November is a good month to target big bass in this region as water temperatures will drop into the 50’s and baitfish will school up on the Chickahominy Lake and River. Here’s what you can expect for a visit this month and some news from around the region.
With the Ed Allen’s Boats & Baits Winter Series tournaments already underway, the regular series wrapped up October 2 with 11 boats participating. The winning team had just 12.97 pounds with a 6.40 big fish. Grattan/Grattan were second with 10.91 pounds. The Ed Allen’s Winter Series begins this month.
According to a marina spokesperson the best November bass baits for the lake will be big swimbaits, glide baits, jigs, suspending jerkbaits and bladed jigs. Most anglers will fish the lower end of the lake or wherever the most bait fish are.
Ed Allen’s has a boat ramp, a fleet of jon boats and motors to rent, a great tackle shop, motel, fishing pier and restaurant. It’s a full service fishing camp on the lower end of the lake.
Eagles Landing is your up lake fishing headquarters. Jill and John maintain a nicely-stocked tackle shop, boat ramp, jon boat rentals, minnow sales and covered boat storage at their place where anglers can access the upper end of Chickahominy Lake.
Down on Chickahominy River, fishing has improved as the water temperatures have dropped. Pads and grass are gone so you’ll want to target bass on hard cover and bait. Hard cover abounds in the form of cypress knees, docks and duck blinds. Bait usually schools at the mouth of marsh creeks as the tide falls.
Good lures to use on this tidal river in November include a small crankbait, a spinnerbait and a swimbait. Some anglers have had luck this fall using a drop shot and soft plastic stickbait.
Crappie action should pick up on the river as soon as the water temperature gets in the 50s, possibly late this month. Check the docks and other wood cover at the mouth of Diascund Creek and around the dam first.
RockAHock Campground & Cottages on the river is a great place to stay if you are planning a fall visit to the region. They have cottages for rent right on through the winter and ramps on both the river and lake you can access.
Over at Riverside Marina & Campground the Bruce family welcomes your fall visit. They have rental cabins/cottage right on the river, plus a boat ramp, minnows and rental jon boats. Fishing is excellent in this upper section of hte river.
Lin Bell at Fishing ProTech invites you to check out his shop this month. This Toano shop is truly one of the state’s top purveyors of hard-to-find and hard-to-get tackle. New items include the Megabass Sleeper Gill in all 15 colors, the new five-inch MegaBass Mag Draft swimbaits, the new Shimano Armajoint 190ST Flashboost glide bait and the Shimano Bantam Macbeth crankbait.
Toano is also home to Toano General Gun Shop where you’ll find Don Bishop and his selection of handguns and long guns to buy, sell or trade and the expert gunsmiths at Sodan Arms.
Adam’s Sports Mart in Providence Forge at the intersection of Rt. 60 and 155 offers visiting anglers and hunters a great place to fuel up, get fed and stocked up for fishing adventures on nearby Chickahominy Lake and River or Diascund Reservoir. The latter is an often over-looked fishery offering anglers big crappie, largemouth and spotted bass.
John and his team at Tomahund Marine are working on winterizations as well as getting duck boats ready this month. They sell a lot of War Eagle aluminum boats for both fishing and hunting.
