High Point Marina and Lighthouse Inn, Lake Anna, Virginia

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - LATE JANUARY

Lake Anna, Va. - With warmer than normal water temperatures, many areas of Anna normally unproductive have remained productive long into the winter season. A slackening of warm water coming through Dike III has also changed things again in the lower lake. The water is in the lower 40's up lake, 45 mid lake, upper 40's at Dike III.

Largemouth Bass - The mid and down lake region continue to be the most consistent producing areas of Anna for green fish. Shaky head worms, jigs, Toothache spoons and suspending jerkbaits are you top lure choices. Fish the big drop on main lake points, especially when you find natural cover like rocks or drop offs. Brush piles have only been fair lately. Some fish are schooled on small herring and threadfin shad in the Dike III region. The Toothache E-rig and other multi-arm rigs have been productive on deep drops and points. Use long casts and let the thing sink to the bottom. Retrieve slowly, just above the bottom.

Striper - Good fishing now for 18-21" fish throughout the lower lake region. Bigger fish are still biting around The Splits on up to the first two bridges in the North Anna and Pamunkey Branch. Multi-arm rigs with swim baits are catching striper under birds. Spoons and swimbats help you follow the action to the bottom. Expect good fishing in the Big Ben Flats and Jetts Island region to continue if the mild weather sticks around. The region from Dike III over to Valentine's Cove also has fish, but they are mostly under 21" so far.

Crappie - The fish have not completely left the up lake region, especially around the bridges. Deep brush and rocks down lake also have specks for you now. Sometimes deep is 18', sometimes it's 35'. Vertical jigging or fishing with a small minnow on a drop shot rig can be excellent at the mouth's of mid lake creeks like Pigeon, Marshall, Sturgeon and Contrary.

STRIPERS: Due to the mild winter we have been experiencing fish are still feeding all over the lake. The water has been warm enough to prevent icing consequently bait and fish are reluctant to leave the upper portions of the lake and are behind in their annual migrations. There are numerous patterns to try but the easiest for most anglers is to work the gulls. Anglers using artificial baits can catch plenty of Stripers using 3 to 4 inch Sea Shads, Sassy Shads, Toothe ache spoons and Bucktails. Cast your bait as far as you can, count it down to the depth you see fish on the depth finder and use a slow retrieve to catch schooling Stripers. For topwater fish try waking a Redfin over shallow humps and points nearby deep water. Suspending Jerk baits work exceptionally well in the clearer water with a jerk, jerk, pause, jerk pause retrieve allowing the bait to suspend motionless on the pause. Also casting an Alabama rig or trolling umbrella rigs and drop rigs work but expect to catch a lot of smaller Stripers using this method. Live bait fisherman should run planer boards using 3 to 4 inch Gizzard Shad or large minnows purchased from the marinas.

BASS: It is not uncommon to catch Citation Bass during the day using Herring pulled behind planner boards worked over areas ranging from 40 foot flats nearby the 208 bridge to 5 foot flats anywhere in the lake during low light conditions. More and more anglers are putting a Jumbo minnow on a bobber pulling it behind their boat while casting artificial for Bass with great results. The artificial lure pattern that produces the largest Bass probably is working a suspending jerk bait down lake on primary and secondary points next to deep water. Position your boat no deeper than 18 feet throwing your bait toward the shallows. The Bass can see your injured bait a great distance in the clearer water and will chase it down usually attacking it on the pause. Points with stumps, rocks or some structure will hold better Bass. Once locating productive points jig and pigs and tube baits cast to the structures will catch the more lethargic fish. Bass also love swim baits this time of year. Bass will also congregate nearby the bottom over 25 to 30 feet of water. Vertical jig a spoon or blade bait around these arches on your depth finder will put fish in the boat.

CRAPPIE: Warmer water will keep the slabs feeding on the bridges up lake as well as the major breaks. Crappie are easy to locate on a good depth finder, they are schooled up now are feeding on small threadfins about 2 inches long. Rocky primary point ledges in the 20 to 30 foot range hold large schools of fish. Deep bridge pilings and brush piles will also hold Crappie this month. The 522 bridge in the North Anna and Dillards bridge are sure places to score Crappie using small jigs and small minno

McCotter's Lake Anna Guide Service
Mid-December Fishing Report/Forecast

Lake Anna, VA. - With the holidays upon us many folks are not thinking
about fishing and that is showing on the lake. Light fishing pressure
but excellent fishing for those that get out is what you can expect in
the coming weeks. After a deluge that dumped 4-5" of rain in the
watershed and raised the lake a foot over night, it took about a week
to get back to normal levels. Water temperatures dropped quickly into
the upper 40s uplake, 50 mid lake and 59 at Dike III (with both units
running). This has created ideal conditions for bass, striper and
crappie fishing. Here's what you can expect on your next visit.

