LakeAnnaInfo.net - Fishing Report from Lake Anna Striper Guide, Jim Hemby

Fishing Report by Jim Hemby from the Lake Anna Striper Guide Service
September Fishing Report Lake Anna, Va.

BASS: Cooling water temperatures and shorter daylight hours will trigger the Bass this month to start feeding up for the fall and will position the larger Bass in the backs of the creeks and up the rivers. The shallower water cools down the quickest attracting the baitfish along with the Bass. In these locations the water temperatures can be as much as 5* cooler than the rest of the lake. The Bass are feeding on schools of Threadfins so popper baits and twitch baits work well on top and smaller crankbaits worked on the lips of the flats will produce well. Start all the way back and work your way out hitting ledges on the old creek channels where old stumps are present. Fish will congregate in the channel bends where it passes through the flats. Also check out the humps and old roadbeds around the bridges this month. Deeper diving crankbaits digging into structure will yield catches of nice bass while covering a lot of area. You will also see Bass blowing Shad out of the water around the bridges in the lower light times of day. Once you locate the nicer fish work the area thoroughly hitting all the structure nearby for the larger Bass. On calmer days when you see the schools of bait on the surface the Bass can be caught right under the bait even with no structure present with fast moving crankbaits. The shoreline grass beds midlake and uplake in the North Anna will start producing again when the water level starts to rise. When the lake is rising fish the coves and flats covering a lot of water using crankbaits and spinnerbaits and when the lake is falling fish the points and fall back to the edges of the channels and breaklines. There also will be plenty of action this month for schooling Bass on shallow main lake humps and the old fish structures. These Bass will chase bait up to the surface and can easily be caught on topwater baits. Early in the mornings when the water temperatures are still cool from the night before the Bass will relate to any shoreline structures. As usual, find the schools of baitfish and the Bass will be nearby.

STRIPERS: The Stripers will begin to fatten up this month and will become more aggressive as the water cools down. We are seeing Stripers schooling earlier than normal and being more predictable in their movements. There are still many patterns to try but out best catches are coming from 22 feet or less. With the fish feeding primarily in the upper water column we are switching from downlines to running Water Bugz Planner boards and free lines over humps, 15 to 20 foot flats and the back third of the creeks. The nicer Stripers are feeding on the larger Gizzard Shad while the schooling fish that are breaking are still feeding on Threadfin Shad. Jumbo minnows will start working better now the fish have switched to larger baits. Nice Stripers are being caught right up on the bank in low light conditions especially just after a cool night. For trollers, you can still drag crankbaits and umbrella rigs over shallower humps but may need to go to shallower diving baits or not put as much line out behind the boat. Trolling specialist guide John Chadduck has raised his downriggers to 15 feet and has shortened the distance he puts his lines out by a couple colors on his leadcore line and has had good success. He also has converted trolling larger baits. For fisherman using artificial baits fishing will continue to get better as the fish move shallower. In low light times of the day nice Stripers are being caught on the surface "Walking the dog" with spook type baits as well as on prop baits like Devil Horses and Boy Howdeys. Rubber twitch baits worked just under the surface will catch these fish also. Swim baits [Sea Shads, Sassy Shads, etc.] will catch fish all day by simply casting them as far as you can, counting them down to the fish and reeling with a steady retrieve. If you are looking for plenty of action the current at the Third Dike is holding plenty of Stripers and can be caught on Pencil Poppers on top when the fish are breaking and on Rattle Traps and the Berkley Frenzy Rattl'r in Black back-chrome finish. This school moves out to the 25 to 30 foot flats when the sun gets bright and can be caught on Spoons and Silver Buddies. When fishing uplake concentrate your efforts on the flats nearby the mouths of the creeks, humps and points, or go right to the back third of the creeks. Find the bait and the Stripers will be there.

CRAPPIE: The slabs are turning on moving shallow following the schools of Threadfin Shad. Most docks are now producing fish and fishing the rock piles above Hunters Landing is great. Deeper docks with brush or with lights on at night are holding very nice fish. Bridge pilings in 5 to 15 feet are holding Crappie. With the lake being low the stumps in the backs of the creek may be to shallow to fish but find the first break lines along the channels in 5 to 10 feet of water and you load up the cooler. Small and medium minnows along with 2" jigs are catching the most of the fish.

