Afternoon of Fishing

February 25th, 2008 : Cloudy and Cool, Water Temps 45* to 50* and Clear.

Decided to go fishing this morning so I filled the bait tank at 9am and headed to the lake. Caught bait around 11 o'clock and called a friend and told him to meet me at the marina and lets fish for a few hours. He would be awhile so I set up where I caught the bait and pulled 2 small coves off the main lake with a few planner boards rigged with Herring. I never got more than 5 boards out without getting hit, catching 5 Stripers in about a half hour. I pulled out of the coves and ran some nearby flats just to see if the fish were relating just to the coves or were feeding everywhere in that part of the lake. After an hour and no more hits I knew the coves were the key. Picked up my friend and checked a few more coves out with similar success and decided to try something different. Found a few fish on a deep flat in 45 feet of water and put downlines on them and caught a few keepers . I decided after 30 minutes to try yet another pattern and ran a 20 foot flat with planner boards and a few downlines and we nailed them there also. This afternoon we had over 30 good strikes. I lost count of how many fish we caught but I did keep 7 good eaters to take home . The fish we caught ranged from 4 to 10 pounds, all males.

B SB, FSC, 1D

David Rice and Steve Birrell

February 17th, 2008 : Cloudy and cool, Water Temps 45* to 50* and Clear.

Caught bait early this morning and picked clients up at High Point at 6:30am. Checked a deep flat out but did not see what I wanted to on my depth finder so I set up on a 20 foot flat pulling boards and a bobber. We worked about 200 yards until we heard the reel screaming on the bobber rod and Steve picked it up. After 25 yards of drag got stripped off the reel the culprit surfaced, a loon. We could tell that it was wrapped up around its leg by the way it was moving so we wanted to get it untied and after a 30 minute battle we finally released it tired but unharmed. I checked all the lines and rebaited after the fiasco and resumed fishing. Early this morning the fish were lethargic and only wanted to kill the baits but as the morning progressed they started eating the baits allowing the guys to catch some Stripers. We had 34 strikes on that 20' flat in 3 hours before the action slowed. I then looked for more fish and set up on some deep fish and put downlines on them . We had a couple strikes and then Steve hooked a nice Striper and while he was fighting it a rod bent over which I thought was hung up. As I helped Steve land his fish I asked Dave to grab the other rod and free it up. I asked him twice was it hung or was it a fish and he thought it must be hung by it not budging but after 30 seconds it started to move off and I knew we had a Hog on. Dave fought the fish for a couple of minutes before the line went slack and we all looked at each other in disbelief. The hook simply pulled out, nothing broke, just pulled out [a new sharp hook] ! We hung in there and I saw a fish come off the bottom moving for a bait and I alerted the guys to get ready and next thing we knew we had 4 fish on and in the boat to limit out for the day. Pictured is Dave with a nice bass he caught and Steves first Striper of the morning. Today we had 45 strikes, boating 17 Stripers and a Bass , all by midday. We really nailed them today!
B SB,F 3D,1D

Steve Gross , Wayne Rutledge and Bob Elliot

February 9, 2008 : Sunny and Pleasant, Water Temps 46* to 51* and clear.

Caught bait early this morning and picked clients up at High Point at 7am. Headed downlake and checked a few areas on the way and set out 9 Planner Boards, a bobber and a downline over a 15 to 2o foot flat. A buzzard followed me from the marina and set down also about 100 yards behind me and once I started putting out my spread he fired his motor up and went around us and set back down 50 yards in front of us. I guess he thought if he got in front of us he could catch all the fish. Anyway, after we moved away from where he spooked the fish two of the boards that were running the shallowest got hit and Bob and Steve grabed the rods. It took a little teamwork to get both the fish in the boat, both got tangled with other lines but we managed to untangle them and net the fish. Happened to be the two largest fish of the day. We pulled the area for 2 hours getting several hits and boating a bunch of fish. At 9:30 we moved and set up on some fish in 50' of water near the bottom . We put downlines in their faces and put a few more in the boat. By 10am the wind was getting up and we decided to move uplake and set up on a 24' flat with downlines and caught a couple before I moved even further uplake and set up on some 25 to 30 foot flats. I put out 7 boards, a bobber and 6 downlines and we worked the area for a couple of hours boating a few more. Today we had 23 Strikes, boating 12 Stripers and clients releasing all but a few to take home for diner. The 3 largest fish were all around 10 pounds.

