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Virginia Fishing Reports
| Fishing Reports for Virginia. If you have a report for your area send it to us at reports@bobberstop.com. Please put "Fishing Report" in the subject line of your e-mail and please don't forget to include the location. |
** Last Update was made on 7 - 12 - 08 **
VIRGINIA FISHING REPORTS - LICENSES - REGULATIONS.
TIDEWATER REGION - Chicahominy River: Betsy Caldwell of River's Rest reports that smallmouth
bass are hitting on soft plastics, while cats are going for peeler crabs and worms. Not many crappie
have been brought to boat. A few perch have been brought in on worms and plastics. The water is
warming and stained.
Little Creek Reservoir: According to Walter Elliot the following anglers were lucky -
Jim Grigonis James City County 1 Largemouth Bass 22" long Plastic worm.
Willie Weber New Kent County 8 Stripers up to 10 lbs. Live Herring. 1 Walleye 4.1 lbs. jig.
Keith Williams Hanover County 4 Stripers to 10 lbs. 1 Largemouth Bass 23" long Bait, Live Herring.
John Robertson Richmond 1 Walleye 3.8 lbs. Bait unk.
Paul Robertson Doswell 1 Largemouth Bass 7 lbs. Bait unk.
Robert (Doc) Eveland James City County 1 Striper 14 lbs. Live Herring.
Greg Rose Prince George County 1 Channel Cat 4.5 lbs. Red Wiggler.
Mike Fowler Williamsburg 26 Stripers up to 10 lbs. Live Herring.
Most of the action over the past week centers around anglers fishing for Stripers. Live Herring fish
off points in twenty are more feet of water brought a number of patrons fish weighing from ten to
fourteen pounds The Largemouth Bass bite pick up, with fishing measuring up to 23" and 7 pounds.
Live bait was used to catch most of the Bass, in from ten to twenty feet of water.
Chain Pickerel are hitting on minnows and plastic worms fish in five to twenty feet of water. A few
Yellow Perch and Crappie are being caught on small minnows and jigs fish off structure in fifteen to
twenty feet of water. The Reservoir is clear with an estimated water temperature of 89 degrees. The
water level is 21 3/4" below full pool.
North River Landing and Back Bay: Dewey Mullins of West Neck Marina told me that bass are hitting
early and late on top water plastics, crankbaits and buzzbaits. Stripers are going for large shiners,
spinners and buzzbaits. Blluegill like spinners, jigs, red worms and crickets. White perch are easily
fooled, especially at night. Water is in the 80s and clear.
SOUTHSIDE REGION - James at Lynchburg: Doug Lane at Angler's Lane says that smallmouth are
going for several types of flies shch as:CK Baitfish, Clawdads in brown, blue or back size 4 or white
zonkers. The water is warming and clear.
James at Scottsville: Brian Bodine of Razorback Guide Service reports that smallmouth bass are
biting well in the Howardsville to Bremo area. Water conditions were getting low, slow and fluctuating
some this week with daily thunderstorms adding some muddy water from Rivanna and Hardware
rivers. Baits of choice right now are Pop-R's for the morning and evening topwater bite. SMbass are
hitting plastics. Mostly finesse worms on a modified Carolina rig and tubes. Concentrate on the
darker water along the bank with some sort of structure. Lots of dinks with the occasional fish up to
3+ pounds. Cats are biting well on into the evenings with Razorback clients landing many channel
cats in the 5 to 10 pound range with the occasional flathead pushing up to 20 plus pounds. Bait of
choice is live bait or cut bait. Visit the Razorback web site or call (434) 923-9305.
Kerr Reservoir: Brandon Gray of Bobcat's Country Store reports good bass on cranks , Carolina
rigs and football jigs. Anglers going for crappie would do well to fish in brush 20 feet down and make
use of curly tail jigs or minnows. Big cats can be had with large shiners, bream or shad. The water is
clear and warming.
Smith Mountain Lake: By Mike Snead, Virginia Outdoorsman
Water Temperature: 80 degrees; Water Clarity: Good
The weather this week will be similar to last weeks with daytime highs in the upper 80's and lows at
night in the upper 60's. The skies will be partly cloudy all week with a chance of showers or
thunderstorms possible each day. The present water surface temperature is 80 degrees and with
the current weather forecast, it should stay around that level all week. We will have a first quarter
moon this Thursday, July 10th, so with clear skies we will have increased light and improved visibility
on the lake when the moon is overhead in the early evening.
