Today's Catches

 DP and Corey

Tony's clients Tommy, Bob, Marty and Jim

Recent Catches

 Phil, Christian and Travis

 Chief and Lee

Shane and Joe

A couple of Tony's recent trips

 James, Drew, Ricky, Brady and Devin

Jeff and his Crew

A beautiful day on the lake even if it was a Saturday

 Evan, David and Jeff

Evan with his largest fish ever! Over 36 inches and almost 19 pounds.

Sunny and Beautiful, Water Temperature 62* and Clear

A month ago Jeff called and said he just found me on the net and wanted to go see what this Striper fishing was all about. He said they had tried it with 0 success. We had a great conversation on the phone and he booked the first and third Saturdays in April. After spending a few hours on the boat on April 2nd I realized these guys were cool and we became friends. We slayed the fish that day so this morning I told them at 4:30am that we were going to try something a little different and target big fish. They were all in so we went and caught bait then went fishing. I started in a visible area since it was a Saturday and lured a lot of Striper fisherman in to the area. Once there was about 7 or 8 boats there we got our baits in and went elsewhere to have some fun. We took it easy and casually fished till we found what we wanted to then proceeded to work on um. We hooked up with 3 big fish all at once, turned around then hit them again. Boats were homing in on us so we left and went to refresh our bait tank. We came back and banged them again and that is when Evan hooked up with this nice Striper. In the two days we fished together we had so much fun with each other and made memories we will never forget. Good People, Good Weather, Good Fishing, Good Times....makes all my hard work worth it.    Got to Love the Outdoors.

Another day on the water

Jim, Linda and Carlos

Sunny and Nice, Water temperature 60*

Took the same people as yesterday out and put them on some nice ones today. Carlos is helping to hold the stringer because it was so heavy. As usual the big ones got away today. I expect the stringers will continue to look better with larger fish over the next few weeks. Can't wait to get back out to catch the big ones.

A slow morning

 Jim and Linda

Brad

Sunny and Cool, Water Temperature 62* and Clear

Today fishing was very slow and we had to work for every bite which wasn't many to put fish in the boat. We started off with 3 fish before I could get the boards out but after that we went an hour for 2 more fish. I ended up changing tactics we nailed a few more nicer fish. Tomorrow should be better.

Cold and Wind

Don took Tony and Janet out yesterday and showed them you can still catch Stripers when the temps plummet and the winds howl. That combination makes for a very uncomfortable morning on the water.

Navico Screen Shots

 Simrad Screen Shot of Stripers [arches] beneath balls of bait. I was using chirp at the time of this pic and notice the individual pieces of bait within the bait balls. Chirp is also clearly identifying each Striper very clearly.  Stripers were not feeding here as is evident of the lack of streaking arches.

 Another Simrad shot of a couple of Stripers [arches] on the left side of a couple balls of Herring.

 This is a Lowrance shot with a very busy screen. Notice in the history bar that I had been over this for some time. The sonar screen on the bottom shows a whole lot of bait [mainly on the left] but if you look closely the right side of the screen is drawing arches. The Side scan confirms with the white vertical dashes that in fact there are some fish next to the bait. This is a broadband shot but if I would have had chirp enabled it would have distinguished the bait vrs the fish better.

 I took this shot off of my bow mounted Lowrance. I am using sonar and Side Scan to locate and catch bait. I had seen bait hugging the bottom and threw the net [in the water column just to the left of the boat between 0 and 20 feet] a little late and missed my target. On the right side of the sonar screen you can see the net falling to the bottom. You can actually see the individual 1 inch round sinkers on the bottom of the net in the side scan view. The net opened perfectly and is sinking to the bottom [at the 20 foot mark]. It appears on the screen that the right side is sinking faster than the left but remember...this is side scan...the transducer is looking out to the side of the boat therefore the 0 line is the surface and 20 is the bottom...the sinkers nearer the bottom and the center horn is closer to the surface. If you were underwater looking at the net fall it would look exactly like this.

In this Lowrance bow mounted pic I threw the net off of the front of the boat. You can see in the sonar the net falling threw a major school of bait but since I threw it forward of the transducer it did not show up out to the side in side scan. I have a LSS2 mounted on the bottom of my trolling motor and simply turn the motor with my remote to locate the bait then in this case I threw on them in front of the boat before the boat got over them and spooked them.