Kevin , Jeff and Bob Smith

Feb. 2nd, 2008 : Sunny and Pleasant, Water Temp 44* to 49* and Clear. Picked clients up at 7am and set up on a 15 to 20 foot flat. Rigged 8 Planner boards , a bobber and a downline and got hit immediatly . Kevin jumped on the rod and wrestled in a 33" Striper for the first fish of the day. We pulled about 200 yards and turned around to make another run over the same area and a friend [Striperholic] called me and said he had already limited out and come help him with a school of fish. Well it was only 7:30 and for him to already have caught his limit and we having caught the big fish and getting 2 more hits without hooking up I made the decision to run to the numbers. We got the rods in and within 5 minutes we set down beside Striperholic. He was on a 50 foot flat and had seen fish close to the bottom so I instructed the guys how to put downlines out and baited up 8 rods. No sooner did we get baited up did the fish start hitting. It was a little chaotic for awhile until the guys got it together but we caught a few there before the school moved. By 9am the fish had turned off and we looked for more schools finding only scattered fish in 40 to 50 foot depths. I fished them and pulled boards over some more flats but the Bluebird skies and boat traffic turned the fish off. We ended up having 23 strikes boating 14 Stripers and the crew taking a couple home for dinner. I kept overhearing all of them saying throughout the day " If only Matt were here ......."

Steve Gross ,Mike Mitchell and Yitzy Stoeak

January 26th, 2008: Sunny and Cold, Water Temps 41* at the Splits , 50* at the Dam and Clear.

Caught Herring and picked my Clients up at High Point Marina this morning and went in search of Stripers. Looked in Mitchell and up around the Splits , not seeing what I wanted to see on my Lowrance and too many birds picking up the previous nights shad kill so I moved downlake and set up in the back third of a creek pulling Planner boards and free lines. We worked the banks out to 25 feet deep with our spread and got bit 3 or 4 times but the fish were hitting short and I decided to move. Went and set up on some deeper flats in 25 t0 35 feet of water where I had seen schools of Stripers earlier in the week and worked them briefly with jigs but I the were not positioned to feed so I looked some more . I found fish a little shallower that looked catchable so I put out some downlines rigged with Herring and worked them for a few minutes but they kept moving up in the water column so I decided to get my downlines in and set out a spread to planner boards to cover the upper water column. Once I got my spread out I moved over to where I saw the fish and got 6 hits within 5 minutes. We worked the area for 2 hours and got 15 more hits. We had a great afternoon catching plenty of fish with the largest Striper being caught by Steve. The fish hit a Herring on a board in 18' of water and after a short battle we boated the fish. It was 34 inches long, broad shoulders with a Fat belly, somewhere between 18 1/2 and 19 pounds. We released all our fish today to be caught again. Steve had booked this trip a month ago and in our conversations prior to the trip I had told him fishing was generally poor for this time of year for Lake Anna and warned him that it may be slow today but their patience in letting me work the depth finder and find Stripers that wanted to eat payed off for them.

