Brian and Walt

Cloudy and Cold, Water temperature 46* and Clear.
Driving to the lake this morning I had my concerns about what the day would bring. The moon was full and bright [Stripers feed hard at night with a full moon] and the weather report called for an East wind all day, didn't like starting the day off with 2 strikes against us. I was still optimistic about catching fish, but I thought our chances of catching some Big Stripers would be hindered. We launched the boat, went and caught bait, set out a huge spread of boards and free lines. Before we knew it we were taking hit after hit, the guys reeling the fish in while I baited and put lines out. We made our first pass on a flat, took about 10 hits, turned around and pulled the same area with only a couple more takers. We moved on hitting another productive area nearby boating 3 or 4 more fish. I decided to get the baits in and make a move to an area that we haven't fished lately hoping to boat a few larger Stripers. The move paid off, we boated 4 nice Stripers within 10 minutes but we spooked the fish and turned them off. We had to make 3 more moves to different areas but only would catch a few fish in each area, nothing to get real excited about. We ended up today catching over 25 Stripers, not a bad day considering the conditions. The cast net in the picture is covering about a 20 foot circle, that is how we catch bait for the trip. The Lowrance is showing a school of Stripers we fished today, you can see our sinker coming through the fish at 28 feet. Our bait on the hook is just above the sinker trying to get away from the Stripers. Brian and Walt are pictured holding a few of the fish we caught and kept today, all others were released unharmed to fight again another day. There is a strong cold front moving in tonight that will mess fishing up for a few days. I will be staying off the water this weekend keeping warm and enjoying some time with my grandson, Michael.

Robert Williams

Cloudy and Cold, Water Temperature 43* to 45* and Clear.
I picked Robert up at 7, caught bait and went fishing. We set up over 25 foot flats with numerous points and humps nearby pulling 12 planner boards and a bobber. Since I had only one angler in the boat today I did not want to fish areas where the action would be out of control, I only put out 13 lines working areas that held fish but not schools of fish. We hit a few different spots taking plenty of hits but only hooking up with about a third of the strikes. After about 35 hits I decided the fish were just not wanting to eat so I told Robert to help me get the baits in, we were going to do something completely different. We made a big move, started putting baits out and hooked up after only getting 3 baits out. The move paid off, these fish wanted to eat. We caught 4 or 5 more and called it a day. Robert kept a few fish to take back home and we released the other fish to fight again.

Friday Afternoon

Sunny, Cold and Calm, Water Temperature 45* and Clear.
Realizing it was going to be relatively calm this afternoon Anthony and myself were thinking the same thing, he called me around 1 in the afternoon and said he could leave Richmond and head to my house, I said lets go. We backed the boat into the water at 3:30, located some bait, threw the cast net and loaded the tank. We set up over 20 foot flats pulling a spread of boards, bobber and free lines. We no sooner hit the area where we hoped the fish would be holding when we saw the Stripers on the Lowrance. We hooked up with 3 nice Stripers on one side of the boat, landed them and rebaited. We continued about 100 yards without a hit so I decided to turn around and hit the area again. In the turn the furthest board on the inside hooked up, Anthony reeled it in but it had already tangled up 4 other boards. We netted the fish, untangled the mess and got the baits back out before we hit the juice. Good thing, next thing we knew we had fish hooked up for the next 45 minuted till we just couldn't see well enough to put the boards out. I snapped a picture of Anthony holding one of the fish we caught when we weren't busy reeling in fish. We didn't take a stringer picture because we released all the fish we caught this afternoon. We caught over a dozen Stripers in a a 2 hour time frame, all of the fish better quality than the fish we have been catching the last month. Tis the season for the larger fish to start feeding.

