CCBASSN Lake Anna Guide Service

B.A.S.S. BANS USE OF A-RIG FOR ELITE SERIES

2012-01-17T16:33:00.003-05:00

January 17, 2012 Editor's note: B.A.S.S. is now accepting applications for working media credentials for the 2012 Bassmaster Classic, Feb. 24-26, on the Red River out of Shreveport-Bossier City, La. Working media can click here <http://www.bassmastermedia.com/> to apply.

B.A.S.S. Imposes One-Lure Rule For The Bassmaster Classic And Elite Series BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - B.A.S.S., upon the recommendation of its Bassmaster Elite Series Rules Committee, has amended its tournament rules to limit anglers competing in the Bassmaster Classic and Bassmaster Elite Series to the use of a single lure during practice and competition.

The rule change, which does not apply to Bassmaster Open, B.A.S.S. Federation Nation, College B.A.S.S. and other events, clarifies the intent of long-standing rules permitting only one rod, one reel and one cast at a time. No longer permitted are double soft jerkbait rigs, drop shot rigs with jigs used as weights, double topwater setups and other multi-lure rigs, such as "umbrella rigs." The change becomes effective Feb. 1 and includes the upcoming Bassmaster Classic at Shreveport-Bossier City, La., Feb. 24-26. Elite Series Rules Committee members, comprised of 2012 Bassmaster Elite Series qualifiers, seemed most concerned about new multi-lure rigs such as The Alabama Rig, which Bassmaster Elite Series pro Paul Elias used to win an event on Lake Guntersville in October.

In the weeks since, tens of thousands of the multi-lure devices have been sold, and they have proved extremely effective in both recreational and competitive fishing. The Alabama Rig and similar setups from other manufacturers consist of a weighted head with five wire leaders trailing behind. Soft plastic swimbaits and similar lures are attached to the leaders, imitating a school of baitfish. Rules Committee members believe the rig eliminates some of the skill that should be required in tournament competition at the highest level. "It doesn't matter how you work it," said one of the anglers. "The fish can't help themselves." "The Alabama Rig has become enormously popular in recent months, and it has definitely had an impact on the tournaments in which it has been used," noted Trip Weldon, B.A.S.S. tournament director. "Personally, I have enjoyed catching bass on umbrella rigs and found them to be very effective in some situations. I have witnessed first-hand the excitement this technique has generated in our sport. "However, the Elite Series Rules Committee members unanimously asked to be held to a higher standard," he added. "We have decided to honor their recommendation."

The rule change follows a precedence of imposing more stringent restrictions in Elite Series and Classic competition than in other B.A.S.S. events. For example, landing nets are prohibited in the Elites and the Classic but not in other circuits. Additional rules specific to the Elites include off-limits periods, no-information restrictions and new limits on boats that can be used in competition. B.A.S.S. officials emphasized that the decision should not be construed as disapproval of multi-lure rigs. "We are as excited as the rest of the country about the new multi-lure rigs," said Bruce Akin, B.A.S.S. CEO. "We will continue to cover new ways to utilize these tools in Bassmaster Magazine and on Bassmaster.com. Our Classic and Elite tournaments simply have a higher standard for the sake of competition. The rest of us will enjoy learning how to catch more fish with these tools." A Rules Committee member added, "I don't have a problem with the use of umbrella rigs or multi-lure rigs to catch bass. If you are out fun fishing, there may be nothing more fun to use. However, our events represent the highest level of professionalism in our sport and I think as participants of these events, we should be held to a higher standard, as well. I like the idea of one rod, one reel, one lure."

About B.A.S.S. For more than 40 years, B.A.S.S. has served as the authority on bass fishing. The organization advances the sport through advocacy, outreach and an expansive tournament structure while connecting directly with the passionate community of bass anglers through its Bassmaster media vehicles. The Bassmaster brand and its multimedia platforms are guided by a mission to serve all fishing fans. Through its industry-leading publications - Bassmaster Magazine and B.A.S.S. Times - comprehensive website Bassmaster.com, ESPN2 and Outdoor Channel television programming, Bassmaster provides rich, leading-edge content true to the lifestyle. The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the Bassmaster Elite Series, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Open Series, B.A.S.S. Federation Nation events presented by Yamaha and Skeeter Boats and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Bassmaster Classic. B.A.S.S. offers an array of services to its more than 500,000 members and remains focused on issues related to conservation and water access. The organization is headquartered in Birmingham, Ala.

B & C Rig Cylinder

2012-01-05T00:54:00.002-05:00

The official email address for ordering the B & C Rig Cylinder is rigcylinder@yahoo.com All orders will be paid through Pay Pal. Just log onto Pay Pal and follow the simple instructions. They are $5.99ea or 3 for $15.00 plus $7.50 shipping. If you want to avoid the shipping cost I will have them at Anna Point Marina and at the Richmond Fishing Expo Jan 20-22 at The Meadow Event Park in Doswell Va.

B&C Rig Cylinder

2012-01-03T10:49:00.006-05:00

Ok everyone here you go. A good friend of mine and myself have designed the PERFECT way to store your A Rigs in your boat without a tangled mess. It is called the B & C Rig Cylinder. They are for sell at $5.99 each or 3 for $15.00 plus $7.50 shipping. I will have them at Anna Point Marina and at the Richmond Fishing Expo Jan 20-22 at the Meadow Event Park in Doswell Va.

208 Crappie Rig

2012-01-03T07:20:00.008-05:00

OK crappie anglers here you go. Good friend, client and great crappie angler Darin Clements has come up with a multi bait rig for crappie. The 208 Crappie Rig is available EXCLUSIVELY at Anna Point Marina!!!!! We have several in stock with 2 head colors to choose from. (white & chart)

Retail is $8.99. Rig these up with your favorite crappie catching lures and get ready to sharpen your fillet knife!

The B&C Rig Cylinder will also work for two 208 Crappie Rigs!!!!!!!

Venom Lures Pay Me Rig

2011-12-26T11:34:00.003-05:00

The Venom Lures Pay Me Rig is now available at Anna Point Marina!!!!! http://www.venomlures.com/

The maker of the popular Toothe Ache Spoon is now making the Tooth Ache Extraction Rig and should be in stock this week. Dave's Tournament Tackle is also making the Ala-Brella Rig and will be available at APM in January.

Recap of 2011 Tournament Season

2011-12-24T09:10:00.002-05:00

I would like to start out by saying THANK YOU to everyone that helped me out during the 2011 tournament season. I started the season with a few goals for the year and I am very proud to say that ALL of the were met. I wanted to weigh in a limit of fish in every full day tournament this year, wanted ALL of them to be alive and wanted more than anything to win the season championship for the VAO/LAPR 150 Series. That is just what happened and I am very thankful for that.

With me meeting ALL of my goals for this year I would like to announce that I will be stepping down from the tournament scene for 2012. (the only tournaments I will be fishing will be the Tuesday Night Tournaments with my Dad) I will be concentrating more on the tackle shop, my guiding and the helping of others in these tournaments without feeling like I have to hold anything back from them. I invite anyone who will be fishing a tournament of any kind here on Lake Anna to come by the shop at Anna Point Marina or give me a call and I will point you in the right direction. If you want to get into even more detail, book a trip with me. Again.........THANK YOU TO ALL THAT HELPED ME OUT THIS YEAR!!!!!!!!!!

I would also like to give thanks to my sponsors, without you it would be very hard to get to do what I love so much. Captain Gary's Marine Care Products, Lew's, Temple Fork Outfitters, Kick'n Bass Attractants, Dave's Tournament Tackle, Burton Baits, Izor Line, Eye Surrender, Wood's & Water's Magazine, Anna Point Marina, Russel Newton & my family. Also to my partner Scott "DOODIE" Taylor for putting up with me the last 2 years on the boat!!!!!!

Richmond Fishing Expo

2011-12-24T08:19:00.003-05:00

Next month starts the show season. The first one that I will be attending will be the Richmond Fishing Expo from Jan 20-22. I hope to see all of you there. Dave Fauntleroy & I will have a booth set up for Anna Point Marina and will have a large inventory of Pay Check Baits Repo Man topwater baits as well as TFO Gary Loomis Rods (signature & tactical series), Venom Lures Pay Me Rig, Izorline, Eye Surrender Eye Ware, Stick Jackets and Lew's Reels!!!!! We will be having GREAT show prices on ALL of these items. Stop by the booth and say hello.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

2011-12-24T08:16:00.001-05:00

I WOULD LIKE TO WISH EVERYONE A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE CRAFT FAMILY & ALL OF HERE AT ANNA POINT MARINA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Monthly Outlook for January

2011-12-14T07:26:00.000-05:00

This month marks the start of the "SHOW SEASON" with the annual outdoor shows gearing up. The Bass & Salt Water Fishing Expo formally known as Bassarama will be at state fairgrounds at Meadow Event Park from Jan 20-22. Dave and I will be there with some big time show specials. We will be taking the popular Pay Check Baits Repo Man top water bait and will have them priced at the best price of 2012. Also, we will have TFO Gary Loomis rods, Lew's Reels, Eye Surrender Eyeware, Izorline 1/4lb spools & Stick Jackets to protect your new TFO Rod!!!!!!!!! We look forward to seeing you there.

Now lets talk fishing..........................
This month means one thing, STRIPERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As long as the weather does not make a drastic turn for the worse, look for the striper fishing to be HOT all month. With the reactors back up and running, Dike 3 will be a great place to cast for the Linesides. Bass Assassin Sea Shads rigged on a 1/4oz jig head and 1/4oz Longbill Scroungers with a Burton Minnow are my favorites when the fish are actively feeding. If the fish are deeper in the water column, try dropping Toothe Ache Spoons and Krazy Blades to them. Remember not to get to aggressive with your vertical jigging and maintain contact with your bait on the fall.

The mid lake region should be good as well as long as the water temps do not drop below 40 degrees. From the mouth of Contrary Creek to the splits will have schools of fish. Look for birds diving on bait to give away fish locations. Sea Shads, Road Runner's, Scroungers and suspending jerkbaits will all work on these active fish. The feed can last from 30 seconds to 5 minutes. Remember when fishing schools of feeding fish DO NOT run your outboard into them. I also like to turn my depth finders off at this time. Good luck!!

Bass- The Largemouths will be in full winter pattern for the next couple of months. Look for them on main lake points next to steep drop offs. Deep brush piles will hold fish, as well as bridge pilings. Jig & Pig combinations, Sassy Shads, Sea Shads and suspending jerkbaits are my baits of choice this time of year. SLOW is the key, if you think you are fishing slow enough...............SLOW DOWN even more!!!!!!!!!!!!

Crappie- The specks will actively feed on warmer days on small minnows around the bridge pilings. Look for them to be between 12 & 25 feet deep suspended over deeper water.

Water temps as of 12/14/2011
Dike 3- 57 degrees
Mid Lake- Upper 40's to Low 50's
Up Lake- Mid to Low 40's

Lake Level- FULL POOL

Chris Craft
CCBASSN Lake Anna Guide Service
ccbassn@aol.com
www.ccbassnlakeanna.blogspot.com
540-894-6195

Mid November Report December Outlook

2011-11-13T12:41:00.003-05:00

11-13-2011
MID NOVEMBER

The deer seasons are well under way and the fishing pressure is very minimal on the lake. The best striper fishing of the year is upon us and will last all the way through Christmas unless we get hammered by major cold fronts that severely drop the water temps. The Reactors at the power plant have finally been fired back up after the shutdown from the August 23 5.8 magnitude earthquake that shook the lake up pretty good. It will take approx 10 days for things to get back to normal down lake at Dike 3. With the return of warmer water and current down there, the fish should be ready to put their feed on!!!!!!!!! Don't forget about the November & December Big Fish Contest at Anna Point Marina. We will be paying $100 for the largest Bass, Crappie & Striper for each month. All you have to do to be eligible is launch from Anna Point Marina. If you are fishing with a guide, you must pay the $8 ramp fee. Good luck and see you at the lake!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BASS- The largemouths are eagerly taking just about any type of shad imitating baits that you offer them. Rat LTraps, Burton Minnows, Tigershad Spinnerbaits, shallow crankbaits & some top water baits are still catching nice stringers of fish. Look for the bass to be making a move back out of the creeks and headed to the main lake. They are following large schools of baitfish, so if you find the bait........you find the fish!!!! Carolina rigged plastics are catching their share of fish as well. Fish in the North Anna arm will be holding in the remaining willow grass in ambush. If you venture into Pamunkey at all, try the many rock piles in the s-turns. Suspending jerkbaits will also start to produce fish towards the end of the month if the water really cools off and the shad start to die off.