Largemouth Bass - Some bass are still holding on mid depth structure
in the mid lake region, around 10-15'. Others have gone deep to follow
around schools of small threadfin shad. You can target the mid depth
fish with suspending jerkbaits and multi-arm rigs rigged with three-
inch swimbaits. Two local favorites are the Toothache Extraction Rig
and the Dave's Tournament Tackle Ala-Brella Rig. The deep fish should
be willing to bite a Toothache Spoon or Crazy Blade from 28-35'. The
key is jigging around, but not in bait you see on your depth finder.
Don't jig in a channel, but the deep flat next to it. Good places to
jig include the mouth of Marshall Creek, the mouth of Pigeon Creek,
the mouth of Mitchell Creek and The Splits up to the first two bridges.

Striped Bass - Excellent fishing began mid month once the water cooled
and cleared. Many of the up lake fish rode the flood down to the first
two bridges and resettled there, feeding on threadfin shad. Hot zones
are from Stubbs Bridge down to The Splits and from the Holladay Mill
Bridge down to The Splits. Fish are also at the mouth of Pigeon Run
and around the 208 Bridge. Sea gulls have arrived by the hundreds, so
pay attention to what they are doing when looking for striper. The
multi-arm rigs have been excellent for striper. Rig them with three-
inch swimbaits and cast them into a bird frenzy. You can also fish the
multi-arm rigs deep when the frenzy is over for bigger stripers. The
three-inch Berkley Rippleshad has been the bait of choice when the
fish are on the small threadfins. Expect the hot zones to move down
lake with the arrival of truly cold weather. January often brings good
fishing to the mouth of Sturgeon Creek and Dike III areas.

Crappie - Specks are still biting, especially in the mid lake region.
Check the first two bridges and the 208 bridge pilings in 15-28' of
water using small jigs or slip bobbers and minnows. You can also
vertically jig them or yo-yo them up using the 1/4-oz. Crazy Blade in
the up lake region when your depth finder looks good. Hot zones for
this type of fishing are from the Holladay Mill Bridge up to the
Harris (Rt. 522) Bridge and often at the mouth of mid lake creeks.

Good luck and see you on the water.

Report generated by McCotter's Lake Anna Guide Service
540.894.3540.
www.mccotterslakeanna.com

C. C. McCotter

Fish docks and structure in the mouths of creeks, main lake points and drop offs. On very warm sunny days fish may venture back into the creeks but they wont go too far. The fish are mixed in with the stripers in some areas because they are feeding on the same schools of bait now and will for most of the winter. The bass, however, tend to be closer to structure. Use Sea Shads, sassy shads, jigs, and Toothe-ache spoons. The Alabama rig is working as several anglers have reported nice catches using multiply swim baits with this new, popular getup. Chris McCotter caught a 7 lber and Steve McGuire caught a 5 fish limit in 10' of water using the rig. We have the in stock and sales have been brisk!

The fish are gradually making their way downlake. Start at the 208 bridge and work your way up to the bridges on either side. Concentrate your efforts around the splits. Stay in the main lake and fish 8'-15' deep throwing sassy shads, sea shads, and jigging spoons. This is a great time to use the Alabama rig as you can move a small school of swimbaits in front of a striper. Livebait anglers are also doing very well.

Late November

Lake Anna, Va. - With water temperatures in the mid to upper 50s throughout Lake Anna the bass, striper and crappie are now at the start of their heavy feeding period. One of the units at North Anna will come back online this month and that should raise the water temperature only slightly at the Dike III discharge. The increase in current will be notable, however, and this might make the down lake region turn on again. Here's what you can expect on your next visit.