1/11/11

Five days ago the weather forecasters predicted snow for today. Some of my best fishing since '89 when I moved to the lake has been in the winter during snow storms. Three days ago I noticed there would be no wind. My phone started ringing, Anthony and Brian also knew of the potential of fishing in the snow so we planned the trip. Anthony was to pull my boat with his Excursion, Brian was going to follow us in case he had to leave early to take care of his 1 year old son or if the road conditions warranted his early departure, and a client/friend [Nathan] drove from Springfield and met us at the ramp. We were in no hurry to get to the lake, it has been an evening bite lately so we arrived at daylight, went and caught 130 baits and went fishing. We pulled a dozen boards and a couple freelines all day working flats, humps and points where we believed we could catch a Hog. After working the first area thoroughly for a couple hours only to catch a few punks and a keeper fish or two we hit 4 other areas with the same set up only to have the same success. At 3 o'clock we caught more bait to prepare ourselves for the anticipated evening bite and set out our spread one final time. We took a few hits and then a friend called me to see how we were doing and said the roads were icing up. We took a vote on the boat to see if we all wanted to stay and fish or get off the water and get back home due to the weather. I was surprised to see that our desire to fish lost to common sense and survival. We hesitantly loaded the boat and headed home. Anthony was driving about 25 mph and about 3 miles from the ramp on what appeared to be just wet roads he simply let off the gas and broke loose. The boat trailer started fishtailing going from shoulder to shoulder trying to pass our tow vehicle. Amazingly Anthony kept his cool and controlled the runaway trailer gaining control of the moment. I immediately called Brian who was following us to ask him if he had any spare underwear in his Jeep. He was in shock of what he had just witnessed and informed me that not only did he loose control but Nathan had also. Anthony put his Excursion in 4 wheel high and crept the rest of the way back to the boat shed. About a 1/4 mile from where our episode took place was a 3 car accident, vehicles in the woods. We made it home without further incident but not so good for Brian. Before he got to 95 he had passed 4 or 5 other areas with cars in the woods and shortly after passing one of the accidents Brian lost control of his Jeep, did a 360 and went through 2 concrete pillars at the entrance to someones driveway, ending up in the driveway without hitting a thing. Nathan had witnessed it all and was in disbelief. We all made it home safely, fortunately with no damage to ourselves or vehicles, but hopefully a little smarter [Duh!]. Back to fishing... We never got into any nice fish today, caught plenty of punks, a limit of Stripers, 3 Bass and a Catfish. Nathan is holding a couple of the Bass he caught.

1/11/11...a day 4 fisherman will never forget

A calm day on the Lake

Sunny and Cold, Water Temperature 45* and Calm.
Anthony and myself wanted to fish together today so we planned a day on the water taking a friend out in the morning, dropping him off at noon then picking up another to fish with us for the afternoon bite. Anthony caught bait, we met Carlos at 7:30 and went scouting for fish. We set up on an area nearby the ramp, we wanted to try places today we thought should hold fish that we haven't fished recently. The first place we pulled resulted in only a couple hits catching punks only. We moved to another area, found a school of fish and pulled 15 baits through them only to get about a dozen short hits. We then knew the fish were not feeding but we continued to fish. We hit one area where we took 7 hits and boated a couple fish, only 1 would keep. We dropped Carlos off, picked up Ed and Wilson, caught some more bait and pulled a deep area where we hoped fish would be. After working a half mile stretch we hit a point where we took a few hits and boated a fish. About 100 yards further we saw fish on the Lowrance and popped a few fish off of a ledge. Numerous boats were watching us so we decided to leave the area before they saw us catching fish. We then set up in a creek and pulled out to the main lake working flats and humps. As soon as we got our spread out we took 4 hits on boards on the port side of the boat and hooked up with 2 very nice Bass. Wilson is shown holding a citation Bass along with the other Bass that hit at the same time. We released the fish and worked a nearby hump for the rest of the evening until other inconsiderate boaters ran over the spot spooking the school. [It is still hard to believe what compels boaters to run over where anglers are set up fishing instead of giving the anglers a wide birth avoiding the area as much as possible]. Guess what, when it is calm out, winter time with little boat traffic and a boat runs over a 10 foot flat, it turns the fish off! A better choice wold be to avoid fisherman as far away as you can, especially when the lake is a half mile wide where the fisherman is. Anyway we had caught plenty of fish this afternoon, 3 Bass and 12 Stripers, kept a few for the table and took home some good memories of a beautiful Lake Anna.

