By Aaron Ball
After fishing two lakes (Anna and Chesdin) the third stop of the Richmond Crappie Club took place on April 28 at another lake – Chickahominy Lake. Last summer several members of the of the club earned their Boy Scout badges in “Lake Improvement” and rumor has it that those improvements came into play during this stop of the crappie swing.
Given the time of the year some fish were still shallow spawning in this cypress-lined, lily pad filled 1,230-acre lake located just northwest of Williamsburg. Anglers reported catching many post-spawn fish, also.
When all fish were weighed it was another win for Josh and Farah-Dale Morris. They backed up their impressive April win on Lake Anna, and again lapped the field with a seven-fish stringer of 8.31 pounds. They reported milking many of the abundant brush piles in the lake for the winning limit.
Dan Goldman finished in second place with 7.98 pounds and had the big fish of the tournament at 1.52 pounds. Backing up his strong performance on the Chick River, Woodduck and Josiah finished in third place 7.40 pounds. While I don’t have any information on how Wooduck caught his fish, I’d bet a few dollars that there were more than a few minnows were baptized in the Chick Lake that day.
Stop #4 for the Richmond Crappie Club Tour was held on the mighty tidal James River out of Osbourne Boat landing on May 19. Fishing in his backyard, Josh Morris once again took home the victory. This time he called in a reliever and fished with his father. The father and son duo dropped 9.95 pounds on the scales.
Hot on their tails and just .04 pounds behind them was the team of James and Jack with 9.91 pounds. Dan Goldman has shown a knack for catching the big sac-a-laits, once again bringing in big fish of the tournament at 1.98 pounds and overall, and third place with 9.75 pounds. It was reported that that three out of the top four finishers all fished in the same spot and caught most of their fish on jigs.
After four stops, the points race is extremely close. Josh and Farrah-Dale currently are in the lead with 90 points while Jack and James are close behind with 87 points. That means Jack and James would have to finish at least three spots ahead of the power fishing couple at Lake Chesdin on Sunday, June 9 (a tall task given they won there last year). This final regular season event is from 6a-2p, artificial bait only and only one rod is permitted in use at a time per person (similar to most bass tournaments, except trolling is permitted).
The real race to keep an eye on is third place, where three teams are split by a combined two points. The teams of Cameron, Craig and Rick, and Wood Duck all are vying for third place and could catapult into the top two spots with a strong finish and a stumble by one of the top two teams.
Worth mentioning is the effect of forward-facing sonar on the circuit this season. Not all, but many of the teams are now using various brands of forward-facing sonar and it shows in how they fish. Many teams will scan for fish before casting a line and then target the largest individuals on the screen to maximize effort and weights.
“It’s a game changer for finding fish. The challenge comes to if you can identify a crappie from a catfish, bass, etc.. Then the second challenge is getting the fish to bite now that you have found them. It’s definitely aggravating when you can drop a jig on them or swim a bait by them and you don’t even get a reaction,” noted James Bellamy, a member of one of the teams chasing Team Morris.
“Will it put you on the fish, yes. Do you still have to find them,yes. Does it make the fish bite, absolutely Not. I catch more fish just knowing where the structure is rather than watching them bite my bait. Almost half the fish I catch I won’t even see on the ffs. I just know they’re there,” James Frick told W2.
What does Josh Morris say?
“It’s the greatest thing since sliced bread!”
W2 Pro Staffer and RCC angler says anglers that fish with him have a predictable reaction.
“It’s incredible technology, especially when it comes to crappie fishing. I know for certain at least four people have went out and bought a unit after one time fishing with me.
David Fay says, “I hate it! When I figure it out I’ll probably love it more.”
With the Classic announced November 2-3 it will be interesting to see who takes Team of The Year and where that event will be held.
