Late spring on Lake Anna is beautiful time of year and the fishing is excellent. This month you’ll find the main lake mostly in the upper 60’s and lower 70’s with bass and crappie spawning and striper moving back into the lower up lake regions after their up lake early spring migration. Due to a lack of rain the lake is very clear all the way up. Fishing should be good most days. Here’s what to expect on your May visit.
Guide C.C. McCotter notes spring spawn peaked the second week of April on the main lake with some earlier pockets here and there like Duke’s Creek. In general the bass spawn first down lake then mid lake and finally up lake. Several largemouth bass over eight pounds were registered by anglers fishing tournaments.
McCotter says most down lake bass will be post-spawn this month. You find them packed up and roaming around docks and the limited willow grass in the down lake region. Get out in front of them with Neko rigs. Walking baits over points and humps will begin to catch bass this month down lake.
Mid lake bass were on the beds last month and a few more will go on the May 5 full moon. You’ll find them mostly on stumps, docks and willowgrass. Good areas to check include Pigeon Run, Contrary Creek, Sturgeon Creek, Hackney Creek and Hairfield Creek.
Up lake fish also spawned last month but there should still be more, again on the full moon, too. In this region, the bass generally prefer to spawn in willowgrass and stumps.
When bass are shallow on Anna you can catch them on many lures like a Neko rigged worm, a soft plastic jerkbait, topwater, a creature bait or jig, sometimes even a spinnerbait or buzzbait.
When they are spawning your selection narrows to baits you can keep in front of fish like a drop-shotted Berkley Minnow, a Dave’s Tournament Tackle Finesse Jig, a four-inch lizard or tube.
You’ll find up lake bass spawning around Stubb’s Bridge and Ware Creek and over in the North Anna around Holiday Mill Bridge on up to the Harris Bridge.
McCotter notes striped bass and wiper should be heading back to the lower, up lake region like around Stubbs Bridge, Jetts Island, Rose Valley and Big Ben Flats after a fair spring run into the upper portion of the lake. A good mid lake striper/wiper bite has developed in recent years, mostly around the power plant region.
You can cast artificial lures or pull live bait for striper/wiper this month.
Casters will want to use 3-4” swimbaits, soft plastic jerkbaits and topwaters like the Berkley Surge Shad or a Zara Super Spook. Live bait like herring or large shiners can be pulled on side planers or free lines.
Fish both over long, shallow points next to a channel or a hump. Early morning fishing is best with late afternoon second best. Wiper are mixed in with the striper. Many anglers are hoping to see a 13-pound + wiper caught this season.
As the spring progresses, more fish will be caught in the lower, up lake regions. Some fish will remain in the mid lake region and Dike 3 will offer down lake anglers good action this month.
Crappie fishing on the main lake has been fair so far this spring, notes McCotter. His trips have produced many 14.5” fish for clients and one 15”, two-pound citation. Most of the crappie had spawned by the W2 April deadline but you can expect a second wave of fish spawning this month in the mid and upper sections of the lake. Anglers should fish shallow along willow grass lined banks with rocky bottoms. Beaver huts are good now, too. Docks with brush can be excellent.
McCotter notes that when crappie are spawning, you’ll need to use minnows on a slip bobber as they don’t move off the bed far to take a lure. Before they spawn use two-inch straight tail jigs in clear water and Beetle Spins in stained water.
Good areas include Duck In Hole, Gold Mine and Christopher Creeks in the North Anna as well as pockets around Rose Valley. In the Pamunkey the hot zone is from Hunter’s Landing on up. Mid lake crappie are mostly found on beaver huts and stumps.
If you catch an odd-looking fish with teeth this month, it’s probably a saugeye. Remember keeper size is 18 inches on these relatively new residents stocked by DWR.
There was a bunch of snakeheads caught last month when the water temperature hit 65. Fishing with MLAGS Associate Guide Kip Hall, Ben Mann caught and certified a 12-15 snakehead – the new lake record caught on hook and line. Reports of bigger fish caught could indicate the record will be broken this month.
You’ll find a great selection of bass, striper and crappie fishing gear at High Point Marina. This location also offers a convenience store, fuel on the water and rooms at The Lighthouse Inn – the only waterfront motel on the lake. Each room even has use of a wet slip and an incredible view looking up lake.
Lake Anna Outfitters is located at High Point Marina where you’ll find the lake’s paddling headquarters, fishing kayaks from Feel Free, Big Fish and Seastream and a great gift shop full of souvenir items like tees, caps and hoodies.
Next door at Anna Point Marina’s Fish Tales, Dave Fauntleroy is excited for the start of his Sunday Morning Bass Series. This is a popular tournament series that doesn’t require you to be on the lake all day with tournament hours from safe light to 11 am. Fauntleroy also has Fish Tales stocked with rod and reel combos, Lake Anna apparel and other great fishing tackle just in time for the spring! Any visit to the lake isn’t complete without a visit to Fish Tales so you and your family can feed Lake Anna’s friendly and hungry carp.
Sturgeon Creek Marina is the home of the Elite Series tournaments. With two tourneys completed and more coming this month that draw some of the most talented anglers in the region. The marina’s Youth Series also kicked off last month and will continue all spring and summer.
Sturgeon Creek offers visiting anglers plenty of boat ramps, fuel-on-the-water, tackle shop and live baits from a mid lake location off Rt. 208.
Dee Kidd and his technicians at Anna’s Marine Center are working hard rigging the boats that they can get this season! Demand remains record-setting high for SKEETERs, Nitros and TRACKERs in addition to the Bennington line of pontoons they sell. They are also experts at installing those complex new, networked fish finder systems. Call Kidd if you have a need and they’ll do their very best to accommodate you.
Christopher Run Campground is open and welcomes your visit. Over the past couple years they have updated and rennovated the facilites this offseason and this mostly wooded campground is in beautiful shape heading into the season. The shoreline bulkhead upgrade is beautiful and launching your boat should be much easier.
Elk Creek Country Store is hot side fishing headquarters. With food, fuel, drinks, grocery items and Uncle Mike’s Bait & Tackle, this shop is a must-do if you are fishing the Cooling Ponds side of the lake.
Elk Creek Store is also Dike 3 fishing headquarters. Uncle Mike says herring are running at the dike and that means the striper and wiper are there, too. Be sure and stay out of the posted No Trespassing areas on the dike so you don’t get a ticket and enjoy the great public fishing access.