Tony and Joe

Cloudy and Cold, Water Temperature 44* and Clear.
The wind was light today so I called a couple of friends to go look for fish. We met at High Point at lunch time and headed out looking for bait. There was plenty around the marina so we caught bait and looked for fish. I saw a few fish over 30 feet of water between 13 and 20 feet deep so I idled a couple hundred yards past them , turned around and set out a spread of 12 boards, a bobber and a few free lines. Before we got the lines out we started taking hits. Joe reeled in a 5 pounder then Tony lost a couple. We went a few hundred yards and went over 40 yards of fish but only got 1 taker, Joe reeled it in and Tony lost a couple more fish. We hit a main lake point and 3 more lines went off, Joe reeled in a keeper and Tony lost a couple more. I decided to get the baits in and check out another area but saw no fish there. We ended up setting up our spread and pulled flats till dark, Joe catching fish all the way and Tony loosing fish. Just about dark a nice fish hooked up and I told Tony to grab the rod. He did and landed the fish, although he took out the whole side of boards. It was great to get out this afternoon with friends and fish different areas of the lake. Joe and I had fun with Tony, we gave him a lot of grief but it wasn't quite as bad as I make it sound. Tony is a great fun loving guy and we had plenty of laughs. The guys are pictured in my boat shed holding a few of the fish we caught this afternoon. We released a bunch more to fight again another day.

Happy New Year

Here are some of my clients January catches of the past couple years. Now that the holidays and Hunting season is over I will be back on the water on a regular bases. The cold winter has killed a lot of the bait which will only result in better fishing this year. John, Anthony and myself would like to wish you a Prosperous and Happy New Year.

Steve, Jeff, Eric and Chris

Sunny and Cold, Water temperature 38* and Clear.
I got out early this morning , caught bait and met the guys at the dock at 7. Water temp at the marina had dropped about 4 degrees so I looked for warmer waters and set out my spread of a dozen boards, free lines, bobber and a couple downlines. We worked humps, points and flats all day today. This morning fishing was fairly slow but steady, we would get bit about every 15 minutes or so. We had a couple spells where we would get 4 or 5 strikes in a 50 yard area but the fishing definitely got better as the water warmed up in the afternoon. Thee guys came prepared to have fun today and that is exactly what we did. Today we had 33 hookups and boated 22 Stripers. Guys are shown holding some of the fish they kept today. We had a couple nicer fish on today but Jeff must have felt sorry for them and let them go. Over all today was a good day considering the conditions.

David, Jonathan, Jim and Carter

Partly Sunny and Cold, Water Temperature 44* and Clear.
Got out early and caught bait then picked the guys up at High Point Marina and went fishing. As I was running I noticed numerous fish between 15 and 25 feet deep. I went past where I saw the fish and set put my spread pulling baits back through the fish. It didn't take long for the the first fish to hook up and Carter landed the first Striper of the day. For the next hour I was behind trying to get baits in the water because as soon as I got a few lines out they would get hit. We boated quite a few fish on our first pass but all of the fish were hitting boards furthest away from the bank. We worked less than a mile stretch of water all morning catching a nice stringer of Stripers. Other than when the wind would blow it was a very nice December day. Jim is pictured with his son Carter holding a nice Bass. We caught 19 fish today and had a great time.

Paul and DP

Cloudy and Cold, Water Temperature 43* and Clear.
Anthony got on the water early and caught bait for the guys. They pulled main lake areas of the lake that were not "iced in" with planner boards and downlines. Anthony had to get off the water early for a Christmas party at his house so they quit fishing shortly after noon. They had already caught a limit and had been releasing fish anyway. Congratulations go out to Paul, he is a new dad as of last Sunday, proud father of Ella Grace. Congratulations not only to the new baby but that his wife would let him go fishing so soon after the baby was born!