Overall, the fishing continues to be good. Black bass continue to be found in a variety of different
water depths and are usually found near some type of structure that provides them ready access to
deep water. One of the most common places to find bass on Smith Mountain Lake during the day is
around deep-water docks. The bass will be found suspended under floaters, right next to pilings
and ladders as well as near old stumps under the dock. The bass like the shade and protection the
dock provides. Sometimes they will be found up close to the shoreline and other times in water that
is much deeper. They may be found at different locations on a dock at different times of the same
day, but when located will often be found in similar locations on different docks establishing a
pattern. This means that if you find fish suspended 8 feet below the surface on the shady side of an
outside piling of a dock in 20 feet of water, you will often find bass in a similar location and depth on
other docks that share the same characteristics. Once you find bass in a certain location, you can
often find them near a similar type of cover in other locations on the lake.
Many lures can be used for bass suspended around docks in the summer. One of the best is the
YamaSenko worm by Gary Yamamoto. It comes in different lengths and colors and is a lure that has
been often imitated but never duplicated or equaled. It is clearly one of the top ten baits for bass at
Smith Mountain Lake. This lure can be fished a number of different ways, but one of the best ways
to fish it around docks is wacky rigged using Gamakatsu Wide Gap Finesse, Octopus or weedless
hooks and a spinning or baitcasting outfit. Rig the bait without any other terminal tackle by inserting
the hook through the bait at the egg sack so it just hangs from the hook. Toss the Senko worm right
next to vertical structure (pilings, ladders, etc.) around the dock and allow the bait to sink naturally
to the appropriate depth. Leave your bail or reel in free-spool so the bait sinks right next to the
structure. Watch your line closely and when you see it start to move to the side, take the slack out
of your line, set the hook and hold on. Once you locate bass look for additional fish near similar
docks at the same location and depth and don't forget to return to the same dock and fish it again
after giving it a break.
In the summer, some bass will have moved into deeper water and deep diving crankbaits by
Bomber, Bandit, Lucky Craft, Norman and Rapala and plastics by Deep Creek, ZOOM, V&M,
Netbait, Roboworm, Yamamoto and Gambler are working. Carolina rigged plastic worms, creature
baits and lizards by the above mentioned plastics companies continue to produce bass, especially
on deepwater points and humps. There is still a topwater bite early and the Lobina Rico is a top
producing topwater lure. There are still seats available in the "Summer Bass Fishing Workshop" this
Thursday evening. This workshop will cover summer bass patterns and the lures and presentation
techniques used on Smith Mountain Lake during the summer. Additional details about all of our
workshops can be found at http://www.virginiaoutdoorsman.com/content/workshop.html All
workshops are all held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the second floor conference room of our building in
Westlake, on Route 122 across the street from Krogers and Wendy's. Seating is limited and classes
are filled on a first come first served basis. To reserve a seat, stop by or call the shop on (540)
721-4867.
Tournament bass fishing results were good this past week. The Saturday night bass tournament out
of Foxport Marina was won by Paul Perrault and Dennis "Chicken" Holland with a five fish weight of
17.65 pounds. The big fish in that open tournament weighed 6.20 pounds and was caught by the
team of Steve Grubbs and Tracey Bowles. The team of Mike Johnson and Glen Sink won the
Tuesday night tournament. They produced a five fish weight of 16.50 pounds to win the event. The
big fish Tuesday weighed 6.15 pounds and was caught by the Martin/Wheeler Team.
Striper fishing continues to be good, particularly for those using live bait in the mid lake areas near
the mouths of the major creeks. Good fish are being caught early in the morning using alewives and
small gizzard shad on freelines, planer boards, Redi-rigs (floats) and downlines. Once the sun gets
up, stripers are schooling up and are often found near or in deepwater timber. You can catch these
fish when they move up to feed using live bait on downlines or flukes on "Virginia Outdoorsman
Custom Fluke Jigheads" with Gamakatsu hooks. Stripers are also being caught trolling Sutton
spoons, plastic swim shad (Storm, Calcutta), sassy shad and Umbrella rigs (Urigs).
The catfish bite continues to be strong with stinkbaits, nightcrawlers, shad and shiners all producing
good results. Carp are also being caught on one of the flavored carp baits and corn. Bluegill and
other panfish continue to feed wildly on "red wiggler" worms making it the preferred bait for kids
fishing around docks this time of year.
SOUTHWEST REGION - Claytor Lake: Mike Burchett of Rock House Marina says that bass fishing
is slow during the day, with better action at night. Every Tuesday, the Marina has a bass tournament
from 6 PM to 10 PM. There is a 100% payback. The most recent winners were Jason Adams and
Chris "Bubba" Lewis, who brought in 5 fish, totaling over 8lbs. The fish were fooled by Drop Shot
Robo Worms and Wacky Rig Senkos. Stripers are striking late, with Yum Money Minnows and
Berkley Hollow Belly Swimbaits being the bait of choice. Cats, too, are good at night on the deeper
points when fished with shad. Bluegill are responding to worms. No report of big action from crappie
or perch. The water is in the mid 80's and clear.
