad under the bridge and upstream in the rapids. Herring are also present in force. The Mattapponi and … [Read more...]

  Four nor’easters in three weeks? That’s just about killed any action on the saltwater front. There are some ‘togs off the Virginia coast, but it’s been hard to get to them in 10 foot swells. Action on the Outer Banks has been limited to a few keeper pups near The Point and good catches of blackfin tuna out of Oregon Inlet, when the fleet can sail. Give it a week and things should pick … [Read more...]

  Quietly, without a lot of fanfare, Virginia has become an excellent place to catch a walleye, perhaps the best-eating freshwater fish of all. Fisheries biologists have collected adult walleye from the New River, Pigg River, Staunton River and South Holston Reservoir for the production of fingerling walleye to stock in selected lakes and rivers in Virginia. Walleye were spawned or hatched … [Read more...]

  Yellow perch are one of my favorite fish. They are beautifully colored, they are second to none in flavor and they are usually the first fish of spring to spawn and feed. The yellow perch run is now on in the Chickahominy River, the Potomac, the Occoquan, Rappahannock and James. The fish are also becoming active in lakes such as Anna, the Chick, Lake Moomaw and others. Lake Orange, … [Read more...]

Excellent fishing for blue catfish. Many of the big fish are being caught on cut shad and herring baits, fished on the bottom, in the outside bends of the river channel. Some are over 30 pounds. Fair largemouth bass action in the tidal sections on live bait and plastic grubs. Crappie are available around brush piles in the creeks and on the main river. White perch, yellow perch and stripers are … [Read more...]