STRIPER- Look for schools of fish to be up in the feeder arms of the lake this month until the water cools off into the mid 40's and the bait starts to make its move back down. The mouths of Duck-N-hole & Goldmine Creeks all the way up to Waddy's in the North Anna arm will hold schools of fish. Look for the birds to be diving on the bait and for the striper to be swirling on the surface from time to time. Bass Assassin Sea Shads rigged on a 1/4oz jig head are my number one choice for these fish. If the fish are really swirling the surface, it is hard to beat a broken back Red Fin waked just under the surface. Look for the fish to be back down around mid lake around the end of the month. Toothe Ache Spoons & Krazy Blades will work on suspended fish on sunny blue bird days.

CRAPPIE- The specks are starting to make their move back out to deeper water for the winter. While you can still catch fish under shallow boat docks at this time, they will be much smaller fish. Small minnows rigged in a slip bobber fished on deeper brush piles & bridge pilings will really start to produce the best catches in the months to come. The larger Crappie are no different from bass & stripers, they follow the shad movement as well and will feed on 2-3 inch shad and herring. The scrounger head with a Zoom Tiny Fluke on it has been a great bait to catch the larger paper mouths on.

Lake Level- FULL POOL
Water Temps
Dike 3- 56 degrees and rising
Mid Lake- Mid 50's
Up Lake- Upper 40's-low 50's

MONTHLY OUTLOOK FOR DECEMBER

Anna Point Marina's Big Fish Contest will continue this month. We will pay $100 for the largest Bass, Crappie & Striper this month. To be eligible all you have to do is launch from Anna Point. If you are fishing with a guide, you must pay the $8 ramp fee. Here at Anna Point we have the lake's largest selection of Bass Assassin Sea Shads. The popular Crystal Shad color has 4 pegs for itself and we have plenty of them in stock. I will also be trying the popular Alabama Rig this month for stripers and I will report on how it does. A good friend of mine is making them and I tested one here at the marina today!!!!!!!!

BASS- Most of the bass will be completely out of the backs of the creeks by the beginning of this month. Look for them to relate to channel bends, drop off's, deep brush piles and main lake points. Bait will be a major key to success this month. Suspended jerkbaits will play a major roll in getting them to bite.
Sassy Shads on main lake points will produce numbers of fish, the key to these baits are maintaining bottom contact and a very slow retrieve.

STRIPERS- The linesides will be the most popular fish this month as they are very hardy in colder water. Look for them around the 208 bridge area and willing to bite just about anything you offer them. Sea Shads, Sassy Shads, Jerk Baits, Toothe Ache Spoons & Krazy Blades will produce very well. The Dike 3 fish should be fired up as well, as long as the reactors are still fired up!!!!!!!!!!! Look for birds to give away the location of feeding fish. Just because you cannot see the fish feeding on the surface does not mean they are not there. Remember, the birds can see way more than we can when they are several feet above the surface of the water.

CRAPPIE- The specks should be in a full blown winter pattern this month., The best places to try will be bridge pilings and deep brush piles. Small minnows rigged on slip bobbers will be your best bet of inviting these tasty morals to dinner. The depth range will vary from 10-25 feet. On sunny days they will move up in the water column. Good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

October 27 Jim Brewer article "Crappie Man"

2011-10-27T12:17:00.003-04:00

Outdoors: Who can help you catch more fish? The 'Crappie Man' can

By: BY JIM BREWER Daily Progress outdoors columnistPublished: October 26, 2011

Crappie is a word most people would not like used to describe them, but Chris Craft wears the moniker “Crappie Man” as a badge of honor. Craft is the premier crappie guide on Lake Anna and I had the distinct privilege to fish with him on Tuesday. We caught crappie from the get-go and I brought home a nice mess for dinner. There is absolutely nothing that beats a freshly caught crappie from cool water and then fried to a golden brown.
Lake Anna has a stellar reputation as a bass fishery. The lake also produces lots of nice stripers in the 5- to 12-pound range. And when it comes to crappie fishing, Anna is second to none.
Craft is a seasoned bass tournament angler, with lots of trophies and plaques on his wall. But about seven years ago, his interest in crappie was kindled.
“I really enjoy being and doing things with my dad, and he really took to fishing for crappie. So I did too,” Craft acknowledged.

Instead of fishing casually for the speckled beauties, Craft and his father began to fish for them seriously. Craft studied the patterns and movements of the schools. He experimented with a multitude of baits and tackle, and if there’s a brush pile on Lake Anna today that holds big crappie, Craft knows about it. And that is really important in catching crappie, or “croppie” as they are called in the Deep South.
Crappie, seemingly, are always on the move. What could have been a honey hole last weekend might not hold a single fish the following Saturday. The schools are very temperature conscious and will also quickly pull up stakes to follow the bait. In Lake Anna’s case, the bait means threadfin shad, the crappie’s principal forage fish.
Craft and I concentrated on brush piles near or beneath boat docks, but in the spring, we would have been working shallow-water grass beds where the crappies spawn. Crappie at Anna are now in a fall pattern, having moved to more shallow depths after cooling their fins in deep holes last summer. We caught fish from 4 to 10 feet and the best jig was a color called John Deere green. Finding the exact color the fish want is also critical in catching big crappie. And that’s what Craft targets — big crappie. Craft’s daughter has a 2-12 crappie mounted that she caught with her dad. That is a nice fish, indeed.

If it swims in Lake Anna, Craft will guide for it. He does numerous largemouth trips and fishes for stripers when they cooperate, but his specialty is guiding for crappie.

One word describes crappie fishing with Craft. Fun. For old and young alike, catching a cooler full of the delicious pan fish represents nothing but pure enjoyment.

Craft does combination trips, perhaps trolling for stripers or casting to busting fish before turning his attention to crappie. He also does numerous father/son and even mother/daughter trips.
“Sometimes ladies feel intimidated when fishing with men, and they like to fish with other ladies. I try to make them as comfortable as I can, and they catch some really nice fish,” Craft said.

Here’s a suggestion. The next two months will be the best of the year for Anna stripers, book a trip with Craft, catch a few early morning stripers, then spend a little time working some of his secret brush piles for crappie. And I bet you have more fun with the crappie. For Christmas, a gift certificate for a trip with the “Crappie Man” would be hard to beat. For more information, call 540-894-6195 or connect with him at Anna Point Marina at 540-895-5900 .

Fry ‘em whole
Caught some crappie, did you? Then lose the fillet knife. Scale the crappie, cut off the heads, remove the entrails and cook them whole. But the bones, you may ask?
If you fry fish correctly, you don’t have to contend with bones, and by frying them whole, the fish are bursting with flavor and juices that you lose when you fillet them.
Put about a half-inch of oil in a skillet, heat to medium high, dust the crappie in House Autry and drop then in the skillet. Fry about 5 minutes per side, until golden brown. To eat, simply lift the top fillet from the backbone, then lift the backbone, leaving the bottom fillet in tact.
Make sure the grease is hot and don’t over crowd the pan. The skin and the backbone combine to keep the fish moist and juicy. Fried fillets are a distant second when it comes to eating fish cooked whole.

Contact Jim Brewer at j44brewer@gmail.com

October 25 Jim Brewer

2011-10-26T14:37:00.004-04:00

Way back in the summer I was contacted by a group from Culpepper that was hosting a Sportsman's Bash. They asked me if I would donate a 1/2 day trip to be giving away as a prize. I did and today I fished with Mr. Jim Brewer. Mr.Brewer is a noted outdoor writer and works for The Daily Progress in Charolettsville, Va. He wanted to go Crappie fishing and that is just what we did.

The boat was in the water and waiting at 8am, Jim was a few minutes late due to heavy fog. We finally pulled out of Anna Point around 8:30 or so and headed up lake. I went on the Pamunkey side of the lake first. It was still foggy in areas and it took us nearly 40 min to get to Hunter's Landing. The fog soon lifted and I was able to run the boat to get to our first stop of the day. Jim told me he would like to keep around 5 fish for dinner and that's just what he took home. We caught somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 fish in just 3 hours of fishing.

October 24 Darrin Clements

2011-10-26T14:27:00.003-04:00

Today I fished with long time client & friend Darrin Clements. We were in search of Specks ALL day today. We met at Anna Point at 8am, loaded the boat and we were off. Today we would not be keeping any fish for the fryer, all was to be released unless it was a citation. We started up in the North Anna arm where I had been catching nice slabs the past couple of weeks. Unfortunately, the larger have moved and I could not locate them today. After bumping around up there for the first half of the day it was lunch time. We headed to Hunter's Landing for a sandwich and chips. After eating lunch we were right back at it and although we caught several fish today (approx 60-75) we only had a few keepers. The citation that Darrin was after eluded us today but he will be back looking for the trophy fish and we will get it for him!!! The largest fish of the day measured 12 1/2".

October 23 150 Series

2011-10-26T11:38:00.004-04:00

Scott & I fished the final regular season 150 Series tournament of the year today. The morning started out foggy and cool. We had a slight delay and Dave finally sent us out about 7:20 with an idle start only. There was a lot on the line today, we had a lead of 1.19lbs for the AOY title with the team of Chris Stanley/Matt Seale. We knew it was going to be a slug fest all the way to the end!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Scott put our first fish in the boat about 7:45 on a grub and I caught number 2 shortly after that on a Carolina Rig. After the fog lifted we pulled the trolling motor and made a short run. Scott caught fish numbers 3 & 4 on the grub and I caught number 5 on a Burton Minnow (CC Shad).

That would be the fish that we brought to the scales. We caught several shorts and a few more small keepers that didn't help the cause.

Weigh in time was set for 3:30 and the scales would tell the tale of the day. Our limit weighed 7.82lbs and would prove to be enough to win the tournament and the championship!!!!!!!

Chris Stanley & Matt Seal finished 2nd and had BF for the day.

One of my goals this year was to weigh a limit in every tournament, that was achieved with 9 tournaments fished and 45 fish/45 alive!!!!!!! I would like to thank everyone that made this possible this year!!!!! First and foremost a HUGE thank you goes out to Scott Favors, he let us borrow his Bass Cat for the final tournament. Scott"s boat is down at the moment and we couldn't have done it without Scott "GUNNY" Favors. Anna Point Marina, VAO (the best group of guy's & gals around) Captain Gary's Marine Care Products, Lew's Reels, TFO Gary Loomis fishing rods, IZOR Line (the best line on the planet!!), Scott & Jenn Burton of Burton Baits, Dave's Tournament Tackle, Pay Check Baits, Russle Newton, Brian Oxendine, Eye Surrender Polarized Eye Ware, Kick'n Bass Attractants, Wood's & Water's Magazine, Dave Fauntleroy & my FAMILY!!!!!!!

October 21

2011-10-22T14:05:00.005-04:00

Today Brian Oxendine & I fished a small tournament hosted by VAO. Larry Martin has come up with a great idea for the guys that can fish during the week. The VAO Weekday Series is an inexpensive tournament that is just a lot of fun!!!! With an entry fee of $20 and no big fish pot, it is not hard on your wallet. For more info on the tournament go to www.va-outdoors.com

The day started out clear and cool with minimal winds in the forecast. Brian ran a short distance to a popular creek and we started fishing in the back third. After about 30 minutes the first fish of the day was hooked up. Unfortunately, I decided to let he go prematurely!!!!!! That was a GOOD fish that really hurt. Oh well, I always say "If it's meant to be they will go in the box, if it's not.......THEY WONT" Fish numbers 2 and 3 came shortly afterwards on Rat L Traps.

We fired up and made a short run up-lake and had zero fish to show for it. We ran back down and started catching fish almost immediately. OK, pattern found and everywhere we fished afterwards we would put fish in the boat. Here's where it gets exciting to say the least!

We ran into Contrary Creek to check on the rip rap at the bridge and I hooked into a REAL Lake Anna GIANT!!!!!!!!!!!!! I accidentally snagged a Grass Carp in the top of the tail. To say the fight was on is an understatement!!!!!!! The battle lasted nearly 30 minutes and we finally brought the mammoth in the boat.

I was using a 6' 6" med action TFO Gary Loomis rod and it never made a sound. No pops, creeks, cracks......nothing (check out the bend in the rod in the above picture)!!!!!!! My Lew's Speed Spool performed flawlessly. Some people say that 10lbs of drag is not enough to lane a truly big fish.......I say you are wrong!!!!!! The 10lb test Izor Line Platinum performed great as well, not once did I think my line was going to break!!!!

The official weight was 54lbs 10oz and is now the mark to beat on Lake Anna for Grass Carp!!!!! The fish measuured in at 46 1/2 inches and had a girth of 34 inches. The existing record of 44lbs 4oz was shattered by over 10lbs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

November Outlook

2011-10-18T14:05:00.002-04:00

With the fall hunting seasons upon us, there is much less fishing pressure on the lake. The leaves are changing into beautiful fall colors and the fish are hungry!!!!! This is my second favorite time of year to be on the lake, you can start out in sweat pants and a hoodie and end up in shorts and a t-shirt.

