Rivers
Staunton River. Guide Matt Miles had a father-son team - Jerry and his 14-year old son Logan - out on the Staunton River this week. It was Jerry and Logan's first time fishing for striped bass. Logan connected on his first striper early in the day. Logan was surprised by the strong pull of a striper and was very excited. Logan said it was the biggest fish he had ever caught and he didn't stop there. Ultimately, he put 5 in the boat total using a white bucktail and a bubble gum fluke trailer. Jerry landed 5 stripers and about half a dozen got away. Water temps are still below normal for this time of year and Matt has seen little evidence of the stripers spawning. The stripers should be here for a few more weeks, maybe more if it stays cool. For an exciting trip of a lifetime, call Matt Miles at 434-238-2720
Middle/Upper James. “The James is in great shape,” says Guide L.E. Rhodes of Hatchmaster Guide Service. The smallmouth have been eager to eat as well. Several fish over 4 pounds have been boated along with a brute that went five and a half pounds. Another five-pound fish was also boated by the same angler. The smallies have been taking spinner baits, crank baits and pig’n jigs. Fly anglers have had success using the CK baitfish and the CK Clawdad. “Just make sure you get the fly in the strike zone,” L.E. advises. “Some days they would chase the bait, but 8 out of 10 times they wanted something fished pretty slow.”
Lower James/Chickahominy. Bass fishing on the lower James and Chick remains good, says Greentop Sporting Goods in Ashland. It has been taking between 19- and 20-pounds with a five-fish limit to win the local tournaments. Spinner baits, Senko worms and other soft plastics pitched to cover yields good results for the largemouth. Bass, catfish, rockfish, shad, and white perch are still in the James and are biting. An angler caught and released a striper weighing over 70 pounds while catfishing. That season was closed at the time. A little upriver, near Columbia, fishing as been good for flatheads and smallmouth bass. Crank baits, spinner baits, and Senkos are a few of the best baits for the bass.
The Rappahannock. Shad are still in the river and so are the stripers, an exciting bonus when an angler expects a one-pound shad on his line. The water turned milky after an early week downpour, but should be fishable by this weekend.
The Lakes
Lake Orange. Darrell Kennedy of Angler's Landing reports that the water at Lake Orange is clear with temperatures in the mid 60's. Largemouth bass and crappie are beginning to spawn. On warm, sunny days they can be found in the shallow spawning areas. On cloudy cooler days, both the bass and crappie back off the shore and can be found in the 5-foot depth range. Live bait and soft plastics are the best options for the bass and crappie bite. Noteworthy: Jim Ford of Staunton, brought in a lunker 7-0 bass on Saturday. Ford was using a soft plastic bait. Catfish are turning on in both ends of the lake hitting especially well on chicken livers. Pan fish are moving shallow with red wigglers producing the best catches. Call Angler’s Landing at (540.672.3997) to rent a boat.
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 low to mid 60’s in the upper and lower lake and in the major creeks on Wednesday (5/1/2013). The lake level was about six inches above the top of the dam. The water was brown and slightly cloudy in the lower lake.
Blue cats and a few channel cats were widely scattered in a variety of depths in the lower main lake and in the creeks, and were hitting live minnows. Crappie in a mix of sizes were still scattered in the channels and on flats of the major creeks and in some of the spawning areas. Crappie were also in some of the staging areas near creek mouths and on wood cover and channel edges in the main lake. Crappie were hitting live minnows, Kalin crappie scrubs, tubes, swim baits, and Wright Bait Co. and Southern Pro curlytail grubs. Bass and pickerel were in the major creeks and around creek mouths and were hitting flyrod bugs, topwaters, crankbaits and jerkbaits, frequently very close to shoreline vegetation. Fishing with Capt. Conway, Ted Antol had 15 crappie, 1 yellow perch, 2 fliers, 6 bluegill, 1 blue cat, 1 pickerel, and 2 bass. Jeff, Jason, and Cameron Buck had 10 crappie, 13 bluegill, 1 shellcracker, 1 flier, 1 blue cat, and 3 pickerel. Capt. Bill Buck and Hollis Pruitt had 20 crappie, 1 white perch, 1 yellow perch, 19 bluegill, 2 shellcrackers, 1 flier, 1 shiner, 1 blue cat, 1 pickerel, and 1 bass.
Lake Anna. Recent catches at Lake Anna include Rob Morris with a 5-pound bass. Brian Oxendine caught 6-pounder on a Shallow Running Crankbait. Kevin Door’s bass went 6 pounds even. Anna bass have finished their spawn and stripers are starting to hit again after a false spawn run. Crappies are anywhere from right on the banks to as deep as 14-feet. Bluegills are making a move to shallow coves to spawn.
Virginia Lakes. Trophy bass hunters are targeting spawning bass at well-known lunker holes like Briery Creek and Sandy River reservoirs. Anglers can expect to catch both spawners and post-spawners just about everywhere now. The bigger lakes like Anna, Gaston, and Kerr are providing the same conditions. Wacky rigged worms can be especially good now. land locked Stripers in area lakes have been fickle lately. Live Shad and Herring are the best bets. Some good catches have been reported from Dike 3 on top waters lately though. Expect increased catches of Bluegills and Shellcrackers now and the next few weeks, as they begin to spawn. Live crickets, worms, and small minnows can provide exciting action for anglers of all ages and skill levels. Post spawn Crappie can often be seen breaking the surface feeding on insects now, making them very vulnerable to small offerings, such as 1”-2” grubs on light jig heads.
