Driving Map to Lake Anna - Click to Enlarge
| Lake Anna citation striper caught with Jim Hemby - July 2006 |
| Bob Hargis and friends with stripers and catfish caught with Jim Hemby of Lake Anna Striper Guide Service |
| Click Photos to Enlarge |
Lake Anna Overview
Lake Anna is a 9,600 acre impoundment located in the Northern Piedmont region.
It provides cooling water for the North Anna Nuclear Power Station. It is renowned
for its largemouth bass fishing and also offers excellent opportunities for
landlocked striped bass and crappie. It provides the best trophy largemouth bass
fishing of any of the major reservoirs in the state. Numerous citation fish (over 8
lbs) are caught each year and 10 lb fish are possible (an 11 lb 8 oz fish was
caught in 2003 and the lake record is 13 lbs). Due to its proximity to major
population centers (Northern VA and Richmond), the pleasure boat traffic is very
heavy during the summer months; however, fishing is still enjoyable from daylight
until around 11 am on summer weekends.
It provides cooling water for the North Anna Nuclear Power Station. It is renowned
for its largemouth bass fishing and also offers excellent opportunities for
landlocked striped bass and crappie. It provides the best trophy largemouth bass
fishing of any of the major reservoirs in the state. Numerous citation fish (over 8
lbs) are caught each year and 10 lb fish are possible (an 11 lb 8 oz fish was
caught in 2003 and the lake record is 13 lbs). Due to its proximity to major
population centers (Northern VA and Richmond), the pleasure boat traffic is very
heavy during the summer months; however, fishing is still enjoyable from daylight
until around 11 am on summer weekends.
Jim Hemby of Lake Anna Striper Guide Service provided the following Fishing
Report for May 2008. Visit Jim at www.jimhemby.com or call 540-967-3313.
The lake is full now, Water temperatures warmer than normal, Fishing is Great!
BASS: Fishing just doesn't get any better than Lake Anna in May. April was great
, two of my clients Geo. Hussey and Ron Emery catching citations in successive
trips. Bass are post spawn down lake and are either spawning over the rest of the
lake or will be within the next 2 weeks. Target shallow coves and especially 30
degree gently sloping banks with sand or gravel bottoms and stumps scattered
about. If you find these conditions with a secondary point, even better. Tube baits,
Senkos, Carolina Rigged Lizards, and Jerk baits work well here. Baitfish are
spawning on windblown rocky and clay banks, find a point with these conditions
and throw a #8 willowleaf spinnerbait in White or Pearl up on the banks and try to
get your bait back to the boat. You can catch some hogs here especially if these
points are nearby spawning areas. Up lake in the North Anna they will hit
spinnerbaits near the willow grass beds and mid lake Bass will blow up on
poppers and chuggars as well as buzz baits in 4 to 15 feet of water. Bass are
cruising the shallows now, cover lots of water using Polarized Glasses looking for
Stumps, beds and Bass. Later in the mounth the larger fish will fall back to much
deeper water to recover from the rigors of the spawn and will gorge themselves
on Herring. We catch many of these fish around the splits along the edge of the
channel where points and flats are nearby.
STRIPERS: Striper fishing is great now as is evident in our catches of recent
weeks [To view our daily catches, visit my journal at www.JimHemby.com ]. Limits
are common and with most fish averaging 8 to 10 pounds although on the days
the "Cows" feed the averages go way up. One morning in April my clients caught 2
Stripers over 19 pounds. Striper fishing should continue to get even better as the
fish are still spawning and after they finish later in the month they will move to
deeper water where daily catches for my clients should average 30 to 50 fish per
day. Many patterns exist now and will change as the water temperature increases.
Early in the day, late in the evening and in low light conditions work shallow flats,
main lake points and shallow humps nearby deep water. After the sun get up high
in the sky pull off the shallow flats and move to the deeper flats in 20 to 30 feet of
water where baitfish are present. Throw Redfins, Chuggars and Spooks in
lowlight conditions and when the fish go deeper work swim baits [ Sea Shads,
Sassy Shads and Berkley 5” Power Mullets] with steady retrieves. Without a doubt
the best catches will come this month from savvy live bait fisherman. Huge
Stripers will blow 10 to 12 inch Gizzard Shad out of the water pulled behind
planner boards or on freelines when they are shallow and when the fish move
deep we put Blueback Herring in their faces on downlines for multiple hookups.
