BY BRIAN BOOG
How’s it going everybody? I’m glad you made it back for another installment of Small Waters. This month I’m going to look back at the last couple of years of writing this column and list my top 10 small waters that I’ve fished.
My brand new boat is still at Bass Pro Shops in Ashland being looked at for insurance purposes due to the lithium battery explosion that happened. They’ve assured me that I’ll be back on the water in a week or so. I’ll be out fishing a new body of water ASAP. I’ve been dry-docked for almost a month now. I’m dying to get out and throw some big swimbaits!
I’ve been lucky enough to fish a lot of really cool places here in Virginia. All of them were worth fishing and had something noteworthy to offer. My goal for this year, once my boat is back in the water, is to explore more out in the central and western part of Virginia.
With enough time on the water, some weird stuff happens. I’m sure you have yours. Here are a few of the weird and random things that have happened to me here fishing in Virginia. A helicopter hovered about 100 feet above my head and watched me fish for a good 15 minutes at Harwoods Mills. Catching big catfish on a nine-inch wake bait and other assorted topswaters. All the amazing eagles everywhere. Trying to load the new boat on a trailer, in current, on the river for the first time. An 18-footTracker at Diascund with a 10-foot center-mounted umbrella so the dude could fish without getting any sun. The crazy ospreys coming out of nowhere dive-bombing my big swimbaits. Virginia fishing rules! So now let’s get to the list.
Here are my 10 favorite places that I’ve fished and written about here in Virginia.
10. Lake Cohoon/Lake Meade – Coming in at number ten is Lake Cohoon/Lake Meade. Located in the city of Portsmouth. The boat ramp address is 1805 Pitchkettle Rd. In Suffolk. It’s 510 acres, has a 9.9hp limit and has plenty of parking. Lake Cohoon has laydowns, trees, stumps, wood, sticks, branches and every other assortment of things that grow out of the ground in the water. It’s remarkable. Jig heaven. There are also plenty of flats, points, rip rap to fish. The big bonus here is 2 lakes to fish at for the price of one because Lake Meade is in the same parking lot. Both are well worth the trip.
9. Lake Smith – Number nine is in the city of Norfolk. Lake Smith is a 193 acre lake located at 1400 Locust cres, Virginia Beach. It has a 9.9hp limit, a beautiful boat ramp, and plenty of parking. It’s a very cool, shallow lake with plenty of docks and wood. I really liked the size and layout of Smith. I fished it in the dead of winter and can’t wait to go back in the spring and summer to see what it has to offer.
8. Lee Hall Reservoir – Number eight on the list brings us to Lee Hall Reservoir located in Newport News park in Newport News. Located at 13564 Jefferson Ave, Lee Hall is a 230 acre Reservoir. It’s electric only, has 2 sides and lots and lots and lots of grass. So much so that they have a big ol’ steam boat (I dubbed it Mad Max) out there mowing it and cleaning it up. The side underneath 64 has less grass and some more depth. Lee Hall is a very shallow reservoir with grass, a few docks and pilings from the pipeline to fish. Frog Fishing wonderland. There are some pigs in there.
7. Nottoway Reservoir – On to number seven. Nottoway is located in Blackstone, VA. The boat ramp is located on the dam end at state Rt. 606. Nottoway has 188 acres and also has a 9.9hp limit. DWR had me at “Above average Largemouth” about the place. This place is just awesome. Trees everywhere. On the shore, all over the middle of the lake, all over just underneath the surface… Be careful. It has lots of lilly pads too. I had a few really good days fishing at Nottoway – I caught a ton of fish up to five pounds on a range of different baits. A small, but killer place.
6. Diascund Reservoir – At number six we have Diascund Reservoir. Coming in at 1,110 acres and located at 9551 Diascund park in Lanexa. It’s electric-only and has plenty of parking. It has plenty of big largemouth and spotted bass, so whatever your style of fishing, Diascund has it for you across three different sections to try. Points, laydowns, creeks, lots of depth, steep and shallow banks and lots of rip rap. It’s got it all. There are so many different ways to fish here. A Virginia bass fishing destination.
5. Harwoods Mills Reservoir – Number fiiiive. HMR’s boat ramp is located at 600 Oriana Rd. in Yorktown. It’s 265 acres and is electric only. There’s a decent sized parking lot and it’s a hawg factory. There are some trees to flip, a stretch of rip rap at the dam end, a road bed, a few points, but the thing about HM is the grass. It comes in pretty thick and the fish are in it. The thing that I like to do here is throw the big baits. Big wake baits, buzz baits & frogs. I don’t have a lot of big number days here, but the quality of the largemouth is off the charts. Fives and sixes seem to be normal. Almost like there’s not a lot of fish, but what are there are just big. I love this place.
4. Little Creek Reservoir – At number three we have Little Creek reservoir located at 180 Lakeview Dr. in Toano. LCR has 966 acres, is electric only and has a giant parking lot. The water is deep, crystal clear, and when open, the fishing can be amazing. Little Creek has endless points with cove after cove to get lost in. It also has a dam section with plenty of rip rap. I still haven’t fished the entire place. The view is beautiful and the vibe of the place is like no other place around. It also doesn’t hurt to have the opportunity to catch largemouth and stripers. LCR is so worth the trip.
3. Beaverdam Reservoir – Here we are at the top three on the list. At number three comes Beaverdam Reservoir. What a cool, special place. The boat ramp is located at 9537 Fary’s Mill Rd. in Gloucester. It’s 635 acres and is electric only. There’s tons of parking in the lot. Beaverdam is just plain awesome and it has all the necessities that a great body of water needs. Wood, points, coves, stumps, trees in the water, trees under the water, trees everywhere, buck brush, steep banks, fish feeding stations and hogs. Big, fat bass. It all looks perfect to fish and it is. You have to go.
2. Sandy River Reservoir – Coming in at a strong number two is Sandy River. The first time I pulled up to Sandy River, I just had a feeling that it was going to be epic. It just had a look about it and it certainly was epic. The boat ramp is located at 504 Reservoir Rd. in Rice. Sandy River is 740 acres and allows motors up to 9.9hp. The parking lot is enormous. Sandy River has big laydowns on the shoreline, deep drop offs, rip rap, lily pads, flats and everything else that’s needed to be a perfect fishery. There are so many things to fish. Everything looks good and everything about the place screams big, fat bass. I can’t wait to go back.
1. Chickahominy Lake – We’ve arrived at number one and for me, it was a no-brainer. Chick Lake is hands down my favorite lake around to fish. It has it all and is just plain awesome. Everyday out, you know you have a chance to catch a giant. It is 1,230 acres and has no motor restrictions. The boat ramp is located at Ed Allen’s Bait & Tackle – 1959 Allen Rd. in Lanexa. It has the famous dam area, loads and loads of cypress trees, expansive grass flats, docks, boat loads of lily pads and a good-sized creek channel. It’s a froggin’, flippin’ and punching paradise. I love fishing there on Wednesdays and seeing the tournament results from the night before. It’s almost always in the high twenties!
I hope you all enjoyed the list. All of these places are well worth the drive. Virginia has so much to offer fishing wise, and I’ve only fished a fraction of the places. I can’t wait to see what else is out there! Here’s to a safe year on the water and I hope you all catch a monster! If you have any suggestions of where I should fish next, please email me at woodsand watersmagazine@gmail.com.
