LakeAnna 2017/2018

feature|angler’s paradise
Fishing Continued From Page 33
Now we are moving into summer patterns.
The fish will start to pull out of the shallows
and move out with the increasing boat traffic
and warmer water temperatures. Deeper
brush piles, rock piles, boat docks and bridge
pilings will all hold numbers of fish in the
summertime. (Baits of choice include deep
diving crankbaits, large Texas rigged worms,
shaky head worms and jig and pig combos.) I
have caught fish as deep as 35 feet, but most
will stay in the 15’–25’ range.
They will stay in these areas all summer
long until the water temperature starts to drop
back off in the fall—usually by mid-October
they are shallow again, as this is the beginning
of the fall feeding frenzy. Look for shad and
blueback herring in the backs of creeks actively
chasing bait balls all day long. Small crankbaits,
spinnerbaits, lipless crankbaits, hard jerkbaits and
soft jerkbaits are all great bait fish imitators and
will catch fish for you.
As the winter months close in, those anglers
brave enough to outlast the elements can be
rewarded with giant bass and heavy bags to
bring onto the scales. Vertical jigging is one of
the best ways to catch them at this time of year.
Learning your electronic devices is a must for
this type of fishing.
CRAPPIE
The Black Crappie, also known as specks,
freckles and silver perch, comes in a close
second to the Largemouth Bass for Lake Anna
anglers. These tasty panfish are hearty fighters
and plentiful throughout Lake Anna—though
up lake has better fishing than down lake. There
are many trophy-sized crappie in Lake Anna,
but they are the exception and not the rule. For
a crappie to be considered a trophy in Virginia,
they must be either 2 pounds or 15 inches. We
weigh in several every year at Fish Tales, fishing
and boating headquarters located in Mineral, for
our customers. Though there is no minimum
size on crappie in Lake Anna, there is a 25 fish
per day, per angler creel limit. Personally, I try
not to keep any fish less than 10 inches.
Once March rolls around, the crappie start
making their move toward the shallows; usually
they are the first fish to spawn in the spring.
They will start staging around spawning areas
waiting on water temperatures to get right (60–
66 degrees). Although I have seen them spawn
in temperatures as low as 56 degrees.
The males are the first ones to pull up and
start the spawning ritual; several males will pull
into one area and do their dance to attract
females. Their spawn is much different than a
bass; it is not just one male and one female. As
the spawn draws closer, the males will turn
a dark black and purple hue; we call this
“full tuxedo.” Sometimes they will be almost
pitch black.
Crappies are very aggressive throughout the
spawn and will take a variety of artificial baits
and colors as well as minnows. Many anglers
use small minnows rigged under a slip bobber
to catch them; I, on the other hand, prefer to
employ 2-inch curly tail grubs rigged on a
one-sixteenth ounce jig head. If you find that
you are catching numbers of smaller males, all
you need to do is back off a little deeper for the
females; the girls are not far behind.
They spawn in many types of cover, such
as willow grass, beaver huts, lay down trees,
rocks and boat docks. I have even caught them
spawning on sea walls and in water from just
a foot to about six feet deep down. The spawn
will usually last about six weeks, with the first
three weeks being the best. The large mature
fish will spawn first, followed by the smaller,
immature fish.
After the spawn is over in mid-May, they
will start retreating back to deeper water for the
summer months; I usually leave them alone for this
period of time. You have to catch and go through
lots of small fish, just to catch a few keepers.
During summer, they’re in deep boat docks,
deep bridge pilings, deep rock piles and some
will just suspend over deep water. Did you
notice the common denominator for the
summertime? Deep! The most popular place to
catch them during the summer is around the
many bridge pilings throughout the lake. They
can be anywhere from 10 feet all the way down
to 30 feet; a small minnow on a one-sixteenth
or one-eighth-ounce jighead will produce the
best results.
The most important part of crappie fishing
is the rod, reel and line. To thoroughly enjoy
crappie fishing, a lite or ultra lite rod is a must.
These fish are very hard fighters for pan fish;
if you have too large of a rod, it is really no
fun at all. A 6-pound test line is really about as
heavy as you will want to use; I use a 4-pound
test line about 90 percent of the time. The best
part about crappie fishing is that these are great
angling fish for kids—once you find them, the
action can last for hours in just one spot!
As summer ends and fall begins, they will start
to follow bait balls into the creeks, and they will
set up an ambush around the many boat docks.
A little more skill is involved in fall crappie
fishing; they will set up as far as they can under
boat docks, and skipping or shooting your grub
is a must. If the water level in the lake is down
about a foot, it makes it much easier to get your
bait to the fish. Small minnows will also work;
just keep in mind that most of the fish are under
the docks so you will have to be very patient
and wait for them to come out to you.
Fall is now over and wintertime is setting in;
the water temperature is now in the low forties;
and the fish have pulled out of the shallows.
Some fish will relocate to deep brush piles and
34 LAKE ANNA GUIDE | 2017/2018