New River and Claytor Lake: Victor Billings of Sportsman's Supply tells us that flatheads are going
for shad. Stripers are hitting at night. Perch are going for small jigs. Bass and crappie are slow. The
water is dingy and 77degrees.
Lower New River: John Zienius of Big Z's reports that the river is really low and slimy. The only
angers with luck are wading or using belly boats. Clear pockets with no grass produce the most fish.
Smallmouths are going for Gitzs and super flukes. Cats are going for cut bait in the evening hours.
The water is warming and clear.
MOUNTAIN & VALLEY REGION - Lake Moomaw: Larry Andrews of The Bait Place tells us that 3
big brown trout have been brought in recently by Covington's Bobby Jr. Hubbard, using minnows.
Bass are doing well on worms and soft plastics. Crappie and yellow perch are slow. Fishing on the
Jackson has been good. The water in the lake is down 4 feet, 78 degrees and clear.
Shenandoah North and South Forks: Harry Murray says that the mountain trout streams are at a
good level, and very fishable. The best flies are Murray's flying beatle size 16 and 18. Another good
fly is the Mr. Rapidan dry fly size 16 and 18.Water is clear and 59 degrees. Trout streams in the
valley are clear and fishable. Some are very low and require a conscious approach. The best flies
are Betsy streamer sizes 10 and 12 and the pear marauder also sizes 10 and 12. Water is clear and
69 degrees. Smallmouth bass streams in the north and south forks of the Shenandoah are clear
and fishable. Good flies are the Shenandoah blue popper size 6, Shenandoah Chartreuse Popper
size 6, the Shenandoah Chuggar and Murray'Hellgrammite black size 6.. The water is 78 t80
degrees and clear. Every Tuesday and Friday Harry puts out a stream report at
www.murraysflyshop.com
NORTHERN PIEDMONT REGION - James at the Fall Line: Mike Ostrander says that flathead cats
are hitting in the James River Park System. They are going for live and fresh cut bait. Smallmouths
like spinner jigs. The water is hot and clear.
POTOMAC AREA - No Report
Reports by: VDG&IF
VIRGINIA FISHING REPORTS - LICENSES - REGULATIONS.
TIDEWATER REGION - Chicahominy River: Betsy Caldwell of River's Rest reports that smallmouth
bass are hitting on soft plastics, while cats are going for peeler crabs and worms. Not many crappie
have been brought to boat. A few perch have been brought in on worms and plastics. The water is
warming and stained.
Little Creek Reservoir: According to Walter Elliot the following anglers were lucky -
Jim Grigonis James City County 1 Largemouth Bass 22" long Plastic worm.
Willie Weber New Kent County 8 Stripers up to 10 lbs. Live Herring. 1 Walleye 4.1 lbs. jig.
Keith Williams Hanover County 4 Stripers to 10 lbs. 1 Largemouth Bass 23" long Bait, Live Herring.
John Robertson Richmond 1 Walleye 3.8 lbs. Bait unk.
Paul Robertson Doswell 1 Largemouth Bass 7 lbs. Bait unk.
Robert (Doc) Eveland James City County 1 Striper 14 lbs. Live Herring.
Greg Rose Prince George County 1 Channel Cat 4.5 lbs. Red Wiggler.
Mike Fowler Williamsburg 26 Stripers up to 10 lbs. Live Herring.
Most of the action over the past week centers around anglers fishing for Stripers. Live Herring fish
off points in twenty are more feet of water brought a number of patrons fish weighing from ten to
fourteen pounds The Largemouth Bass bite pick up, with fishing measuring up to 23" and 7 pounds.
Live bait was used to catch most of the Bass, in from ten to twenty feet of water.
Chain Pickerel are hitting on minnows and plastic worms fish in five to twenty feet of water. A few
Yellow Perch and Crappie are being caught on small minnows and jigs fish off structure in fifteen to
twenty feet of water. The Reservoir is clear with an estimated water temperature of 89 degrees. The
water level is 21 3/4" below full pool.
North River Landing and Back Bay: Dewey Mullins of West Neck Marina told me that bass are hitting
early and late on top water plastics, crankbaits and buzzbaits. Stripers are going for large shiners,
spinners and buzzbaits. Blluegill like spinners, jigs, red worms and crickets. White perch are easily
fooled, especially at night. Water is in the 80s and clear.