BASS- You can find fish all over the lake at this time willing to take a variety of baits. Look for them to be shallow for most of the month, as long as OLD MAN WINTER doesn't show up early!!!!! Search baits will be a great starting point for you as the fish are feeding up for the winter months that will be upon us shortly. Rat L Traps, Tigershad Spinnerbaits, shallow crankbaits will be good choices to start with. I will be using a Burton Minnow on a Scrounger Head alot this fall and winter. Top water is not out of the question either, I have caught several 5lb plus fish with the water in the low 50's on walk the dog style baits. My favorite is the Paycheck Baits Repo Man & Repo Man Late Payment!!!! You just have to slow them down and not be so aggressive with them.

For those days when the fish are not being very aggressive, shaky head rigged plastics and wacky rigged plastics will work well. Boat docks will hold fish on very bright and sunny days, you must be able to skip the bait as far under the dock as possible. Don't get in a big hurry with the bait. PATIENCE IS THE KEY!!!

STRIPER- The rock fish will be making their fall run the the uplake sections of the lake this month. They will be following the shad and gorging themselves on them. Look for the from the S-Turns to little Florida on the Pamunkey side and behing the bridge in Terry's Run. On the North Anna side of the lake, look for them around the mouths ofr Duck N Hole Creek, Goldmine Creek and around Waddy's Point. Try casting Bass Assassin Sea Shads, Sassy Shads and Broken Back Redfins to them. When the water cools back down to the mid to lower 40's they will start making a move back to the mid lake region. As far AS THE DOWNLAKE FISH ARE CONCERNED I think it's a crapshoot down there. There is no current at Dike 3 and the water temps are the same as mid lake. If they fire the reactors back up them it will be a FEED FOR ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CRAPPIE- The specks are shallow and will be there for a while, until the water reaches the lower 40's. Look for them on boat docks, brush piles, lay down tree, rock piles and bridge pilings. They will be hungry and aggressive. 2" curly tail grubs and tubes will work well. Just recently I started fishing a 1/16-1/8 Scrounger head rigged with a Zoom Tiny Fluke and trust me.........IT WORKS WELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Small & Med minnows rigged on a slip bobber will always work. Good luck and see you at the Lake!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lake Level-Full Pool
Water Temps
68-72 throughout the lake

October 14

2011-10-17T12:00:00.003-04:00

I went out to day to do a little practicing for the 150 series tournament tomorrow. After fishing a couple areas and catching a few fish, the wind was killing my batteries!!!! I have my trolling motor batteries for 4 years now and it is time to replace them. They will last about a half of a day without the wind.

I decided to go catch some crappie instead and ran up the North Anna arm. I pulled up to one of my favorite docks, got behind it and started casting 2" curly tail grubs rigged on a 1/16oz jig head. It didn't take long to put the first keeper in the boat. It took approx an hour and a half to put my 25 fish limit in the box. ALL of the fish were over 10" with the largest being almost 13".

October 10 Happy Anniversary

2011-10-11T13:02:00.002-04:00

Today is the 1 year anniversary for Dave and I being back at Anna Point Marina. I just wanted to say THANK YOU to all of our friends and family for helping our first year back become a great success!!!!!! W will continue to grow and try to be the best marina on the lake. We would like input from you on tackle you would like to see in the shop. Without you this could not happen!!!

October 10 Crappie Time with Bob & Josh

2011-10-11T12:36:00.003-04:00

I first met Bob at Anna Point about a month and a half ago. We talked fishing for about 45min before he went out. He called me a few days after and wanted to book a trip for crappie. We pulled out of Anna Point about 7:30am and was looking for some bonus striper action at first. The day dawned cool and very CLEAR!!!!! That was the reason the stripers did not materialize.

The water temps throughout the lake are in the upper 60's to low 70's. I ran up in the Pamunkey arm and started fishing boat docks and rock piles, these all had fish on the but only yielded 3 keepers for us. It was time to make a move and I ran all the way over to North Anna and pulled up on a brush pile. We caught 1 good keeper there and was on the move yet again. I finally pulled up to one of my favorite docks, it has a good rock pile underneath and we started putting KEEPERS in the live well. we caught approx 50 fish and kept around 22 of them. The big fish went 1lb 6oz and had several right at the 1lb mark.

We had to get the bait way up under the dock to get a bite. They were all in 3 feet of water and was willing to take my 2" curly tail on a 1/16oz jig head. We are entering the best part of the fall crappie fishing, it will get much better as the water temps start to fall off. Thanks Bob & Josh for a great day on the water!!!!!!!!

Sept 27 Darryl Breeden

2011-10-01T16:15:00.003-04:00

Met Mr. Breeden at APM at 7am and headed out for some early fall bass action. I ran into Contrary Creek for the first stop and started throwing the new Repo Man Late Payment by Paycheck Baits. The fish were not very active so I switched to a Burton Minnow and finally caught a fat healthy fish of about 2 1/2 lbs. We made a run to the splits and started fishing grass and Darryl started catching them on a wacky worm. With 4 fish in the live well we ran all the up to Duck N Hole Creek and started fishing grass up there and then we heard rumbling in the back ground!!!

I checked the radar and made the WISE decision to run back to APM and wait it out. That was the best move we made all day. The skies opened up and it poured for about 45 minutes. After the storm, we moved to a down lake creek and started putting fish in the boat. I had a small flurry on the Burton Minnow with 7 fish and couple of lost greenbacks. Thanks Darryl, I had a blast and can't wait to do it again!!!!!!!!!!

September 21 Late Summer Specks

2011-09-22T17:51:00.005-04:00

Today I met up with Charlie Davidson at 7am in the parking lot of Anna Point Marina. We were in search of some late summer crappie on Miss Anna. WE headed up into Pamunky to fish some boat docks and try and invite some specks to dinner. One thing about this time of year is that the fish are just starting to move up, after you catch a couple of keepers off of a particular dock, it is time to move on. Charlie hasn't fished with jigs for a while and since this is my favorite way to catch them, that is what we did the most of. After fishing several areas in the monkey we moved over to North Anna to show him some spring time spots. We caught somewhere in the neighborhood of 30-35 fish with 10 of them being keepers. Unfortunately I did not take any pictures while we were out there. I look forward to our next outing, it is only going to get better!!

After Charlie had gone I was getting ready to load the boat on the trailer my Dad called. He wanted to know if we could go out for a while. He arrived about 15 minutes later and we were on our way back up the Monkey!!!! Shortly after pulling up at our first stop it started raining. Thank goodness I put our rain suits in the boat!!!!! It poured a hard and steady rain for over an hour and we were catching fish the whole time. Once it quit raining we headed back to APM. With the 10 keepers that Charlie and I caught this morning and the 18 that Dad & I put in the well, there is going to be a nice fish fry coming up very soon!!!!!!!!

Hey Charlie- We caught them on the the first dock that you and I fished this morning.

Outlook for October

2011-09-20T18:52:00.001-04:00

With the opening of Archery season here in the commonwealth, there will be less folks on the water and more opportunity for you to take advantage of some GREAT fall fishing. The lake is finally full after several tropical storms that rolled through in September. The fall bite is going to be outstanding for bass, striper & crappie. As I write this it is September 7 and the lake is 6" high and still rising. The backs of creeks will be the best place to start with the fresh, cool water coming in. The bait will quickly get there and the bass, crappie & stripers will follow.

BASS- The greenbacks will eagerly take a variety of baits this month. Spinnerbaits, Top Water's, Shallow Crankbaits & Jig & Pig combinations will produce several nice fish as we get into the Fall Fishing Bonanza!!!!!!!! The back third of major creeks will be a great place to start looking. I like to start by covering ALOT of water with Rat L Traps & Tiger Shad Spinnerbaits. Once you catch a couple of fish in a small area, slow down and pick the area apart with shaky head plastics, Burton Minnows, Zoom Super Flukes and crankbaits. The fish will be following the shad all month and they are the KEY to catching numbers of fish. The majority of the fish will be feeding on small Threadfin Shad, MATCH THE HATCH!!!!!!!! I like Zoom's Tiny Fluke rigged on a 3/16oz or smaller Scrounger Head.

Top water action will be at the peak of the fall as well. Pay Check Baits Repo Man is my favorite choice. This walk the dog style bait is loud and draws very violent strike from bass and stripers!!!!! Buzz Baits are a great way to cover lot's of water and locate fish. It they roll on the Buzzer and do not take it follow up with a Burton Minnow or Senko. If you have several fish roll and do not take your bait, turn around and go back through the same area with a Tiger Shad Spinnerbait. Good luck this October!!!!!!

STRIPER- With the influx of fresh water striper fishing should be outstanding this fall. Up lake will be your best bet for tasty Linesides!! Fish areas like the mouths of Duck N Hole and Goldmine Creeks in the North Anna and the mouth of Terry's Run all the way up to the 522 bridge in the Pamunky arm. Live bait will work but I prefer to cast artificial baits to them. Bass Assassin Sea Shads rigged on a 1/4 ounce jig head is a great way to locate them. Broken Back Red Fins waked just under the surface will produce violent strikes from the Convicts. Shad imitating baits like the Zoom Super Fluke and Burton Baits Burton Minnow will catch their share of fish as well. Keep your hooks sharp and the net ready!!!!!!!!!!!!

Crappie- The Specks will be shallow all month on and around boat docks, lay down trees, beaver huts and willow grass. The size fish that you will be catching will not be like in the spring, but the numbers will exceed the spring fishing. This years hatch will be eager to bite whatever you offer and you will have to pick through several fish to get a few keepers for dinner. I like throwing a 2" curly tail grub to them. With all of the rain that we have had fall on the lake, it will be very hard to get up under the docks. The crappie will stay shallow all the way through mid to late Nov or until the water temps drop below 40 degrees.

Lake Level - Full Pool
Low to upper 70's through out the lake

Chris Craft
CCBASSN Lake Anna Guide Service
540-894-6195
540-895-5770
ccbassn@aol.com
www.ccbassnlakeanna.blogspot.com

September 20 Mid Month Report

2011-09-20T18:50:00.001-04:00

Today is September 17 and we have just had our first major cold front of the year. Even though it is still late summer, it is starting to feel like fall. I had to dig out my sweatshirts from the closet this morning. With the passing of the front, the water temps have dropped and the fish are getting their fall bite on!
Don't forget to take advantage of the September Super Sale at Anna Point Marina, there is only a couple of weeks left to receive the STORE WIDE 20% discount on ALL tackle items!!!!!!!!!! TFO Rods & Lew's reels will have a seperate discount.

BASS- From now through November start your day by looking for fish SHALLOW. The backs of major creeks will be a hot zone for the next couple of months as long as MOM NATURE doesn't start throwing major cold fronts our way. Lipless crankbaits will be a great choice for your search bait, cover alot of water looking for baitfish. Once you catch a couple of fish in a small area, slow down and pick the area apart with Tiger Shad Spinnerbaits, Burton Minnows, Zoom Super Flukes and a variety of top water baits such as Pay Check Baits Repo Man, Super Spook Jr's, Pop R's and Buzz Baits.

Once you have caught the active fish in the area slow down even more and go after them with shaky head rigged plastics and jig & pig combonations. After you have compleated steps 2 and 3, move on and repeat step 1. Great areas to start your search are Pigeon Creek, Sturgeon Creek and Contrary Creek in the mid lake area. If you want to go down lake start in Rockland Creek and move to Levy Creek, Blount Harbor and Valentine Cove. If venturing uplake on the North Anna side, Duck in Hole and Goldmine Creeks are very great but popular choices. On the Pamunky arm Plentiful Creek, Foremost Creek and Terry's Run can produce both quantities and big fish for you. Good luck and dont forget to check your drag!!!!!!!!!!

STRIPER- The convicts are starting to make their fall run up both arms of the lake. Start looking for them above Stubbs Bridge around the mouth of Plentiful Creek on the Pamunky side and Christopher Run and above on the North Anna Side. We are starting to get a few sea gulls at the lake and they can be very helpfull on locating fish for you. If they are swirling and breaking on the surface, I like throwing Broken Back Red Fins to them. If they are feeding a little bit deeper than a Bass Assassin Salt Water Sea Shad rigged on a 1/4oz jighead is your best option. If no active fish are around and you find them a littlke deeper in the water column, Toothe Ache Spoons will put fish on ice!!!!!!

CRAPPIE- The Specks, Freckles, Croppie, Paper Mouths or whatever you would like to call them have started making their move up to shallow water to get fat and happy before old man winter gets here!!! The are on bridge pilings, boat docks, lay down trees and rock piles. These tasty morsals will take a variety of baits, small minnows rigged on a slip bobber is a great way to entice them. I like fishing boat docks this time of year as they are difficult to get under with the water level being at full pool. They will not receive the fishing pressure like other areas. Two inch curly tail grubs on a 1/16 jighead or tube baits can put numbers in the boat for you in a short amount of time. Remember that you will have to sort through several small fish from this years spawn to catch the ones that you want to keep. It is not unheard of for 2 anglers to catch 100 or more in a day. Have fun and don't forget to invite me to DINNER!

