A Beautiful Lake Anna Morning

 Cassie and Christian

 Christians first Fish Ever

A couple fish that hooked up at the same time.

Sunny and Pleasant, Water Temperature 63* and Clear.

This morning I caught bait early, picked my clients up and set out a spread of boards. This was the first time Christian had ever been fishing so I was excited for him, knowing what I knew what was about to happen to him. He hooked up first and the fun began. He did great and we boated the fish after about a minute battle. Now we were ready to have some fun. We took hit after hit and I believe I had more fun watching their faces as they reeled in the fish than they did. We had a couple hook up at the same time and after I netted the fish both of them acted like their hands and arms were paralyzed from the ordeal of reeling in the fish. They kept some fish to take home and released the others but what they will also take home are some great memories of catching fish on a Spring morning on a beautiful lake.

A limit of Stripers

Catfish, Huffy, Sport and Firestone

DP took these guys out this morning for some "Catching" for Stripers and looked like they did pretty good.

A fun day on the water

Ed, Jane, Cat, and Jim

Sunny and Pleasant, Water temperature 65* and clear

This morning I went out early to hang lights then caught bait and picked my clients up at the break of dawn this morning. We set out a spread and pulled for a few hours then made a move. We worked depths ranging from 3 to 30 feet today and fish hit in all different depth ranges. My clients thoroughly enjoyed themselves today... the weather, company and fishing was excellent. Maybe Spring is here to stay!

Fish and Fowl

Yesterday Tony went Turkey hunting in the morning then took Jimmy Striper fishing in the afternoon for a couple hours. Life is tough, wonder what they are going to do today?

The Copenhavers

 Mark, Dicky, Kim, Kelly, Nicole and Jeremy

Mark"s Hog

Partly Sunny and Pleasant, Water Temperature 60* and Clear

Today"s trip was a Christmas present  given to her Dad and Sister Kelly from Kim. I had caught bait by the time I picked them up at 6:30 so we were able to start fishing immediately. As luck would have it I started getting my spread out and a boat ran right down the whole bank that I was going to fish. We still hit the bank because I did not want to waist the baits but only got rolled several times,  the fish were spooked. After moving to another bank we continued to take hits but had marginal hook-ups. We worked different areas through out the morning with fish working our baits about everywhere we tried. We probably had 50 hits today and the family got to take home enough fish for this holiday weekend's bash on the lake. Mark is pictured holding a 15 pound Striper. Looks like the lake is going to "Turn On" finally and fishing should improve greatly.

Alec, Michael and Anthony

Today Tony, DP and myself wanted to take our sons out for a couple of hours to have some fun on the water. Everyone met me at 10 at my house and off we went to the lake. After catching bait we only had a couple hours to fish before having to get back for baseball practice. We set out a spread of boards and worked an area about 500 yards long. Michael took the first fish on and brought it to the boat, a nice 10 pounder. Alex hopped on the next rod and landed one about 6 pounds. Then we hit a spot where it got real crazy and they all reeled in fish after fish. We moved away from it and hit one more point and that is where Alec's 14 pound Striper tried to pull him into the lake. He battled it for about 5 minutes before we finally boated the fish. If there was a boat within a mile of us they probably thought we were beating the kids because of all the screaming and moaning. Alec thought he had broke his hand reeling in the fish but in the end he was just fine. We could not figure out if the boys enjoyed the fishing or just being together more, there were just smiles the whole time.

John and Jack

Cloudy, Rain and Wind, Water Temperature falling from 61* this morning to 57* at 2pm.

Today was another terrible weather day on the water with wind gusts exceeding 30 mph and rain blowing sideways. Guide Tony met the guys early this morning but had to pick his times between fishing and trying to stay dry in the truck. They all hung in there and produced a great stringer of Stripers. Today boat traffic was certainly no issue as is evident by the stringer.

Fishing in the wind

A happy Jacob and Scott

Today guide DP took Scott and his son out fishing for Stripers. The wind was hateful today, at times there were gusts up to 40 MPH. DP was challenged to keep the boat in the zone but obviously the fish bit today and the guys ended up with a great stringer of fish. Great job guys!