Jim, Jim and Alex Hoskins

December 21st, 2007 : Cloudy and Cold, Water temps today 41* uplake to 54* downlake, Water Clear.
Picked clients up at 7am at High point and since it was cloudy I went right down to the Dam area and set out a spread of 10 Planner boards and a couple of free lines. I couldn't get 2 baits out before we started getting hits and for the next hour all I did was bait hooks . After a couple hours of that madness I worked my way back uplake and set up in 15 to 25 feet of water and pulled it the rest of the day. Some of our hits came in 22' of water and some came out of 5' of water, no rhyme or reason, no pattern. By the end of the trip the guys were glad to get off the water, it had been a long cold day for them although Alex couldn't believe the day went by as fast as it did. It always helps to have plenty of action. The guys kept a couple of fish to eat and released the rest.They could have done better today if they had brought their good fishing buddy Rupe but gossip has it he is running for the House of Delegates in W.Va. Good luck Rupe and Happy Holidays to all.

Blue Ridge School Group

November 30th, 2007: Sunny and Cold, Water Temp 50* and Clear.

We had a group of 7 anglers today from Blue Ridge School so we split the guys up between my boat and John's boat. John took the Pomunky side of the lake and I went up the Anna Side. John caught Herring this morning and ran them on Planner boards and I had big Gizzards and ran them on Boards also. We got a few bites early then had a spell of 4 hours without putting a fish in the boat and then toward the end of the trip caught 5 in 20 minutes, catching 12 fish on Gizz today. John had hits consistantly all day and ended up catching over 20 Stripers today. Although the big fish did not feed today everyone ended up having action and taking fish home.

Earl Mielke

November 29th, 2007:

Sunny and pleasant, Water Temp 49* and clear.

Went out this afternoon to catch bait for tomorrows clients and took a friend to fish for a couple hours. Set up on a 5 foot flat and pulled Gizzards on boards and had one blow a bait up immediately but did not hook up. Ran a couple hundred more yards and caught a 22 inch fish then Earl pulled this nice Bass off the bank in inches of water. We worked the bank for 10 more minutes and put another Striper in the boat then moved. Caught enough bait for tomorrow and decided to fish the last 40 minutes so we put out baits and caught another fish. We had 6 hits in about a hour of fishing this afternoon.

Bob Graham with sons Steve and Scott and Grandchildren Maddie, Casey and Gordie

November 23rd, 2007 : Sunny and cold, Water temp 55* and clear.

Picked clients up at 8 am at their dock and went directly to a bay that was out of the wind. A cold front blew through last night and I wanted to keep the kids as comfortable as possible in the cold and wind today so I caught bait before I picked them up. Put out 10 planner boards and a bobber and stayed in the protected bay this morning getting strikes about once every 30 minutes on Gizzard Shad. Although it was bitter cold for the kids they hung in there and did very well. We only fished a half a day this morning but everyone caught nice fish and released all of them to fight another day. I am sure Bob has alot to be thankful for having these great fisherman in his family and spending time in the outdoors on a Thankgiving weekend on Lake Anna.

Craig Briggs with Parents Lee and Betty

November 21st. 2007 : Sunny and warm, Water temp 54* and clear.

Caught bait and started pulling flats from 14 to 5 feet of water and just as we put the last planner board out we hooked up with our first fish. We had 4 strikes pretty fast in the mouth of a little creek . We continued to run the points and humps with the fish being lethargic and not wanting to eat our offerings. After getting 12 to 15 hits without hooking up I decided to relocate to another part of the lake over 20 feet of water and got bit right away but pulled another mile with no more strikes. Finally hit one little stretch where the fish would strike and for the next 2 hours we had action every 10 minutes or so. Craig's parents are up from Florida and enjoyed a very pleasant day on the lake with their son. Craig took a nap at one point and woke up to the drag going off and thought he was eating a Cheeseburger in Paradise.

Brad Price with Father David and BoBo Pack

November 19th, 2007 : Cloudy and cold, Water Temp 52*.

Picked clients up at 5:30 at High Point and went and caught bait. Set out a spread of 10 boards and a bobber and pulled points and flats in 10 to 20 feet of water. Got bit on every point and flat but the Stripers were a little slow in the morning. The sun popped out for about 30 minutes and we caught 4 before the clouds returned. Today we had 23 hits with clients keeping 9 Stripers and a white perch to take home.