If you are not seeing pics like these on your depth finders check out my setting to see if you are set up right. If you are ready to upgrade, stop by Greentop and talk to the Pros there. They have more knowledge of the products they sell than anywhere else I know. When you buy from them they will go over the unit completely, pull the one out of a box when you purchase it and check for updates and update them, set up the unit for the body of water you fish but most importantly will accept any of your calls while you are on the water to help you get the most from your depth finder. There knowledge of Navico products is comparable to the owners manual,  but it is easier to speak with someone rather than fumbling through a complicated manual. Even I check with them on occasion when I can't figure it out. The Guru's at Greentop are Steve Lane and Thomas Harris. If you are looking for a Lowrance that has GPS, Sonar, Side Scan and Down Scan including a total scan transducer in a 7 inch format check out the Elite 7 TI for around $800. That will be the next unit I put on my bow.  Go see them, you will be glad you did!

Quite an Interesting Day

 Evan, David, Dean and Jeff

 Fish on the ground wouldn't fit on the stringer.

Sam, Nathan, Janet and Kimmy

Funky weather today...Warm and rain in the morning with South wind, then cold front blowing threw with the wind changing to the north dropping air temps 10 degrees in 2 hours then east wind and showers then South winds and full sun????? Tony and I both fished today and laid the smack down on some Stripers. He took Janet, Kimmy and Sam and I took the other crew and together we caught 80 Stripers today. Smallest fish on the top stringer was 24 inches and the smallest one on the ground was 21inches...lots of nice fish. Our fish when they hooked up today clobbered the baits. The Water Bugz planner boards were skipping across the water in all directions but my crew met the challenge and did an exceptional job of controlling the fish. There was great action not only in the water but also in the boat. We filmed some of the nicer hook ups today and hopefully in the near future they will edit it, send it to me and I will post some of the chaos that went on today. My group had never done well on Anna before but after 10 minutes of throwing the net this morning I think they knew they were in for a treat today. Lots of fun on the water today.

This is just the beginning of a great Spring season. Contact us and come get you some!

Finally caught a BIG ONE

Michael Ward

Cloudy and Stormy, Water Temperature 58*

Michael booked a trip with me today with hopes of catching a big Striper. We went out at 3am to catch some 15 inch Gizzards. After throwing for 3 hours I finally had about 20 in the tank so we hit the water between lighting bolts. About 7:30 the bobber hooked up and the drag was Screaming! The fish headed for the front of the boat and I don't know what was louder...the drag screaming , the line singing as it passed the boat about 10 mph or me hollering at Mike to avoid the rest of my planner boards. We chased the fish for at least 300 yards then it decided to go into High Point Marina. It got around the new docks there but we managed to get it away from the pilings. Carlos saw what was going on when he was on his tractor and by now the fish was close to the ramps. I knew we could not net the fish so I yelled to him to put the front end loader of his tractor in the water and we lead the fish into the bucket. Carlos did a great job of bucketing the fish. After 2 hours the fish was ours. Not bad for a April fools  joke!!! Don't know where this fish really was caught but is is a nice one. 41.5 inches, 45 pounds. Great fish...like to catch one tomorrow half it's size!

The Napior Kids

The kids are trying to hold a few of the Stripers they caught this morning up for a picture.

Couple nice fish

Tyler and Nate holding up the 2 best fish of the morning.

Happy Easter

 Richard and Ron

 Ron's Big Un

Richards Big Un

Cloudy and EAST wind, Water Temperature 58* 

This morning I got on the water before 4 to catch bait and was ready for the guys when they showed up at the ramp. I hate this East wind and I told the guys we would catch fish but the fish would be lethargic and mess with the baits more than eat them. We set up on a flat and had four or five rises and pullbacks then a couple boats ran over us but we knew it was the weekend and the wind was not in our favor. After awhile we boated a couple fish then a couple more but it was slow. We continued to take hits but the fish did not want to commit to the baits. After fishing a couple different areas of a similar pattern and only catching a couple fish we moved to another spot. We hit this flat twice with only a couple rises then off to the south we saw a fine mist of rain headed our way. The water got a little chop, the went shifted a little and the fish turned on. For about an hour we were in heaven., We caught some really nice Stripers today but we lost some nice ones as well due to their lethargic feeding habits this morning. 'Tiss the season for Big fish. We are booking fast so if you want to be in one of these pictures better hook up with to battle on of these Giants. Remember I am raffling a full day charter for 6 for my grandson's Baseball team, check out March 24th post for details.

Dan's Big Striper

 Dan McNulty

Tony

Tony took Dan out on Saturday and put him on this nice 22+ pound Striper.

After reviewing the picture of Dan holding his fish Tony held it up to show its true size.

Who wants to win a full day Charter fishing for Stripers on Lake Anna with Jim Hemby?

This year I am giving away a charter to raise money for my grandson's baseball travel team, the Fauquier 11U Raiders Travel Baseball team. The team is selling a limited amount of tickets for $20 per ticket or 3 tickets for $50. The drawing will be held on the field by the umpire of their game on May 1st. The money raised will help defer the costs of uniforms, umpire fees, tournament entry fees and equipment.