Marc Ayscue of Ferguson Ent. with guests David Dahl [Navien], Brock, David and Mike

I got on the water at 5 to catch bait then picked the guys up at 6:30 and headed to the fishing grounds. I stopped on the way to catch a dozen Gizz then proceeded to an area where I thought I could fish without being bothered by other boats. I set out a spread of boards, freelines and a bobber pulling flats with humps and points nearby. We took a few hits on the Gizz but did not hook up. I thought the fish would feed today with it being cloudy but was concerned about the short hits. I was running equal amounts of both baits but most of our hits were coming on the Gizz. After boating a few fish we ran low on Gizzards so we went and caught more and set out the spread again. I was more confident now that we could catch fish with big fresh baits and it didn't take long before the guys faces lit up with smiles. A couple times today we would have a 30 minute period where we would not get hit but those times were always when boats would run nearby where we were fishing. We actually had a Bass boat run back and forth through where we were fishing 6 times, then he stopped and fished for 10 minutes then ran out of the area. We had over 50 hookups today, and caught plenty of Stripers. At one point I believe the guys were having a contest of who could miss more fish, but all of us knew Dave was the undisputed champ at that. We all had a lot of fun today, now some of these plumbers need to get back out to work and buy some water heaters!

Tony, Chip and Sleepy

Sunny, Cold and Windy, Water Temperature 55* and Clear.
Picked the guys up at 5:30 and went looking for bait. Made 4 or 5 throws and caught a tankful. Set out a spread of about 25 baits pulling shallow flats at first light then moved out over 25 foot flats as the sun got brighter. We popped a couple fish on the bobber and a board but realized the fish were not shallow so we gradually worked deeper for fish. The wind got up and made the day uncomfortably cold, Brandon laid on the couch for quite a while because of the cold [hence the name sleepy]. I broke out the heater and warmed them up before we made a move. We caught more bait and fished uplake for a couple hours but only boated 1 fish. We discarded all the baits we had on and made one final move, I located some fish so we put out 10 lines and burnt our bait up. The cold front hurt us today, tomorrow it will be cloudy and maybe the fish will cooperate better. Brandon caught his first Striper today, and the largest of the trip.

John and Mike

Partly Sunny and Pleasant, Water Temperature 56* and Clear.
Anthony picked the guys up at 5:30, went and caught bait and set up pulling boards uplake. Fish were somewhat lethargic today, they had numerous hookups and plenty of strikes but managed to boat 6 very nice Stripers. I believe one of the guys had a monkey on his back and Anthony got rid of it today because after boating the second fish they commented to Anthony that this was a great trip, the guided trips they had been on before had mostly been fishless. A front is moving through tonight and probably will mess fishing up for awhile.

Doug Harpster with Anthony

Sunny and pleasant, Water Temp 55* and Clear.
Anthony went out for a couple hours this morning to help Doug with his boat and to get him dialed in on bait. They ran boards and caught a couple fish by 9am and Doug took home a few for the holidays.

Jessie Reid, Tom, Bailey, Dave and Tom

Sunny and Beautiful, Water Temperature 56* and Slightly stained.
Anthony had some clients today that were dying to go out with " Striperholic". They were suppose to meet at the marina at 5:45 but when Anthony got to the marina at 5:15 they were already there and ready to go. Anthony told them to load up and off they went to catch bait. By daylight they had caught the bait and had a spread of boards covering a uplake creek. They caught a couple there and made a move to another location and caught a few more. Anthony decided to make a major move knowing he could put the guys on some nicer fish and the move really paid off. They ended up nailing the fish today, everyone had a ball and the wait to go out with Anthony was worth it. The Stripers have begun to feed up for the fall and I expect the next month will produce some nice catches.
Great catch guys!