Be versatile in May , start off shallow and if you aren't hooking up with Stripers
simply back off to deeper water. With water temperatures being much warmer this
year than normal I expect to see the fish school up earlier this year resulting in
better downline fishing with increased catches.
CRAPPIE: Most Crappie have spawned by now and have moved back to the 6 to
15 foot depths with nice slabs being caught on deeper docks and the shallower
bridge pilings. April produced dozens of Crappie citations and fish will continue to
be great in May. Look for rocky drop-offs on or nearby points , brush piles on flats
and generally areas where baitfish are plentiful with structure . Another trolling
technique that works well now is employing the use of numerous length rods
tipped with jigs fishing 10 foot flats catching the roaming schools of Crappie that
are not relating to cover, especially on cloudy days.
Report for May 2008. Visit Jim at www.jimhemby.com or call 540-967-3313.
The lake is full now, Water temperatures warmer than normal, Fishing is Great!
BASS: Fishing just doesn't get any better than Lake Anna in May. April was great
, two of my clients Geo. Hussey and Ron Emery catching citations in successive
trips. Bass are post spawn down lake and are either spawning over the rest of the
lake or will be within the next 2 weeks. Target shallow coves and especially 30
degree gently sloping banks with sand or gravel bottoms and stumps scattered
about. If you find these conditions with a secondary point, even better. Tube baits,
Senkos, Carolina Rigged Lizards, and Jerk baits work well here. Baitfish are
spawning on windblown rocky and clay banks, find a point with these conditions
and throw a #8 willowleaf spinnerbait in White or Pearl up on the banks and try to
get your bait back to the boat. You can catch some hogs here especially if these
points are nearby spawning areas. Up lake in the North Anna they will hit
spinnerbaits near the willow grass beds and mid lake Bass will blow up on
poppers and chuggars as well as buzz baits in 4 to 15 feet of water. Bass are
cruising the shallows now, cover lots of water using Polarized Glasses looking for
Stumps, beds and Bass. Later in the mounth the larger fish will fall back to much
deeper water to recover from the rigors of the spawn and will gorge themselves
on Herring. We catch many of these fish around the splits along the edge of the
channel where points and flats are nearby.
STRIPERS: Striper fishing is great now as is evident in our catches of recent
weeks [To view our daily catches, visit my journal at www.JimHemby.com ]. Limits
are common and with most fish averaging 8 to 10 pounds although on the days
the "Cows" feed the averages go way up. One morning in April my clients caught 2
Stripers over 19 pounds. Striper fishing should continue to get even better as the
fish are still spawning and after they finish later in the month they will move to
deeper water where daily catches for my clients should average 30 to 50 fish per
day. Many patterns exist now and will change as the water temperature increases.
Early in the day, late in the evening and in low light conditions work shallow flats,
main lake points and shallow humps nearby deep water. After the sun get up high
in the sky pull off the shallow flats and move to the deeper flats in 20 to 30 feet of
water where baitfish are present. Throw Redfins, Chuggars and Spooks in
lowlight conditions and when the fish go deeper work swim baits [ Sea Shads,
Sassy Shads and Berkley 5” Power Mullets] with steady retrieves. Without a doubt
the best catches will come this month from savvy live bait fisherman. Huge
Stripers will blow 10 to 12 inch Gizzard Shad out of the water pulled behind
planner boards or on freelines when they are shallow and when the fish move
deep we put Blueback Herring in their faces on downlines for multiple hookups.
Be versatile in May , start off shallow and if you aren't hooking up with Stripers
simply back off to deeper water. With water temperatures being much warmer this
year than normal I expect to see the fish school up earlier this year resulting in
better downline fishing with increased catches.
CRAPPIE: Most Crappie have spawned by now and have moved back to the 6 to
15 foot depths with nice slabs being caught on deeper docks and the shallower
bridge pilings. April produced dozens of Crappie citations and fish will continue to
be great in May. Look for rocky drop-offs on or nearby points , brush piles on flats
and generally areas where baitfish are plentiful with structure . Another trolling
technique that works well now is employing the use of numerous length rods
tipped with jigs fishing 10 foot flats catching the roaming schools of Crappie that
are not relating to cover, especially on cloudy days.