Krisjan Berzins with daughter Alina, mother Aija and grandfather Leonids

November 12th, 2007 : Sunny and Pleasant, Water temp 56* and clear.

Picked clients up at 6am and went and caught bait. Set up planner boards rigged with Gizzard Shad and ran points and flats in 10 to 15 foot of water. Got hit on the first point and Kris put the first Striper in the boat. We hit the same point again and caught another fish the same size. Fished for another 45 minutes without putting a fish in the boat then hit a flat that produced a couple of fish. Pulled down to a flat with a couple of boulders on it and hooked up with a double. Overall it was a beautiful warm fall day with enough action to keep everyone on their toes. 6 year old Alina is pictured reeling in here first Striper, completely without help from anyone. Also pictured is her Great Granddad who is 91 years old who also reeled in a couple of fish today without help. Nothing better than the outdoors to bond the young and old. [Dad was a very proud father, son and grandson today also].

Chris and Wade Tyler

November 8th, 2007 : Partly Sunny and very cold, Water Temp 57* and slightly stained.

Picked clients up and went and caught bait. Set out a spread of 10 Planner boards, a bobber and a free line on a shallow flat and worked my way toward deeper waters of no more than 20'. We had two hits on a point and boated 1 Striper and for the next hour we got hit about once every 10 minutes. The fish quit hitting when the sun went in behind the clouds and when it was out the fish would turn back on again. Clients kept 12 Stripers that weighed well over 80 pounds. We also saw 2 very large schools of Stripers breaking on the surface, one school well over an acre in size. These fish are just starting to feed up for the winter, their belly's small and their appetites Big.

Mike Vann with Nick and Ryan

October 29th, 2007 : Sunny and Cold, Water Temperature 65* and Stained.
Caught bait early and picked clients up at their dock at 7am. Set out planner boards and a bobber rigged with big Gizzards right in front of their dock. Hit a hump right across from their dock and Mike hooked up with the first Striper of the morning. Just as soon as he put his fish in the cooler another fish rolled a Gizz and then hit the next board that was in line. Ryan grabbed the rod [although still half asleep and hung over] and attempted to fight the fish. He acted like he hooked a freight train by the way he was fighting the fish and complaining how hard it was to turn the reel. He battled the fish to the boat and we relieved him by netting the fish. We continued to pull boards getting strikes on most points and humps which was surprising to me due to the fact that yesterday the coldest weather blew in from the north dropping the water temp 5 degrees and waking up to 30* air temperature with blue skies today. We ran out of bait and caught more then went downlake and hit another area . Before I got set up a Striper hit my bobber while I was still letting it out and the next flat we hit produced two Stripers with Nick catching one on a board and Ryan nailing one also. We had 17 strikes today, not bad for the conditions.

John Fox with children Rebeka, Sarah and Jacob

October 19th, 2007: Rainy and warm, Water Temp 73* and clear.

Picked clients up at their dock at 7 and went to look for fish. Dad said right off the bat " We just need for each of the kids to catch 1 fish, then the pressure will be off me". I knew that would not be a problem but I was concerned with the first front to produce rain in a month that was blowing in today. We looked for about 10 minutes for breaking fish that I saw yesterday but did not see any so I went to set up on a flat I ran yesterday. A few fish were working the area and Rebecca started the day off with catching the first Striper. Dad had a sigh of relief and we worked a little while longer and decided to catch more bait. We caught bait with no problem and set up on another 22' flat where we saw numerous fish breaking but the Stripers were punks so we let the jump fisherman play with them and continued running the flat till Sara hooked into a nice Striper. Dad was feeling better now and we continued to fish. Jacob caught a Cat and lost a striper at the boat then we moved. Found a school on another flat and Jacob made Dad proud by catching the largest fish of the day. We had 21 hits today, catching a few Cats and Stripers.