Lake Level- Full Pool

Water Temps- Throughout the lake low to upper 70's

With the reactors being off line at this time, there is no current coming through Dike 3 and therefore the water temps are much cooler down lake the normal for this time of year.

Chris Craft
CCBASSN Lake Anna Guide Service
540-894-6195
540-895-5770
540-895-5900
ccbassn@aol.com
www.ccbassnlakeanna.blogspot.com

August 24 Extra day out of school

2011-08-28T09:03:00.003-04:00

Well after the earthquake yesterday Katie had an extra day out of school. We decided to go striper fishing since I had such a good day yesterday. We arrived at our fishing dpot around 7am and started casting. After 3 hours of fishing we managed to catch 3 keepers. I dont think the quake had a lot to do with the fish not biting, I just think they moved and I could not locate them. Oh well...........THATS FISHING!!!

August 23 Catchin Convicts

2011-08-28T08:59:00.003-04:00

This morning I went out in search of bass for some upcoming trips and found a large school of stripers feeding very agressive on herring. I caught somewhere inthe nehiborhood of 20 with 16 of them being keepers and lost just as many. The did not let my Repo Man walk back to me very far before it was crushed. All of the fish were in the dike 2 area of the lake.

Month Long END of SUMMER SALE

2011-08-20T09:08:00.002-04:00

Dave Fauntleroy & I would like to invite ALL of our friend and customers to Fish Tales during the month of September for the store wide END OF SUMMER sale on ALL fishing tackle as we get geared up for the exciting FALL FISHING on Lake Anna. There will be HUGE savings on all in stock as well as SPECIAL ORDER ITEMS. Dave and I would like to thank everyone for letting us serve you during our first year back at Anna Point Marina.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Outlook for September

2011-08-20T08:27:00.003-04:00

With the shorter days, cooler nights & cooler night time air temps the fish are getting ready for the FALL FISHING BONANZA!!!! Look for schooling action on Largemouth Bass & Stripers. The best tasting fish in the lake will be getting fired back up as well, it is hard to beat Crappie for a fish fry!!!!!!!!

Bass- Look for schooling fish from the splits all the way down to the dam area. Key times are sun up until around 9am and the last couple hours before dark. Top water baits such as Pay Check Baits Repo Man, Pop-R's, Super Spook Jr's & the Badonka Donk will work well. Zoom Super Flukes, Super Fluke Jr's& the Burton Baits Burton Minnow are great choices to imitate injured or dying shad. If the fish are busting on small Threadfin Shad try throwing a Tiny Fluke on a 1/8 Scrounger Head. After the morning feed is over back out and try crankbaits on main lake points.

Towards the end of the month fish will moving to the backs of major creeks such as Sturgeon, Plentiful & Pigeon. Cover lots of water with Rat-L-Traps, Shallow crankbaits and spinnerbaits. Once you catch a fish or two covering water, slow down and pick the area apart with Shaky Head rigged plastics and fluke style baits. All of the baits mentioned above are available at Anna Point Marina.

Striper- You can find several schools of small breaking fish first thing in the morning from the splits down to the dam area. Look for them at the mouth of Sturgeon and the Dike 1 area. Once they go back down in their comfort zone drop a Toothe Ache Spoon to them. Trolling is also a very effective method of putting fish in the ice box. One of my favorite methods is using a Bill Norman DD22 with a Fluke (flounder) Rig Trailer. These trailer rigs are available EXCLUSIVELY at Anna Point Marina. Deep Diving Redfins with bucktail trailers work well when the fish are being a little more finicky.

Crappie- The Specks will be starting to make their move back to the shallows this month as the water temps cool down. Look for them around bridge pilings, boat docks, brush piles and rock piles. They will get more active as the water drops down to the low 70's. Small minnows and 2" curly tail grubs will put numbers of fish in the well to invite to dinner.

Lake Level- 12" low
Water Temps
Dike 3 upper 80's
Mid Lake- mid to upper 80's
Up lake- mid to upper 80's

Mid July Fishing Report

2011-07-10T15:05:00.004-04:00

The Fourth of July is now over but the FIREWORKS are happening at first light!! It is now time to be on the water at first light and searching for breaking bass and stripers. Schools of shad and herring fry are now on the main lake and fleeing for their life. Look for them and move on them quickly, they do not stay up for long. Both bass & stripers can be found from the power plant area all the way up past the splits.

Bass- Look for schooling fish in the mid-lake region first thing of a morning. Cast top water baits and shad imitatin lures to them. My choices are Pay Check Baits Repo Man for top water and Burton Baits Burton Minnow in either CC Special or CC Shad. After the morning feed is over, drop back and fish brush piles, rock piles & bridge pilings with shaky head worms. Big Texas rigged worms like the Lake Fork Trophy Lures 6" Hyper Worm with the paddle Tail. Tip the tail with a little chart and work it back slowly to the boat. Deep crankbaits are producing several fish as well. Bill Norman DD22, BPS LEC15 & Spro Little John DD are my choices in Chart/Blue or Shad patterns. If you want to venture up in the North Anna or Pamunkey, Jig & Pig combonations work are you best bet. I like the Burton Baitsw Football Jig tipped with a Yum Money Craw trailer.

Striper- Look for the Linesides to be schooling and crushing shad & herring at first light. You can catch them on top water baits like the Repo Man, Zara Spooks, Poppers and HC baits Hubbs Chub. I like to put a Bass Assassin Sea Shad on a 1/4oz jighead and go beneath the breakers. The larger fish of the school are usually deeper and lazy, waiting on an easy meal. After the frenzy has finished you can try to stay with the school with your electronics and drop Toothe Ache Spoons to them. Look for Spaghetti Noodles on your screen and hold on.

Trolling is another effective way to bring some nuggets home to the fryer. Deep Diving Redfins with a bucktail trailer are longtime Lake Anna favorites, DD22's & LEC15's with a "FLUKE RIG" trailer. Stop by Anna Point Marina and I will show you how to rig these up. I like Chart/Blue in the DD22's, XXX Shad & Chart Blue Back in the LEC 15's. Chrome Blue back & Chrome Black back in the Redfins.

Crappie- The freckles are in their summer haunts around bridge pilings, deep brush piles & rock piles. Your best bet will be small minnows rigged on a slip bobber down 20-30 feet.

Lake Level- 8" low
Water Temps
Dike 3- low to mid 90's
Mid Lake- upper 80's to low 90's
Uplake- upper 80's to low 90's

June 25 "5 for 5"

2011-06-26T17:03:00.003-04:00

Today Scott & I fished our 5th tournament of the year here on Miss Anna. Hook N Line Bass Anglers hosted an open team tournament from 6am-2pm. We brought home our 5th consecutive victory with a limit that weighed in at 12.79lbs & took Big Fish Honors with a 4.76lb beauty that Scott caught. All of our fish were caught on either a Burton Baits Arkie Jig (black) or a Yamamoto Hula Grub.

After fishing for almost 4 hours on the main lake with only 1 keeper in the well, we made a drastic change in what we were doing. We went to extreme backs of creeks and started pitching our baits to boat docks. The water was very warm 89-91 and the fish were shallow. This just goes to show you even though history says you should be doing one thing, it is not always the case. Thanks partner for drilling me into changing our tactics!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

June 23 Morning with Katie

2011-06-26T16:43:00.003-04:00

Katie and I went out for a fun filled morning of bass & striper fishing. She woke ME up at 5am and we were off to APM. We ran to one of my favorite top water spots and quickly caught a nice keeper on a Repo Man. Soon after that she caught one on a CC Shad Burton Minnow.

We then ran down to Dike 1 looking for some stripers. We found plenty of them but they were all small. We caught several on top water and had a ball doing so!!!!!!!!!!!!! After a short boat ride back up lake we made a bet, whoever caught the next fish the other would be making grilled cheese for lunch. She had me beat until her fish pulled free right at the boat. SORRY FOR YOUR BAD LUCK GIRL!!!!!!!!!! Lunch was great by the way!!!

Outlook for June

2011-06-04T07:07:00.005-04:00

Just like last month it is still time for top water baits. With rising water temps and more and more traffic on the lake the top water bite will not last all day. You can however chase the shade and make it last well into the morning. If you plan on coming to Miss Anna on the weekends, you mite want to try and get off the water by 11am or so. Mid week is by far the best time to get out here and wet a line. I will be doing several things this month to put fish in the boat.

BASS- The spawn is over and the fish are heading to their summer time haunts. Look for top water action early in the morning. There is already small pods of shad & herring fry all over and the fish are starting to school up on them. My best bait for these schooling fish is the Pay Check Baits Repo Man!!!!!!!! Other lures that will work for you are Pop R's, Buzz Baits, Zara Spooks, Hubb's Chubs & Jointed Jitterbugs!!!!!!!

After the surface action slows down start looking for fish on or around Brush Piles, bridge pilings, rock piles & deep boat docks. Shaky Head Finesse Worms and BIG Texas Rigged Worms are my favorites. (green pumpkin, watermelon seed & redbug are my 3 top colors) Deep crankbaits like the Bill Norman DD22 (chart/blue back), Spro Little John DD (nasty shad) or the BPS XPS LEC15 (chart/blue or xxx shad) work well for me. Most of the fish will go deep by the end of the month and stay there until the temps start coming back down.

STRIPER- Its time to troll up some nuggets for the fryer!!!!!!!!! Look for fish to be around Rose Valley, Big Ben Flats, Jett's Island and in front of the power plant all summer long. I like to troll a number of baits for them. Deep Diving Red Fin's with a bucktail trailer, DD22's & BPS LEC 15's are all great choice to start with. I play around with colors but always start with something in Chart/Blue and Shad patterns. Another one of my favorite ways to catch them in to jig them up with a Toothe Ache Spoon. Ride along watching you electronics and when you see spaghetti noodles on your screen you are in the right area. Drop your spoon down and hold on!!!!!!!!!!

CRAPPIE- The specks are deep for the summer. Bridge pilings, DEEP brush and rock piles will produce fish this month. Small Minnows on slip bobbers will be the best way to put them in the boat.

Lake Level- FULL POOL

Water Temps
Dike 3 upper 88-91 degrees
Midlake Upper 80's
Up Lake middle to upper 80's

May 24 Dennis Poindexter

2011-06-04T06:48:00.003-04:00

This morning I met Dennis Poindexter at Anna Point at first light. We didn't run far looking for a top water bite. Dennis put the first fish in the boat very quickly and I returned the favor a few minutes later. Unfortunately they did not stay up for very long. It was time to to teach Dennis how to catch them guarding their fry. (please release all fish that you catch guarding fry)

After fishing and looking at several boat docks I finally found a big female that was protecting her babies. I guess someone plucked her boyfriend off of the nest. She was running bluegill nonstop and was very angry. I finally got her to mouth my Burton Minnow and at that point I knew she would be getting her picture taken. About 6 casts later she was in the boat. That would be the high lite of the day. She weighed in at 5lbs 10oz.

May 22 LAPR with Pat Goodwin

2011-05-23T08:37:00.003-04:00

Today I fished the final LAPR of the spring with Pat Goodwin. We finished 2nd with a limit of fish weighing 13.38lbs. Our 2 largest fish weighed in at 4.24lbs & 4.11lbs. All of our fish today were caught on either the Repo Man or the Burton Minnow. (CC Spec & CC Shad)

Congrats to Larry Wollersheim & Preston Cox for ANOTHER victoryon Miss Anna!!! They had a little over 16lbs and had the lunker of the day with a beautiful 4 1/2 pound bucketmouth.

May 19 Scott Burton

2011-05-23T07:57:00.005-04:00

Today I fished with Scott Burton, the owner of Burton Baits located in Fredericksburg Va. http://www.burtonbaits.com/ We debuted a brand new color in the Burton Minnow and it ROCKED them!!!!!!! There are now 4 colors in the Chris Craft line of Burton Minnow's. CC Special,CC Blue, CC Chartreuse & now CC Shad.

We started out fishing a couple of known herring spawning areas and just like last Saturday, they were there. Scott caught the first fish of the day on his 4th cast with the CC Shad. The bass started blowing herring out of the water a few minutes later and I was hooked up. We caught several fish before 9am and then we started moving around a bit.

It was very overcast and the top water bite lasted all day. Around 11am we moved back to the same area that we started at and just like clock work the herring were scrambling for their lives. Scott brought his hat cam along and I put it on and in a few minutes had a nice 3lb fish inhale the CC Shad. Shortly after that it got real exciting, I made a cast with a Pay Check Repo Man and almost immediately hooked up.As I was reeling the fish in, 3 more followed it up. I quickly picked up the CC Shad and made a short pitch out. With the first fish still on and the rod in my left hand, I hooked a second fish and the fight was on. As soon as I figure out how to do some editing I will post the video.

Around 33o we had a couple of T-Storms move through and we hid at Anna Point for a while. The skies cleared up and we went back out for the evening. The only bait we used this time was a Bill Deeds Buzz Bait in Shad pattern. We caught 11 more fish before we called it a very long and productive day. All together we caught 21 keeper fish and gained a lot of confidence in a brand new color. CC Shad will be available along with the new Burton Bull Frogs in a couple of weeks.