Virginia Outdoors - A Resource for Virginia Anglers and Hunters
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Fishing Lake Anna
Lake Anna Fishing Guides
Largemouth Bass: February - April provide the best chance at a trophy; however,
the bass fishing is normally good throughout the year. In the summer months,
bass congregate at predictable locations near structure. These areas may be
fished slowly and methodically. Deep diving crankbaits and Carolina and Texas
rigged plastics work well. During the spring and fall, it is important to cover more
water. The lake is heavily developed. Flipping and skipping soft plastics around
boat docks is always a good bet - especially for newcomers to the lake - and the
water willow beds in the mid-lake region and North Anna arms are worth a try with
spinnerbaits and weightless plastics. Uplake (above the "Splits" area where the
North Anna and Pamunkey arms come together) typically has stained water while
the water becomes increasingly clear moving downlake. The uplake region has
the highest density of bass and crappie.
Striped Bass: Several hundred thousand fingerling striped bass are stocked each
year. The striper fishing continues to improve and attract more anglers. In the
spring and fall, the stripers move uplake where they may be targeted by casting
swim baits (Sassy Shad, Shad Assassin, Storm Lures). In the summer months,
the fish are most commonly targeted in the mid-lake region using live bait and
trolling deep-diving crankbaits (Cordell Redfins and Norman DD-22s). Live bait
may be caught using a cast net. An easier choice is purchasing jumbo minnows
sold by the major marinas on the lake. Throughout the year, low light conditions
(dawn, dusk, overcast days) are the best times to fish.
the bass fishing is normally good throughout the year. In the summer months,
bass congregate at predictable locations near structure. These areas may be
fished slowly and methodically. Deep diving crankbaits and Carolina and Texas
rigged plastics work well. During the spring and fall, it is important to cover more
water. The lake is heavily developed. Flipping and skipping soft plastics around
boat docks is always a good bet - especially for newcomers to the lake - and the
water willow beds in the mid-lake region and North Anna arms are worth a try with
spinnerbaits and weightless plastics. Uplake (above the "Splits" area where the
North Anna and Pamunkey arms come together) typically has stained water while
the water becomes increasingly clear moving downlake. The uplake region has
the highest density of bass and crappie.
Striped Bass: Several hundred thousand fingerling striped bass are stocked each
year. The striper fishing continues to improve and attract more anglers. In the
spring and fall, the stripers move uplake where they may be targeted by casting
swim baits (Sassy Shad, Shad Assassin, Storm Lures). In the summer months,
the fish are most commonly targeted in the mid-lake region using live bait and
trolling deep-diving crankbaits (Cordell Redfins and Norman DD-22s). Live bait
may be caught using a cast net. An easier choice is purchasing jumbo minnows
sold by the major marinas on the lake. Throughout the year, low light conditions
(dawn, dusk, overcast days) are the best times to fish.
Lake Anna Fishing Report
|
| Great catch of stripers and a citation largemouth by clients of Jim Hemby in April 2008 |
| Beautiful 21 lb striper caught by client of Jim Hemby on April 3, 2007 |
| Copyright © 2007 Virginia Outdoors, LLC Ruckersville, VA |
Virginia Outdoors - Lake Anna
Other Useful Links and Info
Marinas and Boat Ramps:
Sturgeon Creek Marina: (540) 895-5095
Anna Point Marina: (540) 895-5900
High Point Marina: (540) 895-5249
Hunter's Landing: (540) 854-5756
Lake Anna State Park (Boat Launch, Swimming, Picnic Area): (540) 854-5503
Camping and Lodging:
Christopher Run Campground: (540) 894-4744
Lighthouse Inn: (540) 895-5249
Sturgeon Creek Marina: (540) 895-5095
Anna Point Marina: (540) 895-5900
High Point Marina: (540) 895-5249
Hunter's Landing: (540) 854-5756
Lake Anna State Park (Boat Launch, Swimming, Picnic Area): (540) 854-5503
Camping and Lodging:
Christopher Run Campground: (540) 894-4744
Lighthouse Inn: (540) 895-5249
| Featured Article: Where to Catch Virginia's Trophy Largemouth Bass |
| Owen Burkholder with a 16", 2.5 lb citation crappie caught April 5, 2008 |
| Steve Will with a 30" striper caught April 5, 2008 |