CATFISH: Cats are feeding everywhere from 20 feet up on whatever you offer them. Live bait, cut bait as well as stink baits are producing nice catches.

This report furnished by Jim Hemby of LAKE ANNA STRIPER GUIDE SERVICE www.JimHemby.com

LAKE ANNA AUGUST FISHING REPORT

STRIPERS: August creates some interesting challenges for the Striper on Lake Anna and for the fisherman as well. The Stripers preferred water temperature is 45* to 55*. With water temperature now in the mid to upper 80's there is little oxygen in the water and no comfort zone for the Stripers. The fish do not eat as often when they are stressed so the days of 50 to 100 fish mornings like back in June and July are gone. The Striper is constantly swimming searching for cooler water and more oxygen to disolve into his bloodstream. They can be anywhere from 50' deep to right up on the surface, from the main lake to the backs of the creeks. The lesson here being an angler must cover a lot of water to locate the Stripers and plan to keep what they catch for they may die if you release them. A few patterns are very reliable this month. The deep bite is still on and once you locate the fish on your depthfinder you can troll Deep Diving Redfins or umbrella rigs to catch fish. Our trolling expert guide John Chadduck uses downriggers and lead core line to present his baits in the exact depth provoke strikes. The schools are not as large as they were in June and in July and are scattered more so this technique works pretty well now. I am converting from using Herring to using larger Gizzard Shad now and having great success. [ You can view our daily catches on my journal at www.jimhemby.com ] Again, if the fish are deep I will put my baits in their faces using downlines and if they are in the upper water column [later in the month] I will be running 10 Water Bugz planner boards to cover as much water as possible. If the weather cools a little or we get cooling and aerating rains the baitfish will migrate to the backs of the creeks and up the rivers and the Stripers will follow. Here you can use swim baits or topwater baits in low light conditions or better yet, run huge Gizzard Shad or Jumbo's on boards to catch the larger fish. The cooler it gets the further back in the creeks the Stripers will move. Also towards the end of the month the Stripers will move into the current at Dike 3 and can easily be caught on Pencil Poppers.
BASS: The Bass do not burn energy as much as the Striper does so they cope with the hot water much better. The beginning of the month you can find the Bass still relating to deeper structures where bait is present. Mainlake points, humps, roadbeds, brush and rock piles along with bridges hold the Bass now with numerous techniques catching fish. Deep diving crankbaits are working well now along with a "shaky-head worm". To fish the worm rig a 4 to 6 inch straight-tail worm on a 1/8 to Ľ oz jighead, either weedless or with the point exposed depending on bottom conditions. Cast the worm and let it sink to the bottom. Raise your rod to the one o'clock position and gently move the tip up and down imparting a quivering action to the worm while it is setting in one spot. Hop the worm a few inches and then shake it again. We are catching Bass on top of roadbeds [old 208, Stubbs, Contrary ], on 20' ledges in Rose Vally, on top water in the mouth of Contrary and on the older fish structures. Towards the later part of the month the Bass can be caught in the backs of the creeks on humps, rocks, stumps and ledges and the fish will move extremely shallow up the rivers and creeks. Small shallow running crankbaits worked near stumps next to the channels will put nice fish in the boat.
CRAPPIE: Nice Crappie are being caught on deep docks that either have brush under them, a sharp ledge, a light that stays on at night, or the combination of all three. Crappie are also schooling uplake on primary points with rocks or boulders on the breaks in 15 to 20 feet of water. Smaller minnows and jigs are working best for the slabs are feeding on bait fry now.
CATFISH: Cats are everywhere and are feeding on everything in sight. Find arches on the bottom on your depthfinder and put live bait on them for plenty of action. They love this water temperature are are probably the easiest fish to catch this month. The larger fish are being caught 18 to 25 feet deep.
This Report furnished by Jim Hemby LAKE ANNA STRIPER GUIDE SERVICE www.jimhemby.com 540-967-3313