Paul and George

Sunny and Pleasant, Water Temperature 56* and Clear.
Picked the guys up at 5:30 and went to catch bait. Caught bait easily and set out my spread working 30 foot up to 2 foot over humps and points near creek mouths. We popped 2 fish quickly but the action was not as quick as I expected so we got all the baits in and made a move. Set up further downlake pulling 25 baits at a time and started catching Stripers. Action was pretty good till I ran out of baits around noon, then we went and caught more bait. The fish must have turned off because we made a pull for an hour without getting hit. I emptied the bait tank and wouldn't you know it, immediately we had four fish hook up. We boated 3 and had to call it a day. Today we caught 14 Stripers and a couple Cats although we had over 20 fish hooked up.

Ron Spurgon and guests

Sunny morning turning cloudy in the afternoon, Water Temperature 57*and clear.
Pick my clients up at 5 and went to catch bait. Caught bait and set up on a long shallow flat pulling boards. Stripers were up on the flat but were not feeding well, we had numerous swirls but only caught 2 Stripers so I decided to put out my whole spread of boards and downlines. I had out 25 baits at once and pulled them the rest of the day working 10 to 30 foot flats. I was hoping for the fish to hit either the downlines or the boards separately but we had equal hits on both. Our best hookup came on a board, the fish pulled drag for about 10 seconds. We were unable to turn the fish before someone touched the line and the fish got off. Today we caught 12 fish and had a good time on the water.

Senior, Merdad, Jeff and Hamid

Got out early and caught herring, picked the guys up and went and caught some Gizz. Put out a spread of 8 Water Bugz planner boards, a bobber, a free line and 8 downlines covering the water column from top to bottom. Right when we came up on the edge of a flat 3 of the board baits got nervous and one of them took a hit. Senior reeled the first Striper in. I was hoping for a good board bite so I pulled the whole flat from inside to outside ledges without another hit. I gradually worked my way deeper till I saw some fish on my Lowrance. Pictured above is the boat in 36 feet of water with the right side of the graph showing the Striper arches. Our bait is the horizontal line at 24 feet starting on the left side of the sonar then it gets hit. You can actually see the fish on the right side of the screen swimming up with the bait. The left side of my screen is Structure Scan, the boat is between the 2 vertical lines and the smaller vertical dashes between 20 and 30 feet are Stripers out to the side of the boat. The wider lines at 36 feet is the bottom of the lake. I snapped this picture while the guys fought two Stripers to the boat. You can also see the water temperature was 58* and by the photograph it was a Bluebird ski today. The Stripers weren't the only thing to get hooked up today, Senior got a treble hook buried in his thumb while taking a fish off for his good buddy Jeff.

John Raftery and friends

Cloudy and Warm, Water Temperature 66* and Clear.
Met the guys at the marina and went looking for bait. I had looked and thrown for bait for over an hour this morning and only had 32 baits so I went one more place to look for bait. I was worth the trip, I made 1 cast and caught about 80 baits. We filled our tanks and went around the corner and set out our spread. We were working a flat hoping to catch fish pulling up onto it to eat the bait that was nearby. We made pass after pass on the flat and on every pass we would take a hit or two. The Stripers were not real aggressive, I don't know if it was the clouds moving in, the barometer dropping or what but our action was limited to a strike about every 20 minutes or so. We were on some nice Stripers, the largest one [32inches] John is holding all the way on the right side of the picture, hard to tell its true size by the picture. The guy holding the Striper with the grey shirt up front is Steve. He enjoys going fishing but has no passion to reel in the fish, he loves watching his friends have fun. Steve is a gracious host, every time he fishes with me all the talk on the boat is about how good all the meals are that he prepares for his guests when they stay at his lake home. He also is very intelligent and articulate, I am going to start taking a dictionary on board when he goes out with me to look up the meanings of some of the words he uses in his conversations. [No I am not writing about him because he gave me a big tip, John who is an Attorney was also getting lost with some of the conversations] We had to cut the day short because some of the guys had to get back to Md. by 4 to go to a game so we came off the water at noon. Although the day was short we had a lot of fun, we caught some nice fish and all of us came away with a little more knowledge thanks to Steve.