Tickets can be purchased from the parents of the players or Checks, Money Orders or Cash can be mailed to Emily Hemby, PO Box1126 Middleburg, VA 20118. Upon receipt you will be mailed back the ticket stubs to your return address. Any of my clients or friends can contact me and I can leave tickets for you to pick up at High Point Marina or you can get them from me on the water. [Jim_Hemby@hotmail.com, 540 967 3313] or message me on facebook. Tickets need to be purchased prior to April 28th.  Winner will be notified immediately after drawing. Trip can be used anytime in 2016.

This is a great opportunity to help support the young men on the team and help them achieve their goals for the year. Whether you are a friend or relative of one of the teams family or a client of mine who wants to take a chance on winning a full day charter your investment in these young men will go a long way.

Check out what we are catching on my journal at www.JimHemby.com

A good day for Sailing

Jim, Howard, Lora, Bob, Rory and Larry

Sunny and WINDY, Water temperature 58*

Old friend Howard wanted to take some friends fishing today so he put a trip together and we went out this morning. I got out early and caught a bunch of nice baits then picked up everyone around 7am. We knew the wind was going to howl today but Howard said if we could just catch a couple fish before the wind got up everyone would be happy so we gave it our best shot. This time of year fish are usually in "spots" and unfortunately these spots are not on bluff banks or out of the wind. I fought the wind till my 36 volt trolling motor tapped out and we managed to get 13 keepers to the boat before we had to come in. Fishing in the wind has its challenges but it is all worth it to see the smiles on peoples faces when they reel in a nice fish.

Another Fun Outing

 Bobbie, Herbert, Frank, Pete, Henry and Alan

A couple nice one's

Sunny and Pleasant, Windy afternoon, Water Temperature 56* 

Some of the guys came out to catch bait with me this morning then we picked everyone else up and went looking for fish. I started to set up on some deep fish when a friend called and said he just popped two very shallow. I changed plans and put out a spread of boards and pulled the nearest shallow flat. We pulled 500 yards without a strike so I decided to go back out deeper. As soon as we dropped off over 20 feet we started seeing Stripers again. Before going out this morning I had thought the fish may have pulled out off the flats due to the cold front and that was where I was seeing the fish so I concentrated on deeper water. Next thing we knew we started taking hits. We kept moving then I got a whiff of Stripers and told the guys to get ready. Next thing we knew we had hook up after hook up. Things were crazy but controlled for a couple of hours then the bite simply quit. That was a good time to go look for some bait so we got our lines in and took off. We set up in another similar area but the wind was up and controlling the boat was becoming more difficult. After working it for 30 minutes I decided to go someplace with a similar pattern that may be out of the wind a little better. The move paid off and we were back in the action. Today the guys kept 18 Stripers and released about 6 punks. Plenty of good eating on that stringer.

A Beautiful Morning on the Lake

Rob, Kevin, Jim and Eric

Sunny and Pleasant, Water Temperature 58* 

This morning I got out early and caught bait then picked my guys up at 7. I wanted to get a few "special" baits so I ran up and wasted 30  minutes looking for them but never found any so we went fishing. I wanted to work a shallow flat so I started deploying my boards over deep water with the intentions of having a spread of a dozen boards out when I hit the flat. As I was putting the second board out I went to hook the board on the line and a fish jammed the bait. I went to rebait it and the first one got hit. I finally got two out and yet another board got hit but did not hook up. By the time I got to the flat I wanted to work I only had 5 or 6 lines out. The board up on the bank hooked up and Eric jumped on the rod. After fighting the fish for a minute we boat it and it happened to be the first and largest fish of the morning. I continued to try to get my set out but the fish would not let me. I turned around and went deeper in order to get my spread out then hit the flat without a strike! As we worked the flat we noticed a school of Stripers exploding on the surface  a couple hundred yards behind us and they followed us for about 400 yards. Apparently I was in the school originally then lost it when I turned around then my timing got screwed up. We continued for about a mile hitting other flats and catching occasional fish. By 9 I wanted to go try to get some more baits so we tried but did not have any success. We then hit the inside edges of some flats with no luck then moved out to the outer edges and started hooking up with regularity. We continued to hook up until we had to get off the water so a couple of the guys could hop on a plane to go to work. Although we caught 23 Stripers this morning we only had 11 keepers.

Some Recent Catches

 Billy of Tires Unlimited hooked up with these two 32 inch Stripers at the same time. After reeling one in he grabbed the bobber rod and reeled it in as well. He said he needs to start lifting weights cause his arms were burning after reeling these two in one after another.