May 14 LAPR150 Series

2011-05-15T08:47:00.006-04:00

BACK to BACK to BACK

Today was the 3rd regular season tournament in the LAPR 150 Series. Scott & I are coming off of back to back wins in the series and today we made it 3 in a row!!! To say that I am very humbled is an understatement. We brought in a limit of fish for 15.00lbs, the margin of victory was a mere .11lbs. Congratulations to Chris Stanley & Matt Seale for their 2nd place finish with 14.89lbs. Chris also had the Lunker with a beautiful 7.o4lb GIANT!!!!! Finishing 3rd was Bill Deeds & Robbie Hissen with 13.42lbs. The next 2 tournaments are on the mighty Potomac, we then return to the lake in the fall to wrap up the season in September & October.

All of our fish were caught on either a Paycheck Baits Repo Man or Burton Baits Minow in CC Special. On Friday, I went out with Brian Oxendine for a few hours in the morning and we caught fish in areas that I found the Blue Back Herring spawning. We worked out a game plan for the tournament so we wouldn't bump heads with each other. The fish all came from rocky areas in 3-6 feet of water. After a couple of hours the sky was brighter and the herring and the fish pulled out to a little deeper water. (6-10 feet) That is when the Super Fluke really came into play. They would not chase the bait, they would only eat it on the fall or DEAD STICK.

I would like to thank my sponsors for everything that they have done for me. Anna Point Marina, Captain Gary's Marine Care Products, Wood's & Water's Magazine, Dave's Tournament Tackle, Damiki, Izorline, Temple Fork Outfitters (TFO), Lew's, Kickn' Bass Attractants, Burton Baits, H.C. Baits, Eye Surrender Eyeware, Russle Newton, JJ's Magic and of course my wife Nikki!!!!!!!!!

May 10 Morris is back

2011-05-11T19:41:00.000-04:00

Today I spent the day with a great client, Morris Fendley. This is the third time that he has fished with me. First thing we ran down to the dike hoping to catch a couple keeper stripers. Although we did not put a keeper in the boat, a good friend of mine was also down there and he gave Morris a couple for dinner. Thanks Jeff!!!!!!!!!!

After the unfulfilled morning chasing stripers, it was time to switch gears and go catch some bass. We pulled into Sturgeons and almost immediately caught a nice chunk on a Super Fluke.

We fished around for another 30min or so and headed uplake a little further. The boat docks we all holding fish and we caught several. The largest of the day fell to a Burton Minnow for Morris, that fish weighed in at 3-12. I look forward to out trip at the end of summer.

May 9 Lee & Jeff Trunnel

2011-05-11T18:53:00.000-04:00

Today I did the trip that I donated to Va Outdoors (VAO) last fall. It was to raise money for a very good friend of mine, Lenny Baird. He was in a boating accident on the Potomac River and was out of work for quite sometime. Brad Trunnel was the high bidder for the trip and gave it to his dad and brother. Thank you Brad!!!!!!!!!!!!

We met at APM around 6am and started off casting to some bonus stripers. Lee caught 1 shorty, had a keeper pull off and Jeff had a GIANT swirl on his Red Fin and miss it. It was over as soon as it started and then it was time to chase some bass. They both wanted to learn how to fish a Wacky Worm and that is what we did. I did manage to catch a few on a Super Fluke. Jeff & Lee caught several buck bass up to about 2lbs on the Wacky Rig. Jeff also caught a 14 1/2" Crappie on the Wacky Rig.

May 6 Pop Pop & the grandkids

2011-05-08T19:05:00.005-04:00

Today I took out George Greisinger and 2 of his grand children Eli & Ivy Powell. We pilled out of APM at 6:30 in search of late spring specks. We found a few here and there willing to take our small minnows. The kids caught approx 40 fish this morning and we had a blast. At one time Eli was catching them so fast the Ivy started calling him HOT STICK!!! MLAGS

It is day's like this one I realize just how blessed I am to do what I do!!! Thank you George, Ivy & Eli for not letting me forget!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

May 5 On the water again with Devon

2011-05-08T18:35:00.005-04:00

Ok, take 2 on trying to get some fishing in with Devon Bowling. The last time we were out mother nature decided to become irritable!!! Devon gets out of school early and met me at APM around noon. Let's see........first day post cold front, bluebiird skies, windy and the middle of the day!!!

To say the odds were stacked against us is an understatement.

We started off in Contrary Creek with shaky head plastics and slow rolled spinnerbaits on windy points. Nothing going on there so we packed it up and ran down lake a bit. I pulled my trusty Super Fluke out and started fishing it down approx 6 feet over 15-20 feet of water. It didn't take long to get the first fish in the boat. Soon after that Devon connected on number 2. Ok we are starting to get a pattern here. 5 minutes later the pattern was established!!!!

We moved on to the next area with the same results. Then Devon hooked a great fish right beside the boat and when he tried to set the hook a SECOND time she came unbuttoned. Let this be a lesson learned.......If it is meant to be, the fish will go in the boat!!!!! I never set twice unless I am fishing thick vegetation. If the first hook set isn't good enough then that's just the way it is.

We then moved on to a grassy area that has deep water nearby. Devon broke one off (not IZORLINE) and then caught one after he switched to one of my rods. That's when I seen what looked to be a 6 or 7lb fish suspended on top of the grass. I tossed my fluke over to it and it turned around and ate it. After a slight battle she was in the net. The fish had a 7lb head and a 4lb body. I do not think this was just a post spawn female, I believe the fish was very sick. After the pic I released it and it took a very long time to swim off.

We pulled back into APM around 5:30 and took a pic of our catch. All together we caught 12 fish with the largest weighing in at 4lbs even. Devon did catch a beautiful 3lb 4oz fish on a spinnerbait.

Monthly Outlook for May

2011-05-01T17:32:00.003-04:00

I only have two words to say for this month. TOP WATER!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's right, it's top water time again here on Lake Anna. Get your favorite top water lure our and knock the dust off of it, sharpen or replace the hooks and come out and get one of these big post spawn females ready to get some revenge on the bluegill that have been raiding her nest!!!!

Here is a list of my favorites in no particular order..........
Bill Deeds Buzz Baits, Pay Check Baits Repo Man, Cotton Cordell Broken Back Red Fin, Arbogast Jointed Jitter Bug, Poppers & H.C Baits Hubbs Chub.

Bass- This month will bring many changes to the lake. Right now on May 1 we are experiencing all 3 phases of the spawn, with the majority still on the beds or in post spawn mode. There is still a small percentage of fish in pre spawn mode. Look for these in the willow grass in the North Anna. The Bluegill, Shad & Herring will be spawning this month and the bass will be hungry. Look for some schooling action to happen in the morning by the full moon on the 17.

The buck bass will be guarding fry all month, an easy way to get them to bite is with a Super Fluke or a Burton Minnow. Just cast beyond the fry and twitch the bait through them. This looks like they are feeding on the fry and the bass will go into defensive mode. It may take several tries to get them to strike, just be patient. Remember to let these male bass go where you catch them, they are protecting out future!!!

Look for post spawn females to be on main lake and secondary points all month, Carolina Rigged Plastics are a great way to entice them in to biting. Spinnerbaits in Bluegill or Crappie patterns will also bring several fish to the boat all month. Expect fish to be shallow up to Memorial Day Weekend. They will begin to go deep with the surface temps rising and all of the boat traffic.

Crappie- Specks are still in a spawning mode right now. Alot of the fish have already spawned and are returning to deeper water. The new moon will bring the last push of fish up. Look for the around boat docks, lay down trees, beaver huts and in the willow grass. While they are spawning the best way to get is with small minnows on slip bobbers. Here at Anna Point we weighed in the largest male that I have ever seen. A 2lb 2oz slab that was caught by Jason Wonn up in the North Anna arm of the lake.

Striper- The line sides are on their way back down from the rivers and are headed to the splits area of the lake. The best way to get them is with live bait. Gizzard Shad & Blue Back Herring will work best, but they will eat store bought shiners. On calm days you can cast Broken Back Redfins on shallow humps with some success. The lures will work better towards the end of the month. It is not to much longer for the Tootheache Spoon to come into play. Good luck.

Lake Level- Full Pool
Water Temps
Up Lake- 68-73
Mid Lake - 65-72
Down Lake- 69-73
Dike 3 - middle 70's

April 29 Leon Lowe

2011-05-01T16:36:00.002-04:00

Long time friend and blog follower Leon Lowe arrived at 6:30 this morning to go do some crappie fishing. The bite was a little off today and although we did not catch many fish, we did manage to catch some good ones. The fish that was in the grassy areas was on the small side so I decided to go fish a brush pile. On the first cast Leon catches a beautiful 11" specimen. That would be the only bite that we would get there. After running around a bit I pulled up on a big lay down that produced good fish last year for me in May. We caught a couple small ones here then I hooked into what will one day be a true GIANT if she survives. After measuring her at 12" I put her on the scaled and she weighed in at a heavy 1-12. The fish looked like it had swallowed a golf ball with the amount of roe in her. After the pic I let her and all of her new boyfriends go.

April 28 The Meyers Family

2011-05-01T16:09:00.005-04:00

While I was fishing yesterday, Dave called me and said there was some folks at the marina wanting to talk to me about a trip. I ran back down to APM and met Mark, Bella (8) & Julian (10) They are vacationing here at the lake from Sanibel FL. We decided to meet at 7am but MOM Nature had other plans for us. The dangerous thunder storms from last night knocked my power out and I woke up a little later than I wanted to. After I called Mark and told him the weather did not look good for the rest of the morning and we would try and get it in this afternoon.

The weather broke and the winds died down, at 3pm we met up for an afternoon trip and was blessed with a very nice evening of fishing. The kids had a great time and caught several fish.

April 27 OCHS Angler Devon Bowling

2011-05-01T16:02:00.002-04:00

This afternoon around noon I met up with OCHS Angler, Devon Bowling. He has a tournament coming up so he wanted to practice a little before hand. The wind was blowing in the same direction as yesterday, so I pulled up to a grass bed and just like clock work they were biting again. After catching several small keepers I had a good fish roll my fluke and miss. I followed up with a Dave's Tournament Tackle Tiger Shad Spinnerbait and the 4lb fish inhaled it!!!! Soon after, we were ran off the lake with approaching thunder storms. (check out the sky getting black in the picture) We will resume again next week.

April 26 Old Friends

2011-05-01T15:38:00.006-04:00

Today was a special trip for me. I ran into an old friend that I hadn't seen in several years at the OCHS Show this year. I first met Danny when he was a little boy about 20 years ago. He is like the little brother that I don't have. He is now married and has 2 beautiful children. WOW, now I am starting to feel old.

Around 7 I pulled into Anna Point and Danny was already waiting on me. After Getting his gear straight we pulled out and ran to a small grass bed. The wind was already heavy and blowing straight into the willow grass and the fish were turned on!!! We threw Super Flukes & Burton Minnows to them and in a 50 yard stretch we caught 6 fish. I even had to go back to the marina and get more flukes because we were running low on them.

We jumped around a little and had several more fish in the boat when we ran into the game department elctro fishing. I had just made a pass in the creek where they pulled into and didn't even get a sniff. We watched them shock up several nice bass & crappie and put them into their live well. They took their data and released ALL of them back into the cove. From what I could tell over half of the fish were 3lbs or larger with the largest around 6lbs. The lake is doing very well with a healthy population of 18" plus fish.

By the end of the day we caught 22 keeper bass and a few crappie. It was just a great day with an old friend. We took a picture of 9 of them. Good friend Dennis Poindexter (pictured on the left) was at APM when we returned and gave us a helping hand holding the fish. Thanks Dennis!!!

April 20 The Dewalt's Day 2

2011-05-01T14:58:00.005-04:00

This morning I was back at Anna Point by 7:30 waiting for Bob & Millie to arrive around 8am. We were headed to the same place we left off on yeasterday. Shortly after we arrived the fish decided to come out and play. As the sun got higher the shade line moved and so did the females. We stayed here for a couple of hours catching several nice fish and releasing even more.

We moved around only a couple of times only to find small fish co-operating with us. We made our final move of the day back to where the good crappie were at to see if it had reloaded itself. It had and we caught several more before it was time to go in. MLAGS

The one thing that I have taken note of so far is that the grassy areas that were really good last year have not turned on yet. There are still several fish on off shore brush piles that will be moving up soon.