Precious Moments

 Dillon and Alex

 Two fish caught at the same time

 Alex's first Striper of the afternoon

Dylan's Hog

Today I had an opportunity to take a couple of boys out for 2 1/2 hours this afternoon that dream about fishing, Dylan [guide Brian's son] and Alex his neighbor the lives across the street. DP and I got out just after lunch and caught bait then picked Brian and the boys up at 2 o'clock. We were ready for whatever action the lake would give us with 3 guides on the boat. All we wanted to do was hook the boys up with fish. We set out a spread of 10 planner boards, a bobber and a free line and before we knew it we started taking hits. Alex jumped on the first one and reeled it in like a pro. Dylan was next up but he did not know if he wanted to play with his dinosaurs, eat candy or reel in a fish but we persuaded him to reel in the fish. I have a rule on the boat if you pick up the rod you must not "tap out" and give it up regardless how big the fish is. Dylan did a great job and after some time the fish came to the boat and he won the battle. He was so proud of his accomplishment that his focus was now on the fish, not playing in the bait tank or dinosaurs. We actually got some great footage of both the boys reeling in the two fish that hit at the same time that they are holding up together. Before we knew it our 2 hours were up and we had to get the boys back to the dock to get them home but we delayed a few minutes emptying the tank allowing the boys to catch a couple more. Our prayers were answered today with the fish gods bestowing their blessings on us giving the boys memories they will never forget. Brian called me on the way home and said the boys were both sound asleep not knowing if they were worn out more from the actual fishing or the anticipation of knowing they were going fishing today. May God Bless our Children.

A Nasty Day on the water

 Doug, Joe and Steve

Joe's 30" Striper

Cloudy and Rain, Water Temperature 57*

We got early this morning to catch bait but we had to throw for a couple hours to get enough to get started. We set out a spread of boards and started taking hits on points. The weather was horrible. The cold, rain and occasional gusts made the day quite uncomfortable. We pulled for about 2 hours this morning before running out of baits then spent a couple more hours restocking the bait tank. This morning when the wind was blowing out of the East we took plenty of hits but the fish did not seem to really want the baits. The fish would hit the bait and pull the planner board 10 to 20 feet across the surface then simply let go. In the afternoon the wind changed to to West which changed the fishes attitude. The Stripers would hit the baits better increasing our hook up ratios considerably. Then the wind changed again to out of the North turning the fish off. Although the weather was poor today and the bite was fickle we had plenty of fun and action. We had over 30 strikes boating 12 Stripers and a few Catfish. Joe is pictured holding his 11 pound Striper. The water temperature dropped over 3 degrees while we fished today.

Some great father-son time

 Josh and Joseph

 Josh's first Striper

Cloudy and warm. Water Temperature 57* 

I met my clients at 6 and caught bait easily this morning. We had our spread out at daylight pulling beautiful baits over shallow flats. Today we had about 20 strikes and had fun catching Stripers. Joseph was going to bring his younger son but he had some medical complications last night and could not make it today. More fish for Josh to reel in but sad brother could not make it. We had steady action this morning but the bite slowed this afternoon. Today was a beautiful day on the water with plenty of action and good company. Josh's big fish was 8 3/4 pounds. Hope younger brother gets well soon.

Kenny

Guide DP took Kenny out for an afternoon of fun catching Stripers.

Emerald Homes

Ray, Marvin, Sean, Robert and Raymond

Sunny and beautiful, Water temperature 50* and Clear

Guide Brian who also sells homes for Emerald Homes in Richmond wanted to treat Ray and the guys to trip to the lake so Brian cooked up a feast Monday evening for them, housed them in the lake house and took them fishing today for Stripers. We threw for bait for a couple of hours then picked up the crew and went fishing. Once we got all of our baits out we started taking hits and Sean reeled in the first fish of the day. We worked the area for about an hour catching fish then caught some more baits and set up in a different area pulling planner boards. We caught fish there as well before deciding to make one more final move. I had to get off the water early for an appointment so we put out 14 lines then emptied the bait tank and took a picture of the guys holding up some fish. While I was popping the picture we hooked up and boated a Striper and before we could get our lines in another fish met his doom. We ended up with 14 Stripers for our efforts today. The water is finally warming which is going to turn this lake on.

A short mid day outing

 Anthony and Ethan

 Ethan's first fish of the day

Greg's 16 pound Striper

Cloudy and lite showers, Water Temperature 50* 

DP called me up this morning around 9:30 and hinted that it looked like the rain was going to miss us for a couple of hours so I took the bait and said lets go. I invited Greg then went out and filled the bait tank with water. 25 minutes later we were on the way to the lake. We had a short window to fish in, it was going to start raining hard around 2 and Ethan had to get back early for a practice this afternoon. Bait was tough, after a couple of hours we took what we had and put them out. All we really wanted to do is get out of the house and see the kids reel in a couple of fish. Ethan's first Striper was the first one to hit and he did a fine job of getting it into the boat. We popped a picture of it then Anthony hooked up and showed Ethan how a pro reels in a Striper. They traded turns reeling in fish for about an hour and a half till a nice fish hit our outer board. DP thought we were hung up but when he picked the rod up the fish tried to pull it out of his hands. He hollered for Ethan to come grab the rod but when DP handed it to him there was no way  Ethan could hold the rod much less turn the handle. DP passed the rod to Greg and he wrestled the fish to the boat where we netted it. I put it on the scale and it was a little over 16 pounds. The fish was in very good shape so we released it along with all the other fish we caught with the exception of the four fish the kids are holding. We all are having Striper for dinner and released enough fish for dinner for 20 if someone can catch them again.