Greg and Bubby Whitlock

October 18th, 2007 : Partly Sunny and Pleasant, Water Temperature 73* and Clear.
Got out on the water early to catch bait, picked my clients up at 7am. Right off the bat found a school of fish blowing up on the edge of a flat but could not fish them due to other boaters also seeing the fish and crowding the area. Too many times when we are on fish and the fish show themselves inconsiderate fisherman run in and either cut our lines and always spook the schools. We simply left and set up on a school in 25 feet of water. Lost that school quickly and went and set up on a 20' flat and pulled boards and downlines but only got hit on the downlines. Went and caught bait and located a major school and we couldn't get the baits out quick enough for the Stripers would hook up and it took some time for Bubby to get the fish in. Greg would help me netting the fish and once we got all the lines out Greg participated in the fun. The fish hit both boards and downlines but we really nailed more fish on the downlines. Bubby caught the bass in the picture right up on the bank. We returned a lot of nice keeper Stripers to the Lake to fight another day and the guys kept only 8 to take home for the freezer.

Gary Skillicorn, George Barboza and Paul Henon

Oct.13th, 2007 : Sunny and cool, Water Temp. 74*

Picked clients up at 6:45 and went and caught bait. Set up on 20' flats pulling boards and running downlines. Hooked up with a downline and a freeline at the same time then went a 1/2 mile without another hit. Worked a little shallower and hit another area in 16 feet of water where we had 8 hits but the fish were not wanting to eat the bait and only put one fish in the boat. Went and caught more bait and found a school of Stripers in 32' ,put downlines in their faces and caught only 1 before the school evaporated. Found another school, again putting downlines on them, catching a couple more. Fishing was slow today following a major cold front that blew through yesterday. I am surprised we caught what we did. Hopefully the lake will cool down enough to turn the fish on.

Jim, Bob and Jerry Van Camp with Guy Axtel and Frank Schreiber II

October 4th, 2007 : Sunny and Pleasant, Water temp 78*.

Got on the water early to catch bait and caught only 16 pieces and went to pick clients up at 7am. They showed up late so we went and caught enough bait to get started. Didn't get started fishing to almost 8:30 so we missed the early bite.
Set up on 20' flats and pulled 9 planner boards, a bobber and 6 downlines and on the first 300 yard pull we caught a 28" Striper and had 4 more hits that just wouldn't hook up. I turned around and ran it again with no luck so we hit similar flats nearby with limited success. The fog finally broke around 11 and once the sun cam out the Stripers pulled off the flats to the ledges. We hit one school with 10 of our lines going off and tangling up the other 5. We retied and turned around but they had moved on. We located them again and worked on them some more. Today we had 38 strikes , boating 8 Stripers and a couple of Cats. We lost a half dozen at the boat.

Bobby Level

Sept. 12th, 2007 : Water Temp. 83* and falling.

A cold front blew threw last night and finally we may start to get some cooler water temps which will turn the Stripers on. I caught both Herring and Gizzard Shad this morning and ran the Gizz on 8 planner boards and a Bobber while running the Herring on 7 downlines. I kept Bobby busy going from rod to rod but he handled it well, catching a dozen Stripers releasing them all. The cold front probably did not help the fishing today but the forecast is calling for much cooler weather for the next couple of weeks, surely pushing the bait to the banks and to the backs of the creeks.

Al, Zach and Maddie Matarazzo with Jonathan Reigle

August 30, 2007 : Party Sunny and warm, Water Temp 84* and clear.

Picked Al up at his dock at 5 and went and caught 100 Herring then went and caught 30 Gizzards. Set up on a few groups of Stripers but just like the 3 previous days the fish were not hungry in the early AM hours. Went and picked up the rest of the crew and went fishing for a couple of hours. Set up on a school in 25 ' , worked them for 10 minutes and realized they were not going to hit so we left them and found some more . Put downlines on them and got two of them in the boat before the school spooked. Hit a couple of more areas before finding a flat with numerous groups of Stripers stacked on the breaks. We worked these fish for an hour before my clients had to go in for lunch. Clients kept 4 fish for a lunch and released the other fish caught today.