April 19 pm Dawn, Ed & Wayne

2011-05-01T14:33:00.003-04:00

After finding those good fish this morning with Bob & Millie I went right back to them this afternoon with Ed, Dawn & Wayne. I met the 3 of them at Fishersville this year in February. The action resumed as soon as we put our minnows out but only lasted a few minutes and they were done for the evening. we pulled up the Motor Guide (oops i'm not in my boat) I mean Minn Kota, and headed to our second stop. This creek in the North Anna arm has not produced for me this year, today the only difference was that I caught what I though was going to be the first citation of the year. I just barely miss it, this spawned out female was 1lb 14oz and measured in at 14 7/8"

It was getting late so I made a last ditch effort on a beaver hut and to my surprise it was holding plenty of good fish. We finished out our day here and headed back to Anna Point for a nice picture. They were able to take home 31 very respectable specks to invite to dinner. I look forward to out next outing!!!!! MLAGS

April 19 The return of Bob & Millie Dewalt Day 1

2011-05-01T14:18:00.004-04:00

This makes the third year in a row that Bob & Millie Dewalt has come down from their home in PA to fish with us. This time we are targeting crappie for a day and a half. I met them at 7am and we were off to some mid lake grass. We found several small ones very active. The little males were very aggressive and took our small minnows as soon as the cork stood up. After moving around several times I finally found a grass bed with the size fish we were looking for. The BIG males were in the grass and the females were approximately 5 yards in front waiting until the right time to pull up. We put 28 nice specks in the box this morning, we will see what day 2 has in store for us. MLAGS

Engine problem diagnosed

2011-05-01T14:15:00.003-04:00

Dropped my boat off at Sturgeon's the other day and Chris James called me today and broke the news. It is not as bad as I thought it would be. The gear box in the lower unit decided to go on vacation!!! It will be a couple of weeks before I get it back. In the meantime, my longtime friend Pat Goodwin has lent me his Bumble Bee to use. Thanks Pat!!!!!!!!!!!!!

April 18 Jason Miano returns

2011-04-22T18:57:00.004-04:00

Return client and friend Jason Miano came back to beautiful Lake Anna this week with his family and we had some 1 on 1 bass fishing. Jason comes up here from Va Beach with his family.

Ironically my family goes to Va Beach for vacation!!!!!

I picked him up at the dock of his rental house in a borrowed boat and we were off. We caught fish everywhere we went and missed several nice ones. All of out fish except one came on Super Flukes in Albino or White Pearl. I did catch one on the new Back Stabber Crankbait.

By the end of the morning we put 8 keepers in the boat and had a blast doing it. Jason, thank you for another great day of fishing with you and for inviting my family over for dinner!! I cant wait until we get to go Trout & Flounder fishing in your BIG LAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

April 15 Ralph & Roy Butler

2011-04-22T18:04:00.004-04:00

I do several trips a year and I am very blessed to do so. My favorites are the ones with the kids though. Today I had a very delightful young man on the boat with me. Roy Butler (age 8) & his dad, Ralph. We were in search of bass and crappie today and things were going to be a little tough on us. EVERY marina on the lake was out of small & med minnows. We pulled into our first stop and started tossing 2" curly tail grubs. We caught a few small fish and then I called Hunters Landing. They had med minnows and we were off to get some.

After getting the minnows we headed to a forgotten beaver hut and the first fish here was a beautiful 12" crappie for Roy. We caught a few keepers here and then it was time to go bass fishing. The sun was high and it was pretty calm so I headed to Contrary Creek to let Roy fish a fluke around the docks at the S-TURNS.

This is where things really started to go downhill for me. I shut the boat down and heard a terrible noise coming from my engine. I thought to myself "COME ON, NOT AGAIN" Well, we fished around for a while and Roy had 1 fish follow his bait. I decided to try a limp the boat back to APM.

April 14 Rick Elrod

2011-04-22T17:46:00.004-04:00

I first met Rick through the Va-Outdoors Forum (VAO) and he decided to book a trip with me. We met up at Anna Point at 7:30am and headed out in search of bass & crappie. We ran down lake and started throwing flukes and had a few followers but nothing special. Finally I had a decent fish come out from under a dock and inhale the bait. BY the time we were done bass fishing we had put 2 good fish and several small ones in the box.

Time for some specks. We fired back up and made the run up North Anna. One of the first stops was on the brush pile I found them on yesterday. They we still there and we caught some nice fish for dinner. After showing him some more areas that he could take his family to and have some fun, it was time to go in.

April 13 A little RECON

2011-04-13T22:00:00.004-04:00

I went out today for a couple hours on a little recon mission for some upcoming trips tomorrow and Friday. I started out cruising the shoreline looking for spawning bass and I found plenty!!!

About 8:30 it was time to go check on a few of my crappie areas. The first spot I pulled into I caught plenty of small fish and a few keepers. I moved on to another grass line and had zero bites. I did locate the fish that are in this creek though. They are about 150 yards off of the grass, suspended over 20 feet of water. By early next week they will be in place. I kept searching, only to find potato chip sized fish. I finally went and looked at a deeper brush pile and found the good ones. I caught several fish over 11 inches here and kept around 15 of them for dinner. They were all on the deep side of the pile in about 10-12 feet of water.

I started out throwing a Southern Pro Hot Grub on a 1/8oz head. I did not get ant bites. I switched to a 1/16oz head and they started inhaling the grub. I had to retrieve the larger head to quickly. They were not really hitting the bait hard, just loading up the rod.

The big push will occur this weekend on the full moon. Next week you should be able to catch nice sized specks just about any where you want to give it a try. The grass pattern will be hot for the next couple of week. Good luck and I will see you on the water!!!!!

April 6 Afternoon with Dad & Katie

2011-04-08T21:43:00.003-04:00

After the outing with Brian earlier today I called my Dad to see if he wanted to go back out. He said yes and stopped by my house and picked up Katie. We headed straight back up to where Brian & I finished up. I fully expected to pick right back up where we left off, that did not happen. We caught a couple of small fish and decided to leave. I went to one of my favorite docks and we started catching a few fish here and there. Dad did manage to catch a 12lb carp on a crappie jig. It as a very long battle, I had to chase down the fish with the trolling motor. He was using one of my 4'6" ultra lites spooled up with 4lb test Izorline!!!!! I finally put the fish in the net, snapped a pic and let it go. WOW, that was fun and intense.

After pulling back up to the boat dock I heard something inhale something else. I turned to Dad and said " STRIPERS" I pulled out my rod rigged with a Burton Minnow on it and proceeded to catch small crappie. I heard it again and turned the boat with the trolling motor on high and made a cast. After only 2 or 3 twitched of the bait I had a keeper striper hooked up. With that fish in the box I pulled out 2 more rods for Dad & Katie and rigged them with CC Specials as well.

After about 10 minutes another striper boiled the surface and I put my bait right in the middle. It didn't take long to hook up on keeper number 2. Dad got bit a short time later and the fish came unbuttoned. After a few more minutes Dad was hooked up on what proved to be the best fish of the evening, an 8lb 6oz beauty. I had one more fish take a swipe at my bait and miss it. The front was getting closer, the wind shifted directions and the bite was over.

Our crappie outing quickly turned into a striper outing, that is OK with me. We ended up with 3 keepers and 2 misses. Not to bad considering we were trying to catch crappie.

April 6 On the water again with Brian O

2011-04-08T21:28:00.002-04:00

This morning good friend Brian Oxendine met me at Anna Point around 9 o'clock. We were looking for bass & crappie. We pulled out of APM and headed to an area that neither of us has ever fished before. Arriving in just a few short minutes we were casting into 55 degree water. On the 4th cast of the day I had a chunky 3 pounder inhale my Burton Minnow. A few casts later Brian put his first bass in the boat on a Scrounger loaded with a Fluke. A few minutes later Brian has another fish take his bait. 3 fish in about 25 minutes, that is the way to do it. Well, we seen what we wanted to with this area and decided it was time to go catch some Specks.

We ran up lake into the North Anna arm above 522 and pulled up to the first spot. Only peanuts here so we pulled the trolling motor and moved a short distance. A lot of the same here as well, just peanuts. Brian promised his dad that he was going to bring home some fish to eat and it wasn't looking real good at this time. We moved again and found a dock LOADED with nice freckles. One cast after another we were catching fish, with a keeper about every 6th or 7th fish. It didn't matter what color we threw or how fast we fished it. When it was time to go in we had approx 20 nice specks in the live well.

The crappie are finally making their move up towards their spawning grounds. With the predicted weather and the full moon coming up, things are going to get hot in a hurry.

April 2 VAO/LAPR 150

2011-04-03T16:28:00.011-04:00

The second 150 Series tournament is in the books and believe me when I say it was some of the toughest fishing I have experienced in a long time. Dave Fauntleroy got us out a few minutes before the Bass Master Weekend Series launched at 7am. Scott and I made a short run to a confidence area and this proved to be a great decision. I was throwing a Burton Minnow CC Special & Scott was using a Silver Rainbow Zoom Super Fluke. By 7:30 we had a limit of punks and I figured that we would be able to cull them out. Boy was I wrong!!!!!!!! We did manage to put 15 keeper bass in the boat, the problem was that they were ALL the same size. Measuring at 12-14". We managed to cull out one fish for the gain of about 2 ounces. Somehow we LUCKED out and won the tournament with a VERY SMALL limit weighing in at 7.70lbs. Brian Oxendine had 2 fish for over 6lbs and he had the Big Fish of the day weighing in at 3.23lbs. All of the fish came out of 4-10 feet of water fishing VERY slow. The water temps we 51-53 in all of the areas that we fished. A tip of my hat goes out to everyone who participated today, there was a very strong field of Great Anglers. Everyone fishing today had several things to deal with, lots of boats on the water, rain, heavy winds, snow flurries, hail & even some lightning!!!!!!! CONGRATULATIONS TO EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOU FOR STICKING OUT A VERY TOUGH DAY ON MISS ANNA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

March 24 A Cold, Rainy & Windy day with Brett Page

2011-03-24T22:20:00.003-04:00

Today I fished with fellow Burton Baits Pro Staffer, Brett Page. I met Brett at Anna Point Marina around 7:30 and we were greeted with a COLD DRIZZLE to start the day. After putting our gear on we proceeded under the 208 bridge in search of some green fish. I pulled into a popular mid lake creek and fished a stretch of shoreline that is loaded with stumps in 6-10 feet of water. After about an hour here with no bites we packed up and headed further down lake.

I pulled up to a main lake hump in the Duke's Creek area of the lake and only got 3 or 4 casts in before a very HEAVY & WINDY DOWNPOUR was upon us. (Even the ducks & gesse were headed for cover!) The wind was at least a sustained 25mph and Brett had to fire up the Evinrude to keep us headed straight into the wind while I battened down the hatches. I ran over to a community dock looking for a place to hide while we waited it out, only to find longtime friend Jim Sutton hiding in the same empty boat slip that I was headed for. I tied up and we waited out the blast together.

After about 25min we were back on the boat and headed back to the mid lake area and started fishing very very slow with Burton Minnow's in my favorite color (CC Special) and finally started catching some fish. The fish have moved out a few feet from where they were on Saturday and were very sluggish. By the end of the day we had boated 11 fish and the best 5 would go approx 11lbs.

Daily observations...............

Water temps had dropped around 3 full degrees from Saturday's temps.

52-55 everywhere we fished.

Fish had backed back out to 8-12 feet of water.

Had to coax the fish into biting, several follows only to turn around.

Bites only occurred when the sun was peeking through the clouds.

Only 2 times did we get multiple bites in one area.

March 19 LKA Double Header

2011-03-20T11:13:00.006-04:00

Today Scott Taylor and myself participated in TWO tournaments. The VAO/LAPR Bass 150 Series and the Va-Outdoors Winter Series. The tournament times were from 7-3 and there was 13 boats that participated in each one with 4 or 5 boats pulling the double.

The day started out just like yesterday, very SLOW! The first fish of the day came off of a Damiki Air Pocket on a Drop Shot. That was at 7:20, the next several hours was so slow it was painful. By 11am we had 4 fish in the live well & it was time to adjust and make a change. I started throwing a Burton Minnow in C.C.Special rigged on a Scrounger Head and Scott was using a White Pearl Zoom Super Fluke rigged weightless on a 5/0 Gamakatsu Superline Hook.

At 12:45 I put fish number 5 in the well and then everything changed for us. We were culling fish every 10 minutes for over an hour. Scott caught our big fish on a Super Fluke while I consistently put more fish in the boat on the Burton Minnow. For the next 2 hours we put more than 20 fish in the boat, lost 5 at the boat and had several missed strikes.

What we learned was that the fish were staging on the first break in 6-10 feet of water. Wind was also a major player for us, all of the fish came from the windy side of the lake. I was dragging the Scrounger on the bottom bumping it into everything that I could, Scott had to slow down with the Super Fluke and most of the strike came while the bait was falling.

Weigh in time was at 3pm and we loaded the boat on the trailer. After everyone had weighed their fish we came out on top in BOTH of the events with 13.27lbs and had Big Fish in each event with a 4.61lb bucket mouth! Here are the top 3 finishers in the 150 series..........