 DP to his friend Blake out on Sunday morning and banged these nice Stripers.

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble

 Anthony caught these two nice Stripers while fishing SML last week.

 

 

Eric and his crew of Mountian Men

Partly Cloudy and Warm, Water temps ranging from 59 to 50 degrees.

Today I started off by catching 200 baits then picked the guys up and went fishing. On our first set we caught a few fish but after catching just 8 Stripers in 3 hours I needed to make a change. I ran up lake looking for any place where I could get 6 inches of visibility but there was nowhere that wasn't mud. We tried anyway then moved back downlake and finished the day working deep flats. Today was a tough day of fishing only catching 21 Stripers. Although our catch rate was low spirits were high and we all had a great time.

High Point Marina

High Point is just finishing up installing their new covered dock system. They have some slips still available and some will have lifts as well. These docks systems are the bomb...over ten feet high [plenty of room for pontoon tops or Center Consoles with T Tops], Stone Floors [Very heavy and stable], 3 foot catwalks for each boat and Covered. They are also over deep water and floating so water levels will never be an issue. They also have installed 4 new gas pumps that will dispense 3 grades of Ethanol Free Gas and pay at the pump. They are located mid lake at the 208 bridge. Better reserve yours soon before they are all gone!

Simrad Screen Shots

 In this screenshot I had already gone over some Stripers on a 30 foot flat and wanted to go precisely back to the spot so using the touch screen I drug back to this area and created a waypoint by touching right where the + is. Once doing this it marked my Navionics map with an X and designated a # 222 for that spot. In the square box it showed me some data that I use to go directly back to the spot. It was 55.1 feet away from me and I headed 140* on my COG [right side of screen] to go back to it. It also recorded the water temperature and exact depth of the water. On the map I also turn the trolling motor to point the boat [black boat like figure] to the waypoint which also takes me to the spot. On this particular occasion fish were few and far between but we put downlines out at 25 feet and popped a couple. Some days I have to locate numerous tiny schools to put fish in the boat. My Simrad is my best friend on the water.

 In this pic I was working a 30 foot hump pulling a downline at 25 feet [long horizontal line] right through the Stripers. As you can see the bait went right through the small school and did not take a hit. You can also see some Stripers on the side scan. By highlighting different depths on my map makes it easier to visualize the hump. I also marked a couple ares on the hump where we went over small schools of Stripers.

 On this screen shot I was looking for small schools using my sonar and map. My sonar page is zoomed in to a 12 to 30 scale because the fish I had been seeing were relating to the bottom. The Blueish small screen in the middle is indicating the part of the water column I am zoomed into. These fish were small but I wanted to see what they were so I waypointed them, turned the boat around and put 2 baits right on the bottom. One of the lines hooked up with a 3 pound Bass.

 I was working ridges on this particular afternoon and hooked up with a Hybrid where the channel split the ridge into. Notice the bait being pulled through the school and not getting hit. On side scan the fish look big but notice how slow I am traveling. When the boat is hardly moving the vertical marks are bigger because the fish stay in the picture longer. If you look at the sonar page you can see numerous fish but the arches are very thin and showing very little color. Larger fish at this speed would have much more color within the arch and the arches would be much more defined.

Here I was pulling down lines at 25 feet and went over the channel and noticed Stripers 60 to 80 feet to the right of the boat on side scan. Fishing was slow so I maneuvered the boat over to them but did not get bit. When the fish are directly over the channel I seldom catch them. When I see them 95% of the time the Stripers are not feeding and I move on, as I did in the 2 pictures above.

Beautiful Bluebird Day

 Dylan and Brian

Walt with a citation Yellow Perch

Sunny and Beautiful, Water temperature upper 40's

This morning I had a couple hours to spare before I had to go to an appointment around lunch time so I took Brian and his son Dylan and Walt out for some fun on Lake Anna. This time of year weather can be crazy, the last 2 day the wind howled and this morning it was so calm I was praying for a breeze to put a ripple on the surface. Usually when it is dead calm my shallow bite suffers so this morning I started out with downlines. We popped 6 Stripers pretty quick but after 10 minutes of catching it was over so we moved on. We pulled a shallow flat that I caught fish on a few days ago but the sun was so bright we only took a couple of hits. We made a move and hit another area with a whole lot of structure changes but only managed to catch punks. I couldn't stay out long this morning so we made one more move and tried downlines over 30 feet of water and popped some nicer fish. Dylan caught most of the keeper Stripers this morning and Walt is pictured holding a Citation Perch. He is a great Taxidermist and probably will make a nice mount out of this colorful fish.