It’s a small impoundment by normal standards. Only 50 acres. Fluvanna Ruritan Lake, however, is no stranger to large fish. It is estimated that there are over 300 largemouth bass in the lake that are 15-inches or more and quite a few over 20 inches.
The little lake that could is located near Palmyra in Fluvanna County. It happens to be owned and operated by DWR, and as such, biologists are constantly at work to improve the fishery. The Division regularly fertilizes the lake, and though it turns the water green for a spell, it can triple the poundage of fish available. Biologists also add limestone to the lake to increase the organisms that form the lake’s basic food source.
Ruritan Lake has an excellent largemouth population, plus black crappie, redear sunfish, fat and sassy bluegills and channel catfish, which are stocked annually. In the rich waters of the Fluvanna County Lake, catfish can grow to 18-inches in three months.
There is a nice boat ramp on the lake and plenty of parking, plus good fishing from many access points on the shoreline.
Fluvanna Ruritan may be small, but it offers huge fishing opportunities
Check it out.
Lake Orange Report
Darrell Kennedy of Angler’s Landing (540-672-3997) reports that water temperatures are in the mid 80s. The lake is stained with bass schooling up on baitfish. Bass can be enticed into biting topwater lures. Crappie are feeding on small minnows around brush in 8 to 10 ft of water. Walleye are chasing baitfish around grass beds and can be caught on harness rigs tipped with nightcrawlers.
Saltwater: Cobia and Spanish Macs
The Cobia bite in the bay remains strong. Most are being caught in chum slicks on live eels. Sighted on the surface, cobia will hit just about anything you put in front of them – live eels, spot, menhaden, mullet, large spoons, white buck tails, plastic eels, swimming plugs or cut bait.
A nice class of Spanish mackerel are available along the ocean front, near the CBBT and as far north as the York Spit area. Taylor blues are mixed in. Charter boats are trolling small Drone or Clark spoons behind small planers. With so many large mackerel around the Virginia State record of 9 pounds, 13 ounces could be in jeopardy.
Many are returning with both Spanish and spadefish. Look for spades around the Chesapeake Light Tower, ocean and bay buoys and the pilings and rock islands of the CBBT. Spades fall to fresh clam. Float a small piece on a small hook in front of them. Once sighted many anglers like chumming the fish up behind the boat.
Sheepshead are hanging around structure. They feed on barnacles and crabs that live on the columns. On May 30, 2022, Randy Morton fishing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel landed a 9-2 sheepshead, potentially an 8-lb. Line Class World Record for the species. This large sheepshead fell for a fiddler crab on a jig head and was landed after a short fight. This record is currently pending and under review.
Several anglers found large schools of red drum this week. Anglers are having success sight casting and bottom fishing.
Flounder catches are on the increase. Some of the larger fish are being caught jigging bucktails tagged with strip baits or Gulps near the CBBT.
Virginia Beach Pier and surf anglers are finding bluefish, Spanish, flounder, croaker, sea mullet and small spot.
Seabass and tilefish are on offshore ocean wrecks and reefs. Plenty of amberjacks are around the towers and on offshore structure.
OBX
Puppy drum continue to be the highlight of the surf fishing reports. This has been one of the best years for puppy drum in the surf in some time. Puppy Drum are still being caught in the surf consistently from Hatteras to Virginia Beach. Along with the drum, surf anglers are finding sea mullet, bluefish, pompano, flounder, croaker, and a few Spanish mackerel.
Inshore, anglers fishing from boats, kayaks, and even wade fisherman are finding good numbers of drum on cut bait, and artificials.
There are some decent trout being caught in the sound. Preston Benner caught a nice 5-2, 26-inch citation.
The offshore fleet did not fish Sunday, with rough seas offshore. However, the last few days have been good. The boats that flew the kite did very well on the tuna yesterday, and there were decent catches of dolphin as well.