Chris Craft/Scott Taylor 13.27lbs BF 4.61lbs

Bill Deeds/Robbie Hisson 12.62lbs

Todd Jenkins/Brian ball 12.16lbs

For the final results in the VAO Winter Series go to http://www.va-outdoors.com/

March 18 Russle Tunstall

2011-03-20T10:37:00.003-04:00

Today I met up with Russle Tunstall for a 1/2 day trip. We pulled out of Anna Point at 8am and headed downlake. The water temps at the 208 bridge was 53 degrees. After a short run we pulled into our first area. Temps were 55 here and we started throwing Burton Minnow's and in the first 5 min I caught the first keeper of the day. After fishing here for over an hour without another bite we were on the move again. I ran to dike 1 to give the rip rap a try, no luck!

I made a move further down lake to Rockland Creek, temps in the back of the creek were 58 and I thought I would at least see some cruisers. I was wrong with that assumption. After pulling what little hair out that I have, we decided to run up lake and give the stained water a try. I stopped in the Rose Valley area started throwing a Dave's Tournament Tackle Tiger Shad spinnerbait. (chart/white) After a few minutes I hooked a hefty 3lb fish and after a short battle swung it in the boat. My TFO Gary Loomis Rod performed flawlessly!!!!!!! Made a short run up to Christopher Run and finished the day there, with ZERO results.

Today was a very tuff day on Miss Anna. I am fishing 2 tournaments tomorrow, the LAPR 150 Series & the Va-Outdoors (VAO) Winter Series out of Anna Point Marina. I hope that tomorrow goes better than today!!!

Captain Gary's Aluminum Cleaner

2011-03-14T14:43:00.003-04:00

This photo was sent in to me from D.J. Clore, father of Austin Clore (OCHS Angler). He used Captain Gary's Aluminum Cleaner on his boat with GREAT RESULTS!!!! If you would like to try Captain Gary's Products come by Anna Point Marina and see me. Go to his website and check the products out. He has everything that you need for your boat cleaning needs. http://www.captaingarysproducts.com/

March 9 A cold day with Brian Oxendine

2011-03-09T19:57:00.003-05:00

Hit the water this morning with long time friend & client Brian Oxendine. Today we were in his boat and that is a rare treat for me. I usually don't go in another boat but Brian has some features that I do not. He has equipped his boat with 2 Hummingbird Side Imaging units, an 1197 on the console and a smaller unit up front. We looked around for a while at several of the areas that I fish on a regular basis.

Time to fish, we headed into Sturgeon Creek and found the water temp around 47 degrees. After several passes on one of my favorite stretches we had zip. Time for move further down lake in search of warmer water and active fish. We headed to the dike 3 area and located a school of fish that I thought were stripers.

The trolling motor that Brian has on his boat has an anchor feature that is an awesome tool in off shore fishing. The wind was blowing around 15mph and we never moved one inch!!!! The school of fish turned out to be bass that was actively feeding down around 12 feet. We caught 2 fish here before the school moved off with the bait. Without that feature on the trolling motor, we could not have done that.

We made a slight move and found another active school of fish and caught 5 more and lost 3. ALL of the fish were caught on the BURTON MINNOW in color CC Special. I also had a 4-5lb fish follow my bait up to the boat but would not commit to it. We pulled off the water around 2pm and was chilled to the bone. The largest fish of the day was a hefty 3lb chunk that Brian caught.

March 5 Crappie Fishing with Dad & Katie

2011-03-06T13:51:00.005-05:00

I finally got back out on the lake today with my dad & my daughter Katie. I havent been out since Dec 27, between the tackle shop and the show season starting I was going through withdrawls!!!! We were in search of early spring specks. We put the boat in around noon and headed uplake. Today we would be in the North Anna arm of the lake. Our first stop produced several small fish in 4 feet of water. We caught approx 50 fis in 45 minutes here. We moved on to the next stop and caught a few more small fish. After moving around several times I finally located a school of keeper sized fish. After fishing only 4 hours I seen what I needed to see and we loaded the boat back on the trailer. We kept 20 nice crappie to invite to dinner. I will be back mon the water Wed, Thurs & Fri of next week. It is now time to come out and catch the BEST eating fish in the lake!!!!!!

The water temps at Anna Point were 48-49

Uplake around 522 it was 50.4

The lake is warming up very nice. The next few weeks is going to be GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!

Monthly Outlook for March

2011-02-28T20:47:00.003-05:00

March is the month that ALL anglers have been waiting on. The days are getting longer and the temps warmer. Cabin fever has taken its toll on many of us and it is time to get a line wet. The outdoor shows are almost over and Bass Tournaments will begin for 2011. The last show of the year is the Fredericksburg Outdoor Adventure Show March 18-20. I will be there with Chris McCotter on Friday & Sunday in the Lake Anna Outfitters booth.

Dave Fauntleroy's LAPR Bass Series http://www.laprbass.com/ kicks off this month at Anna Point Marina on March 6. Tournament times are from 7am-3pm, come by and watch Lake Anna's finest bring their fish to the scales.

On another note, Dave & I are almost finished with shop at Anna Point Marina. Come by and check everything out, we have the area's largest selection of Damiki Tackle, Burton Baits, Dave's Tournament Tackle, JJ's Magic (scent & dye), Izorline, Paycheck Baits Repo Man, Rattlehead Spinner Baits & Buzz Baits, Stick Jacket Rod Covers, BPS XPS Hard Baits & Frogs, Toothe Ache Spoons, Krazy Blades, Lake Fork Tackle Live Magic Shads, Spro Little John Crankbaits & Frogs, Lucky Craft Jerkbaits, Captain Garys Marine Care Products, Temple Fork Outfitters Gary Loomis Signature Series Rods & Team Lew's Reels. Stop by and try out a TFO Rod & Lew's Reel for yourself!!!!!!!

HOLD YOUR CLUB EVENT AT ANNA POINT & RECEIVE A 20% DISCOUNT ON TACKLE PURCHASES THE DAY OF YOUR EVENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bass- The largemouth will be doing a number of things this month and willing to take a variety of lures. Jerk Baits will be a major player in the beginning of the month. Fish main lake points with a twitch twitch pause retreive and hold on. The North Anna arm of the lake will produce numbers of fish this month on the 1/4oz single willow leaf Tiger Shad Spinner bait (available at Anna Point Marina) in and around the emerging willow grass that grows along the shoreline. Purple Tiger will be one of the best color choices as the bass will be feeding on crappie all month in preparation for the spawn.

Soft Jerkbaits like the Burton Minnow & Zoom Super Fluke will catch numbers of fish towards the end of the month in the mid & down lake creeks. My favorite colors are the Chris Craft Special in the Burton Minnow & Albino in the Super Fluke. Rig them on a 4/0 Gamakatsu EWG Hook and hold on!!!!!!!!!!

Towards the end of the month the first spawners of the year will start to show up down lake, please take care of the big girls when you catch them. They are our future for years to come, remember C.P.R.
Catch-Photo-Release!!!!

Crappie- tasty specks will be on the move ALL month and will be willing to take small minnows, tubes & 2" curly tail grubs. Great area's to start looking will be the bridges in North Anna & Pamunky, brush piles, boat docks & deeper beaver huts. Remember that Crappie are very color specific, they will take a color for a while and then shut off. Switch to another color until they turn back on. I rig ALL of my Southern Pro Hot Grubs on a 1/16oz jig head no matter what depth I am fishing. At Anna Point we have an ample supply of small minnows and the AREA'S LARGEST SUPPLY of CRAPPIE FISHING GEAR!!!!!!!

Striper- The linesides will be making their move this month up lake, live bait will be your best choice but you can still catch them on artificial lures. Try the Bass Assassin Sea Shad or a Sassy Shad rigged on a 1/4oz jig head or on a Dave's Tournament Tackle Shad Head. If you want to fish live bait, give Chris McCotter (540-894-9144) a call and request John Barlow or Shawn Blankenship, both can accommodate all of your striper fishing needs. Good Luck & GOD Bless

Lake Level- 10" Low

Water Temps
Uplake- mid to upper 40's
Mid Lake- Upper 40's
Dike 3 Mid to Upper 50's

Feb 20 Christy & Katie

2011-02-21T17:55:00.002-05:00

This past weekend at the OCHS Show, local angler & B.A.S.S. Open Touring Pro Christy Bradley was there and my daughter Katelyn was her shadow!!!! Katie followed Christy around, helped her out with her booth and went to her seminars!!!! Christy is a GREAT role model for all of the young anglers but especially the young ladies who want to pursue the sport of bass fishing. Good luck with your 2011 season.

Feb 18-20 OCHS Sportsmans Show

2011-02-21T17:47:00.002-05:00

Had a great time at the OCHS Sportsman's Show this past weekend. Lake Anna was represented well. Come by and check out the newly remodeled Shore Store at Anna Point Marina. We have the area's largest selection of Dave's Tournament Tackle, Damiki, Zoom, Burton Baits, Captain Gary's Marine Care Products, Temple Fork Outfitters Gary Loomis Rods, Lew's reels, Izorline, Smelly Jelly, Pay Check Baits, Rattle Head Baits, Persuader American, Kick'n Bass Attractants, Lake Fork Tackle ( live magic shads), SPRO Little John Crankbaits & Lucky Craft Jerkbaits.

Lew's Reels

2011-01-18T15:35:00.005-05:00

Lew's reels are back and better than ever!!! I met the new owner's of the Lew's rod & reel company while I was in Raleigh. They are back with a new line of low profile casting reels that are great quality and priced to move. The Speed Spool model is priced at $99.99, this 10 ball bearing reel comes in 7.1:1, 6.4:1 & 5.4:1 Lefty comes in 6.4:1 only. I personally bought 6 of the left handed models for me and also purchased 6 of the new 10 ball bearing Speed Spin Reels for my clients to use while they are fishing with me. The Speed Spin is priced at $59.99. Lew's reels are now the official reel of CCBASSN Lake Anna Guide Service. These reels teamed up with a TFO Gary Loomis Rod is a combo that is a sure WINNER!

They offer 3 more casting reels priced from $149.99-$279.99 & another spinning reel that features a 33" line recovery per turn of the handle The Tournament Speed Spool is priced at $89.99. The Speed Spin Spinning Reel & The Speed Spool Baitcasting Reel will be available at Anna Point Marina's Shore Store soon. Come by and give one a test for yourself. If you would like to get any of the others that are offered, we can order it for you. Check out the entire line at http://www.lews.com/ Sometime in 2011 they will be introducing the new BB1 reel .

Jan 18 Coolest Bait of 2011

2011-01-18T15:12:00.006-05:00

Dave & I spent the last 5 days in Raleigh NC at the Henry's Dealer & Manufacture Show. We purchased many items for the shop, some old faithfuls and some new baits.

The coolest bait of the show was Back Stabber Lures. A crankbait is a crankbait, right????

Well not any longer, Keith Ray is the owner of Back Stabber Lures and he sat down with me and went into detail about his baits. All of his baits feature a hook on the back of the lure that rotates 360 degrees on a swivel that runs down into the middle of the bait. The rear hook also rotates, not allowing the fish to use the bait as leverage to throw it. He offers these baits in shallow, med & deep crankbaits. As well as 1/2oz & 3/4oz lipless crankbaits. The Shore Store at Anna Point Marina will have the entire line of Back Stabber lures in stock soon, with the exception of the 3/4oz lipless bait. Go to http://www.backstabberlures.com/ and check them out for yourself.

Striper Pics

2011-01-05T19:36:00.004-05:00

A few more Striper pics

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More 2010 Striper Pics

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Striper Fishing in 2010

2011-01-04T23:29:00.006-05:00

Although my strengths are definitely Bass & Crappie, I am finding myself fishing for Stripers more & more these days. I had 6 or 7 striper trips this past year and learned a whole lot about chasing these hearty fish. I do not fish with ANY live bait, so all of the fish that you catch with me will be either trolling, casting or vertical jigging. Although I do not like to troll, this is a very productive way to catch these fish in the summer months. The most challenging trip of 2010 was a father & son duo that wanted to Fly Fish. I accepted the challenge and we were able to put 5 keeper convicts in the box, 2 of which came on the fly. The largest striper of the year was caught on Dec 22 on a Bass Assassin Sea Shad and weighed in at 11lbs 6oz.

Chris McCotter is the reason that I have started vertical jigging, he introduced me to the Tooth Ache Spoon & Krazy Blade in 2009 and we fished side by side many times in 2010. Thank you Chris for teaching me another technique to put fish in the boat.

More 2010 Crappie Pics

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More 2010 Crappie Pics

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Crappie Fishing in 2010

2011-01-04T21:53:00.006-05:00

Last year was an off year on Lake Anna for crappie fishing. The spawn was very long and drawn out. February warmed up very quickly and the fish started to make their move. March was a very different story, we had a cold front approx every 3 days and every time the fish moved up they were pushed right back out. The only citation speck that I seen was the 2.12lb chunker that my daughter caught. There were still several fish caught and we had 1 near miss citation, a 14 3/4" 1lb 14oz slab.