Largemouth bass - Mid and up lake are the best areas to fish now since the Dike III region is transitioning again. Use shaky worms on docks mid and down lake and consider vertical jigging Crazy Blades and Toothache spoons at the mouth of mid lake creeks. Many fish have gone deep and are feeding on three-inch threadfin shad, so the spoon and blade bait is a good choice. In the up lake region, bass are moving away from the shoreline willow grass and onto bait. Hard cover like rocks, road beds and brush offer them sanctuary as they make their annual move deeper. Once the bass get off the banks and grass, pursue them with crankbaits and jigs in 10-15' of water. You can also try yo-yo jigging them with a Crazy Blade in the upper sections of both the North Anna and Pamunkey Branch where you find bait and 15-20' of water.

Striper - With the units off and very little current until just recently, the schools of striper left the Dike III region and scattered throughout both sides of the lake. There are some around the Rt. 208, some around Jett's Island, some around the mouth of Plentiful Creek and many in the upper reaches of both the North Anna and Pamunkey Branch. Determine if they are feeding on threadfin or gizzard shad or herring and use a lure that matches the baitfish profile. Swimbaits are good now in the upper end of the lake when you want to imitate a gizzard shad. Spoons are good mid lake when the fish are eating threadfin shad. Birds have moved to the lake enmass, so pay attention to what they are doing as you fish. Pulling live bait like jumbo shiners and shad is good on sideplaners late in the day and early in the morning.

Crappie - Bridges, docks and brushpiles in the up lake region are where to fish now until the fish begin to move deep. Some are moving in this direction already in the upper end of the lake. You can find large schools of them in 18-24' water near bridges and deep docks. Slow swim a 1" jig through the are to locate them, then follow up with a slip bobber and minnow to fill the livewell.

Good luck and we hope to see you on the water.

Report furnished by McCotter's Lake Anna Guide Service
540.894.3540
www.mccotterslakeanna.com

November is a transition month with all species of fish feeding well fating themselves up for the winter months ahead. November brings some of the best fishing of the year and fisherman can pattern fish easily this month with a little understanding of the fishes movements. November weather fluctuates from cold nights to warm afternoons, warm spells to cold fronts and the fish move and feed with the weather. When the temperatures are warming fish move up onto the flats, points, heat absorbing clay banks and rocky structures feeding aggressively and conversely when the cold fronts hit the fish follow the bait right back to the first breaks in deeper water nearby their feeding areas and still feed but their strike zone is much smaller. Use larger baits in warming trends covering large areas of water quickly and when the fish pull back to the break lines slow down and downsize your offerings. Fishing this month is usually more productive in the afternoons once the water has warmed a little.

STRIPERS: The lake is in great shape, filled with plenty of fresh water holding plenty of Oxygen and the temperatures ranging from upper 50’s up lake to mid 60’s down lake. In the current it is hard to beat the Pencil Popper worked on the surface. When the fish sound convert to swim baits and spoons to catch the Stripers (sassy shads, Sea Shads, Toothe-ache). There are nice schools working the mouths of Sturgeons and Boggs and around the power plant. Mid lake fish are turning on strong with the gulls exposing the numerous schools of Stripers. When approaching gulls working fish cut your big motor off at least 100 yards before getting to the area of the gulls and use your trolling motor to take you into the area. The Stripers are schooled well around the splits chasing bait to the surface in low light conditions and schooling deeper in the 20 to 30 foot flats during the day. Run live bait on down lines or jig Spoons and flukes at the depth you see the arches on your depth finder to catch these Stripers. The fish want to fatten up and will attack the larger baits driving the shad up to the surface with explosive strikes. It is not uncommon to catch 15 to 20 Stripers a day using this technique.

BASS: By far the best way to locate Bass is to start in the backs of the creeks going as far as you dare then finding the slightest channel depression and working it back out targeting stumps, rocks or humps nearby the channel. Shallow running crank baits and spinner baits covering water quickly keying on areas where bait is present will get the job done. If the fish will not cooperate in the back of the creeks and rivers go directly to the mouths of the creeks working primary points and flats working deeper diving Crankbaits and especially Jerkbaits as the water cools. Bass also will hold on docks.

CRAPPIE: The Crappie are also moving with the weather conditions. For the last month I have been catching citation size Crappie throwing for bait all the way up the rivers and creeks in 2 foot of water or less! On warming trends they are moving up on the points with brush on them in 5 to 10 feet of water, on colder days the larger slabs can be caught on the deeper drops on primary points with structure [boulders or brush] on them. They will also move to the bridge pilings in the colder spells and congregate in large numbers. The nicer Crappie are feeding on 3 inch Threadfin Shad so try larger baits.