SOUTHSIDE REGION - James at Lynchburg: Doug Lane at Angler's Lane says that smallmouth are
going for several types of flies shch as:CK Baitfish, Clawdads in brown, blue or back size 4 or white
zonkers. The water is warming and clear.
James at Scottsville: Brian Bodine of Razorback Guide Service reports that smallmouth bass are
biting well in the Howardsville to Bremo area. Water conditions were getting low, slow and fluctuating
some this week with daily thunderstorms adding some muddy water from Rivanna and Hardware
rivers. Baits of choice right now are Pop-R's for the morning and evening topwater bite. SMbass are
hitting plastics. Mostly finesse worms on a modified Carolina rig and tubes. Concentrate on the
darker water along the bank with some sort of structure. Lots of dinks with the occasional fish up to
3+ pounds. Cats are biting well on into the evenings with Razorback clients landing many channel
cats in the 5 to 10 pound range with the occasional flathead pushing up to 20 plus pounds. Bait of
choice is live bait or cut bait. Visit the Razorback web site or call (434) 923-9305.
Kerr Reservoir: Brandon Gray of Bobcat's Country Store reports good bass on cranks , Carolina
rigs and football jigs. Anglers going for crappie would do well to fish in brush 20 feet down and make
use of curly tail jigs or minnows. Big cats can be had with large shiners, bream or shad. The water is
clear and warming.
Smith Mountain Lake: By Mike Snead, Virginia Outdoorsman
Water Temperature: 80 degrees; Water Clarity: Good
The weather this week will be similar to last weeks with daytime highs in the upper 80's and lows at
night in the upper 60's. The skies will be partly cloudy all week with a chance of showers or
thunderstorms possible each day. The present water surface temperature is 80 degrees and with
the current weather forecast, it should stay around that level all week. We will have a first quarter
moon this Thursday, July 10th, so with clear skies we will have increased light and improved visibility
on the lake when the moon is overhead in the early evening.
Overall, the fishing continues to be good. Black bass continue to be found in a variety of different
water depths and are usually found near some type of structure that provides them ready access to
deep water. One of the most common places to find bass on Smith Mountain Lake during the day is
around deep-water docks. The bass will be found suspended under floaters, right next to pilings
and ladders as well as near old stumps under the dock. The bass like the shade and protection the
dock provides. Sometimes they will be found up close to the shoreline and other times in water that
is much deeper. They may be found at different locations on a dock at different times of the same
day, but when located will often be found in similar locations on different docks establishing a
pattern. This means that if you find fish suspended 8 feet below the surface on the shady side of an
outside piling of a dock in 20 feet of water, you will often find bass in a similar location and depth on
other docks that share the same characteristics. Once you find bass in a certain location, you can
often find them near a similar type of cover in other locations on the lake.
Many lures can be used for bass suspended around docks in the summer. One of the best is the
YamaSenko worm by Gary Yamamoto. It comes in different lengths and colors and is a lure that has
been often imitated but never duplicated or equaled. It is clearly one of the top ten baits for bass at
Smith Mountain Lake. This lure can be fished a number of different ways, but one of the best ways
to fish it around docks is wacky rigged using Gamakatsu Wide Gap Finesse, Octopus or weedless
hooks and a spinning or baitcasting outfit. Rig the bait without any other terminal tackle by inserting
the hook through the bait at the egg sack so it just hangs from the hook. Toss the Senko worm right
next to vertical structure (pilings, ladders, etc.) around the dock and allow the bait to sink naturally
to the appropriate depth. Leave your bail or reel in free-spool so the bait sinks right next to the
structure. Watch your line closely and when you see it start to move to the side, take the slack out
of your line, set the hook and hold on. Once you locate bass look for additional fish near similar
docks at the same location and depth and don't forget to return to the same dock and fish it again
after giving it a break.
In the summer, some bass will have moved into deeper water and deep diving crankbaits by
Bomber, Bandit, Lucky Craft, Norman and Rapala and plastics by Deep Creek, ZOOM, V&M,
Netbait, Roboworm, Yamamoto and Gambler are working. Carolina rigged plastic worms, creature
baits and lizards by the above mentioned plastics companies continue to produce bass, especially
on deepwater points and humps. There is still a topwater bite early and the Lobina Rico is a top
producing topwater lure. There are still seats available in the "Summer Bass Fishing Workshop" this
Thursday evening. This workshop will cover summer bass patterns and the lures and presentation
techniques used on Smith Mountain Lake during the summer. Additional details about all of our
workshops can be found at http://www.virginiaoutdoorsman.com/content/workshop.html All
workshops are all held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the second floor conference room of our building in
Westlake, on Route 122 across the street from Krogers and Wendy's. Seating is limited and classes
are filled on a first come first served basis. To reserve a seat, stop by or call the shop on (540)
721-4867.
