At a fishing tournament at Smith Mountain Lake last week, two anglers weighed in their catch of 5 bass totaling 36.88 pounds. That’s an average of over 7 pounds per fish. The big one went 9.49 pounds. Wow! Crappie are biting everywhere as they move shallow to spawn. Buggs, Gaston, Anna, Smith Mountain, and the Chick are all hotspots. The shad run is improving daily with warming weather and … [Read more...]

The commercial guys are like the canaries in goldmines. Their haul nets are the first signs of things to come. They are beginning to net spot and croakers, so they are on the way. It’ll be several more weeks before they bite on hook and lines, but it will happen soon. Flounder are also beginning to make their presence known off the Eastern Shore. The water temps are hovering around 50 degrees and … [Read more...]

Angler’s Landing, the marina and bait shop at Lake Orange, is open again for business - just in time for the crappie and yellow perch bite, Angler’s Landing rents jon boats and sells bait and supplies for one of the most productive lakes in Virginia. Owned and managed by the DWR, Orange gives up trophy bass in addition to channel cats, redear sunfish, walleye, saugeye, bass, crappie, perch, and … [Read more...]

The water temperature in the Chesapeake Bay is now 44, but rapidly rising. When it hits 50 degrees, things happen. In the meantime, speckled trout are becoming more aggressive and are no longer in danger from frigid waters. They’re biting and so are puppy drum and the cold-water-loving tautogs. To catch tautog, the flowing 3 baits are recommended. Crabs: Blue crabs, fiddler crabs, marsh … [Read more...]

Buggs Island Lake, also known as Kerr Reservoir, is easily the best crappie fishing impoundment on the East Coast. Crappie experts say that you have to go to Texas to find fish as large and as plentiful. A 1-pound crappie at Buggs is a baby and 2-pounders are “ho-hum.”  At Buggs Island they catch 3 and occasionally 4-pound crappie. Now those are true slabs. In a recent Crappie Tournament, … [Read more...]

The snow melt has caused the James to rise 5 feet. Lakes are also experiencing muddy waters, but that hasn’t stopped the bass bite at Anna and Smith Mountain. Another 30-pound bag won a recent bass tournament which included a whopping 10-pounder. Smith Mountain tourneys are yielding 25-pound bags for 5 bass.  Buggs Island is stained but giving up some nice stripers down lake.  Crappie … [Read more...]

By Alex McCrickard/DWR The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) is tasked with managing freshwater fisheries across the state of Virginia using best available science. DWR biologists utilize a variety of fisheries Of particular interest to Virginia anglers are the numbers of citation largemouth bass that are caught annually from public waterbodies throughout the … [Read more...]

Apparently, the puppy drum on the Outer Banks are not impressed nor discouraged by cold weather. The pups are biting down at Nags Head. TW’s Tackle says surf anglers and those tossing baits from Jennette’s Pier and catching fish of all sizes. A few speckled trout have also been reported. Offshore, one boat landed a 110-inch bluefin weighing over 900 pounds. That’s a lot of tuna … [Read more...]

A fun-for-the-whole-family event takes place in a couple weeks when the 37thAnnual Western Virginia Sport Show comes to Augusta Expo in Fishersville. The event will be held on Feb. 21, 22 and 23. There will be multiple seminars from the outdoor pros, plus over 200 vendors with special deals on equipment, guided hunts, and fishing trips. There is a trout catch-out pond for the kids, plus lots of … [Read more...]

For the past several years, the Game Department has been stocking hybrid striper fingerlings at Lake Anna. Sometimes these experiments work and sometimes not, but in this case, it worked. Anglers are catching not only stripers, but the hybrids, even in this frigid weather. Hybrids to 14 pounds have come to the scales. Hybrid stripers are known for their fighting ability. They are … [Read more...]