FISHING REPORTS

Lake Anna Fishing Report: April-Early May

​

BASS: The Bass will be very shallow in warming trends looking for and establishing bedding areas and falling back to the first breaks when the weather gets colder. Work faster moving baits with warming trends such as swim baits, spinner baits, jerkbaits and crank baits and slow down and down size in cold front conditions using Carolina rigged lizards, crawfish imitators, twitch baits like Senko’s, Missle Baits and Bass Assassins. A great tried and true technique for the lake is barely twitching a floating Rapala in place nearby a boulder or stump. It is hard to beat sight fishing mid and down lake in the clearer water.  The backs of main lake pockets and coves all hold Bass and are easier to fish if you want to avoid the wind. Up lake where the water is typically stained, best patterns are to work structures [ grassbeds, docks, rocks piles, stumps, etc.] with moving vibrating baits. Docks in and around marina’s hold large numbers of Bass, many tournaments are won fishing in these areas. Just about any technique you use will work this month, just concentrate your efforts in 10 feet or less.

STRIPERS: . Now that the temps are steadily rising the Stripers are feeding heavily and are preparing to spawn. Stripers are feeding all over the lake now on 5 to 15 foot flats, humps and points. Just about every shallow flat and primary point on the lake and near the mouths of creeks are producing nice catches. Stripers are feeding from all the way up the rivers down to the Dam and are not being selective of what they want to eat gorging themselves on herring and shad. When we have warming trends the fish feed more aggressively, feeding shallow and feeding often. When the fish are feeding in the upper water column we are running Gizzard Shad on planner boards, bobbers and freelines. Conversely when cold fronts blow through the fish will not be as aggressive and will usually back off to deeper water, anglers will have to put their live bait right in the faces of the Stripers to entice strikes.. Fisherman who fish with artificial baits will also get some explosive results by throwing top water baits like Spooks, waking a Redfin and popping Chuggar type baits. Swim baits work well all month, good baits to try are Sassy Shads and Sea Shads.

CRAPPIE: Fishing just doesn't get any better for Crappie than in April. Locating the fish is very simple. Most shallow docks where baitfish are present will hold Crappie especially where there is some cover present. Every dock uplake above Hunters Landing has Crappie under them , simply fish the docks quickly till you hit the one that has the size fish you are looking for. Usually the larger fish will attack your offerings first, fish till you catch little fish then move on. Other great areas to fish are Beaver huts, shallow brushpiles, shallow rockpiles, stumps and especially the shoreline grassbeds in the North Anna.. Once you locate the area where the larger fish are holding, try some small and medium minnows under a bobber. On cloudy days and in post spawn the crappie will pull off of cover and roam shallow flats in water 10 feet or less.

​