FISHING REPORTS
Mid July-Early August
Lake Anna Striper Guide Service:
STRIPERS: Summer patterns continue with plenty of schools roaming the main lake regions. Your depth finder will be the key in locating the schools which are holding primarily over 25 to 35 foot flats. Anglers trolling deep diving Redfins, DD-22, Bandits, umbrella rigs, or other trolling baits are catching plenty of fish. Occasionally in low light times of the day smaller Stripers will chase bait to the surface where top water baits like Spooks, Pencil Poppers and Pop R’s attract vicious strikes. Top water Redfins also will take the larger Stripers waked across the surface.
Still some of the best catches have been on live bait. Stripers are feeding heavily on Herring when they are schooled and it is not uncommon to have multiple hit’s a morning fishing Herring on downlines.
BASS : The bass are still relating to deeper structures where bait is present still in a summer pattern. Mainlake points, humps, roadbeds, brush and rock piles and bridges hold the bass now with numerous techniques catching fish. Deep diving crankbaits are working well along with jigs tipped with worms. Bass are being caught on the top of roadbeds in 22' of water [208 bridge], on 20' ledges in Rose Valley, on top in the mouth of Contrary over schools of small Threadfin Shad, over the older fish structures that were put into the lake years ago, and all the uplake bridges. Marina docks are also holding nice Bass. Small shallow running crankbaits worked near stumps next to the shallow channels will put nice fish in the boat. Topwater baits will also catch nice bass in low light times of the day.
CRAPPIE: Plenty of Crappie holding on all the bridge pilings uplake and on brush piles in 10 to 20 feet of water. Very nice Crappie are being caught on docks that have lights on them at night. Uplake the Crappie are moving back up under shallower docks with structure or brush under the docks.
CATFISH: The Cats love this water temperature and can be caught basically everywhere there is bait present. Work areas less than 25 feet deep and use your favorite bait. Live bait has been producing some larger than normal Catfish fished near the bottom over 25 foot flats.
Lake temps in the upper 80’s
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McCotter's Lake Anna Guide Service:
The lake has remained relatively cool (about 87 degrees tops,
main lake) and at normal pool due to ample rainfall this summer.
For the stripers, anglers should expect the larger fish to remain
between the first two bridges and the marinas. The mouths of main lake
creeks like Mitchell, Pigeon, Marshall and Ware are common hotspots.
Trolling, spooning and fishing live bait on downlines has been
excellent and should continue. Trollers have been doing the best using
Redfins, DD22s, Bandits and umbrella rigs. The Toothache spoon
is the best jigging lure. Depths to look for striper range from
25-35’. There will be more and more surface action in the morning and
late afternoons but most of these fish will be under the 20” minimum
size requirement.
Largemouth bass anglers have been doing well using topwaters just
about all summer. When the fish won’t hit a popper or
Super Spook over a humps, around points and along shoreline
willowgrass, it’s time to drop back and fish shaky worms in brush and
deep rocks. Retrieving a crankbait over up lake rocky points can also
be productive. Don’t overlook schooled bass on bait in the
down lake region over open water humps and in the backs of select
creeks.
Lake Anna crappie are around shade. They don’t have to be 25’ deep
to find this. Bridge pilings, rocks, docks and brush piles all offer
this thermal refuge. Try a small crankbait on light line that dives
10’ around up lake rocks for the largest crappie of the summer.
Otherwise, it’s small minnows under slip bobbers for the best results.
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