Tournament bass fishing results were good this past week. The Saturday night bass tournament out
of Foxport Marina was won by Paul Perrault and Dennis "Chicken" Holland with a five fish weight of
17.65 pounds. The big fish in that open tournament weighed 6.20 pounds and was caught by the
team of Steve Grubbs and Tracey Bowles. The team of Mike Johnson and Glen Sink won the
Tuesday night tournament. They produced a five fish weight of 16.50 pounds to win the event. The
big fish Tuesday weighed 6.15 pounds and was caught by the Martin/Wheeler Team.
Striper fishing continues to be good, particularly for those using live bait in the mid lake areas near
the mouths of the major creeks. Good fish are being caught early in the morning using alewives and
small gizzard shad on freelines, planer boards, Redi-rigs (floats) and downlines. Once the sun gets
up, stripers are schooling up and are often found near or in deepwater timber. You can catch these
fish when they move up to feed using live bait on downlines or flukes on "Virginia Outdoorsman
Custom Fluke Jigheads" with Gamakatsu hooks. Stripers are also being caught trolling Sutton
spoons, plastic swim shad (Storm, Calcutta), sassy shad and Umbrella rigs (Urigs).
The catfish bite continues to be strong with stinkbaits, nightcrawlers, shad and shiners all producing
good results. Carp are also being caught on one of the flavored carp baits and corn. Bluegill and
other panfish continue to feed wildly on "red wiggler" worms making it the preferred bait for kids
fishing around docks this time of year.
SOUTHWEST REGION - Claytor Lake: Mike Burchett of Rock House Marina says that bass fishing
is slow during the day, with better action at night. Every Tuesday, the Marina has a bass tournament
from 6 PM to 10 PM. There is a 100% payback. The most recent winners were Jason Adams and
Chris "Bubba" Lewis, who brought in 5 fish, totaling over 8lbs. The fish were fooled by Drop Shot
Robo Worms and Wacky Rig Senkos. Stripers are striking late, with Yum Money Minnows and
Berkley Hollow Belly Swimbaits being the bait of choice. Cats, too, are good at night on the deeper
points when fished with shad. Bluegill are responding to worms. No report of big action from crappie
or perch. The water is in the mid 80's and clear.
New River and Claytor Lake: Victor Billings of Sportsman's Supply tells us that flatheads are going
for shad. Stripers are hitting at night. Perch are going for small jigs. Bass and crappie are slow. The
water is dingy and 77degrees.
Lower New River: John Zienius of Big Z's reports that the river is really low and slimy. The only
angers with luck are wading or using belly boats. Clear pockets with no grass produce the most fish.
Smallmouths are going for Gitzs and super flukes. Cats are going for cut bait in the evening hours.
The water is warming and clear.
MOUNTAIN & VALLEY REGION - Lake Moomaw: Larry Andrews of The Bait Place tells us that 3
big brown trout have been brought in recently by Covington's Bobby Jr. Hubbard, using minnows.
Bass are doing well on worms and soft plastics. Crappie and yellow perch are slow. Fishing on the
Jackson has been good. The water in the lake is down 4 feet, 78 degrees and clear.
Shenandoah North and South Forks: Harry Murray says that the mountain trout streams are at a
good level, and very fishable. The best flies are Murray's flying beatle size 16 and 18. Another good
fly is the Mr. Rapidan dry fly size 16 and 18.Water is clear and 59 degrees. Trout streams in the
valley are clear and fishable. Some are very low and require a conscious approach. The best flies
are Betsy streamer sizes 10 and 12 and the pear marauder also sizes 10 and 12. Water is clear and
69 degrees. Smallmouth bass streams in the north and south forks of the Shenandoah are clear
and fishable. Good flies are the Shenandoah blue popper size 6, Shenandoah Chartreuse Popper
size 6, the Shenandoah Chuggar and Murray'Hellgrammite black size 6.. The water is 78 t80
degrees and clear. Every Tuesday and Friday Harry puts out a stream report at
www.murraysflyshop.com
NORTHERN PIEDMONT REGION - James at the Fall Line: Mike Ostrander says that flathead cats
are hitting in the James River Park System. They are going for live and fresh cut bait. Smallmouths
like spinner jigs. The water is hot and clear.
POTOMAC AREA - No Report
Reports by: VDG&IF