Some recent Lowrance pictures

 This is a picture of Gizzard Shad in the water column between 10 and 25 feet deep. You can see on the upper left screen that I had been marking it for quite some time. We caught no fish in the bait but about 30 yards outside the bait we started hooking up.

 This is a shot where we caught Stripers shallow on planner boards. This was early in the morning after a warming trend nearby rocks and boulders. We were hooked up with 3 at a time when I took this picture. The sonar side shows what appears to be just bait but the structure scan shows Stripers hovering over a rock pile.

 Here is a shot of me dropping down a downline with a sinker and a 5 inch bait. You can easily see the sinker and bait descending then I engaged the reel at 34 feet. Within 15 seconds a 12 pound Striper hit the bait and the fight was on. A couple other fish streaked off the bottom to watch the fight.

This is a brush pile in 19 foot of water that has bait on the left side of it and fish on the other. We hooked up with a 22 inch Striper and a 16 inch Crappie over this structure. The brush was definitely holding fish but I did not turn back to investigate what kind we were seeing on the Lowrance.

Tristen and Stone

Cloudy and Cold, Water Temperature 47*

What a difference a day makes....Yesterday 75* and beautiful, today 30's and cold. The weather did not dampen these guys spirits too much today. They enjoyed reeling in these and other Stripers this morning. Tristen caught the big fish of the day which was right up on the bank. We took numerous hits today but seemed to hook up with only about half of our strikes. I think everyone is ready for Spring, Old Man Winter need to call it quits and let the water warm up.

Spring Break Striper Fishing

 Luke and Tom

 Luke with the Big fish of the trip

 Doug, Tom, Luke and John

Thanks Grand Dad

John wanted to treat his grandsons to an enjoyable time on their spring break so he brought them down from Massachusetts  to see the sights in Washington and to spend a few days out on the water catching fish. This was not the best week to fish as far as weather is concerned but these were some tough guys that are use to cold weather. The top two pictures were taken on Wednesday. The weather could have not been any worse. The temps never got out of the 30's and it rained the whole time we were out there. To make matters worse bait collection took 4 to 5 hours to catch the kind of bait we needed. They hung in there and boated some nice Stripers. Luke is holding a Striper over 14 pounds, the largest of the trip. These young men were excellent listeners and boated everything that got hooked up. The weather slowed fishing up this week due to the water temperature dropping 4 degrees since the weekend. We never had any times when they were here when we would hook up with numerous fish, very uncommon for this time of year. If the weather would straighten out and warm up a little these Stripers on the lake will turn on and fishing will be excellent due to the hard winter and bait kills we experienced. Look for some incredible stringers in the upcoming weeks! Luke and Tom will have some good memories of their Spring vacation.

The Cyganiewicz's

Cloudy, WINDY, Pleasant, Water Temperature 46* 

My hopes for today's fishing weren't very high this morning when I got up and saw that bright full moon then the wind blew my hat off. The wind, the moon and boat traffic on the weekends were three challenges that I was not looking for. To worsen the morning I had to throw for 4 hours to catch the bait that I wanted to use. So by 10 I finally had the bait to work with so we set out a spread of planner boards ready for action. We started taking hits and boating fish but the wind was not our friend today. Where we would catch a couple fish right in the wind which would not allow me to control the boat the way I wanted to resulting in not being able to re-fish the area. Thankfully my clients were fishermen a knew my challenges and were happy to have their family together to enjoy a day on the water catching some fish. By the end of the trip we had taken plenty of hits and caught a few nice Stripers.

A great afternoon of fishing

Joel, Michael and Eric

Guide Brian took these fishermen out for a afternoon of catching Stripers on Lake Anna earlier this week. The bite was definitely on because in a short time they boated about 20 Stripers. These are some very nice fish the guys are holding. Its time to book your trips, we have been constantly catching good stringers of Stripers and the fishing and weather is only going to improve. We are running 2 fully rigged 22' boats that capable of handling 6 anglers fishing up to 18 rods at once rigged with the natural live bait the Stripers feed on daily. Its been a long winter, call [540 967 3313] or email [Jim_Hemby@hotmail.com] to reserve a day on the water with myself or one of our 4 excellent guides.

A Taste of Spring

Hawley, Joy and Bill

Sunny and Warm [75*] 

Today I got out early and hung a light, picked the guys up at 6:30, caught bait and went fishing. All I did was look for a place where there was no boats and set out a spread. I told the guys that with the extreme weather change we were just going to pull baits till we found the fish and that is exactly what we did. I fully expected to have 40 hits today and catch 30 fish but it just never happened. We took about 25 hits and caught 16. Although the fishing was not what I expected the weather was incredible today. Good things never last and by the looks of things the weather is going to change big time. The guys had a good day on the water and had plenty of fish to take home today.