By May, the fish were still holding on off shore structure, Hopefully with the the spawn being drawn out and not many big slabs being caught, 2011 will prove to be a banner year. If mother nature co-operates and we get a mild late February/early March the fish should be hungry and willing to eat. I will start looking for them up lake as soon as the ice is gone.

If you are going to be at any of the outdoor shows this month, stop by and say hello. I am already taking calls and booking dates for March. The dates for shows that I will be attending are......

Jan 21-23 Richmond Fishing Expo

Feb 5 Bass Fishing Flea Market Hillendale Fire Dept. Dale City Va

Feb 13 Fishing Flea Market Falmouth Fire Dept Stafford Va

Feb 19 & 20 Orange County High School Sportsmans Show Orange Va
Feb 25-27 Western Va Sport Show Fishersville Va

March 18-20 Fredericksburg Outdoor Show Fredericksburg Va

More kids

2011-01-01T19:23:00.002-05:00

More "Take a kid fishing pics"

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Fishing with the kids in 2010

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This year I had the opportunity to take several kids out with me. These kind of trips are definitely my favorites. I had Mother/Daughter, Father/Daughter, Father/Son & even a Mother/Son trip. We caught bass, striper, crappie and even a few yellow perch. If you get a chance to do it in 2011, TAKE A KID FISHING!!!!!

2010 Client of the Year

2010-12-29T16:51:00.005-05:00

The 2010 client of the year goes to Darrin Clements, he fish with me 4 times this year for bass & crappie. Mr. Clements is the type of client that we look for, lots of questions about the quarry he is after. He posted the second largest bass of the year with a Green Fish that weighed 7lbs even.

Darrin brought a couple of his buddies along this year, as well as his young son Miles. We caught several bass and crappie on each trip. Darrin really wants to learn crappie fishing on Anna, he manages to put some tasty specks in his live well every time he goes out. Darrin also caught a citation Shell Cracker this year also. He was not with me when he caught it but he was in an area that I showed to him. He is after his Master Angler this year and I hope I can help him get there.

I look forward to your enthusiasm again in 2011, may your hooks always be sharp and your rod always have a bend in it!!!!!

Best Bass Trips of 2010

2010-12-29T16:36:00.003-05:00

I had the pleasure of taking many folks bass fishing this year. It is hard to choose one trip to be the best of the year. Lets start off with the largest bass of 2010, that goes to Ron Greenwell with a 7lb 1oz GIANT that ate a Buzz Bait. Coming in a close second was Darrin Clements with a Bucket Mouth that tipped the scales at 7lbs even, Mr. Clements fooled that fish with a Broken Back Red Fin.

The most fish caught in one day goes to Morris Fiendly, this 1 on 1 trip put 24 bass in the boat in an 8 hour trip with 18 of those being 3lbs or larger. We caught them on everything and everywhere we went. That was one of those days you just dream about. We also had 2 bonus stripers that day for dinner!!!!!

TFO Gary Loomis Rods have arrived

2010-12-29T16:28:00.003-05:00

The Temple Fork Outfitters Gary Loomis rods arrived at Anna Point Marina yesterday. We have over 70 rods in stock from 6'-7'6" in casting and 6'6"-7' in spinning. Come by and check them out. We will have them at the Richmond show next month. In my personal opinion, you cannot get more rod for your money, at $99.95ea and a limited lifetime warranty it is a NO BRAINER!!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

2010-12-24T21:57:00.003-05:00

We would like to wish a MERRY CHRISTMAS to all of the clients and followers of CCBASSN Lake Anna Guide Service. We wish everyone a SAFE and BLESSED holiday season. Thank you to another very successful year of fishing on beautiful Lake Anna. We look forward to an even bigger and better 2011. High lites of 2010 coming next week after my last trip for the year. Tight Lines & God Bless!!!!!

Chris, Nikki, Alyssa, Katie & Calleigh Craft

Dec 22 Cody & Carl Garrison

2010-12-23T16:00:00.005-05:00

As I sit here writing this post, I am very thankful that I was on the lake yesterday and not today. The wind is howling a steady 20mph with some gusts over 30.

I met Carl Garrison & his son Cody at 7:45 at Anna Point. The winds were calm and it was overcast. I much prefer sunshing this time of year, but you have to play the hand that is delt to you in this game. As I was idleing out of the marina, my new HDS5 just lit up with large arches.

We started jigging Krazy Blades and Tooth Ache Spoons with no sucess. I fired the Evinrude up and headed down lake to the dam area. Within minutes of casting Sea Shads rigged on 1/4oz jig heads, our first fish was hooked up. It was a shorty, then another one and another one. Finally Cody hooked up on a good fish. I seen a flash down about 6 feet and just grinned. I knew the fish was in the double digits. With the big convict in the box and high fives over with, it was back to buisiness. With only 1 more keeper for the day and 10 shorties, it was still a great day. Cody's fish is the largest Striper that a client has ever caught with me, congrats on your largest fish. The chunky fish weighed in at 11lbs 6oz. I have one more trip scheduled for this year, depending o what the upcoming snow storm does to us. The water temp at Anna Point was 38 in the morning and 40 by early afternoon. Dike 3 was 52 at noon. MLAGS

All of the fish that I caught wason the new TFO Gary Loomis Rods, the bite was very lite and subtle and I felt everything. The strength is also there, I lifted 3 of the 4 fish that I caught. No problem with that. Come by Anna Point and check them out.

Dec 15 T.F.O. Gary Loomis Rods

2010-12-15T10:44:00.005-05:00

The Temple Fork Outfitters Signature Series Gary Loomis Rods will soon be in the Shore Store. Gary Loomis has teamed up with T.F.O. and they are now making an AFFORDABLE rod for anglers.

Here is a quote from Gary Loomis............. "Working with TFO allows me to put HIGH-QUALITY rods in the hands of potential anglers that otherwise would not have access to this kind of gear. It is these new anglers that, through their enjoyment of the sport, will help us PROTECT our threatened fisheries."

All of the rods come with a Limited Lifetime Warranty and range in size from 6' through 7'6", Casting & Spinning. The retail price for these rods are $99.95 Come by and put one in your hands, you will not be disappointed!!!!

Dec 3 Stick Jacket's Arrive

2010-12-03T17:29:00.004-05:00

Stick Jackets are now available at Anna Point Marina. A 178 piece assortment of different colors arrived today. Perfect timing to protect all the new rods you will be getting for Christmas!!!

Dec 2 Monthly Outlook for December

2010-12-02T12:04:00.003-05:00

The temps are dropping and the fish are really putting on the feed bags. The water has hit that magic number of 55 degrees. All fish in the lake will be willing to take a variety of baits this month. At Anna Point Marina, we have our monthly Big Fish contest for Bass, Striper & Crappie. The prize for each category is $100, all you have to do to be eligible is launch from Anna Point. If you are fishing with a guide and would like to participate, just pay the $8 ramp fee before your trip. Last month the winning fish were as follows Bass- 6lbs 10oz Crappie- 1lb 12oz Striper- 10lbs 4oz. Come out and give it a try, WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO LOOSE????????????

BASS- The bass are getting very active with the dropping water temps. The are eagerly taking soft jerkbaits like the Burton Baits Minnow http://www.burtonbaits.com/ soon you will be able to pick them up at Anna Point Marina. Tiger Shad Spinnerbaits and lipless crankbaits are also a good choice for covering lots of water. The BPS XPS Rattle Shad is an excellent vibrating lipless bait. We have a very large selection of them at APM. Hard jerkbaits will also come into play this month as the water temps drop even more. Shallow crankbaits in shad patterns or chart/blue will also be working well. When the bite gets tough, slow down with a Jig & Pig Combo or a Shaky Head. We have the areas largest selection of Damiki Plastics that work very well on a shakey head.

Stripers- The convicts are making their move back to the mid lake region and can be caught on a variety of techniques this month. The popular Toothe Ache Spoon will play a major role this month, as will blade baits like the KRAZY BLADE, Silver buddy and Riverside Ripper. If you are not into vertical jigging have no fear, try casting Bass Assassin Sea Shads, soft jerkbaits or Broken Back Redfins to them. Look for the birds, especially the loons. They will tell you where the bait is at. When vertical jigging you can and will catch a variety of fish. Bass, Crappie, White & Yellow Perch, Striper, Catfish and maybe even a Walleye. That is why I like doing it so much........LOTS OF ACTION!!!!

Crappie- The specks will start to move back out to their winter hide outs this month. Early in the month before the water temps start plummeting, they will still be on boat docks in 5-10 feet of water. When the temps start dropping way off its time to move to the bridges. Small minnows on a slip bobber and 2"curly tail grubs will work best. They will start to stack up on deeper rock piles and channel drops.

Water Temps
Up Lake upper 40's to low 50's
Mid Lake upper 40's to low 50's
Dike 3 mid to upper 50's

Lake Level 24 inches low

Dec 2 JJ's Magic & Burton Baits

2010-12-02T11:49:00.003-05:00

JJ's Magic & Burton Baits.........."THE BEST COMBO SINCE PEANUTBUTTER & JELLY"

Get them both at Anna Point Marina. JJ's Magic is a lure dye that uses NO acetone, so you do not get that chemical smell (just garlic). It comes in Chart, Blue, Red, Methylate & Clear. If you spill it on the carpet in your boat, it comes off with rubbing alcohol. Burton Baits is a local bait company owned and operated by Scott Burton in Fredericksburg Va. His baits are 2nd to none!!! The colors are clear and crisp and the plastic very soft. He has many colors to choose from or he will make a custom color JUST FOR YOU!!!! Check them out at http://www.burtonbaits.com/ Plain and simple..........."BASS BITE BURTON"

Nov 25 Thanksgiving Morning

2010-11-26T12:33:00.002-05:00

Usually Dad, Willie and myself go hunting on Thanksgiving. Today we went fishing instead. We left thye house at 7 and headed to the lake. By 7:30 we were casting to stripers and bass. We atarted out using Bass Assassin Sea Shads and could not get a bite. Then I switched to a Burton Baits Minnow rigged on a jighead and BAM!!!! After about an hour we had caught 5 stripers and one bass, all on the Burton Minnow!!! THe resat of the day was filled with turkey, football and venison tenderloin. If you want to fish with the best Fluke/Minnow type bait on the market, give Burtons a try. We will soon have ALL of the Burton Baits lineup at the Anna Point Marina's Shore Store. Come by and check them out or go to http://www.burtonbaits.com/

Nov 23 Repowered & On the Water

2010-11-23T11:54:00.003-05:00

As all of you know I blew up my engine back over the summer. Then a couple weeks ago the lower unit in my brothers boat went out on me. Last Tues Scott Taylor and myself left my house at 4:30am headed to Anglers Choice in Martinsville. Scott told me they had an Evinrude 225 HO that would be perfect for my boat, I called them and scheduled an appointment to have it installed. We were there 15 min before they opened and at 9, Soon after that they pulled it in the shop and went to work. $ hours later they were done and we were on our way back home.

Now fast forward to today, I finally had the chance to get out and run it this morning. We had to put the trolling motor and other accessories back on it over the weekend. I was on the water at 8am and on my way. I have never been one to get wrapped up in the speed of a boat, but I just had to see what she would do. I do not have my GPS on there as of yet so I had to go by the speed odometer. I know they are not accurate but with the old engine it would barely reach 7o mph. To day I pegged it on 80!!!!! I have to learn to drive it all over again, the chime walk was to much for me. Good thing I have never caught a fish running wide open. It is just a good feeling to be back on the water with my own boat again.

Nov 21 "FLUKES & FLIES"

2010-11-21T15:13:00.003-05:00

Today was another first for me. Rick Ovelmen is up here from Miami Fl visiting his son James. The Ovemen's are here for Thanksgiving week looking at homes around the lake. I received a HOT tip from Chris McCotter on some striper action. Rick & James met me at Anna Point Marina at 7:30 and we were off. Rick told me he would like to try and fly fish for them, I was not real sure about that but I am always willing to try and meet a challenge. We arrived at out destination shortly after taking off. The fish were not far from the 208 bridge. James caught the first two fish on a fluke and then Rick hooked up on the fly. After a good battle, 3 keepers were in the box within minutes after starting.

I started fishing with a prototype rod from Lamiglass and hooked up on a good keeper fish. The bite was very lite and I felt it like a truck ran into me. There are a few tweaks to do on the rod, but in my opinion there is no better way to test a bass rod than on some Lake Anna Line Sides. The strength, sensitivity & durability are all there. By the end of the trip, we caught 5 keeper stripers, a couple of bass and had several fish miss the bait. Rick did have one fish that I considered a giant (prob 10+lbs) follow his fly only to turn around and swim away. Guys, I look forward to our next meeting. You will have a great time with Chris McCotter this upcoming weekend!!!! MLAGS

Nov 11 Damiki Tackle

2010-11-12T11:20:00.003-05:00

Damiki finally showed up on our front step after 3 weeks of waiting on the order. We are the Largest Damiki Dealer in the area. We have just about everything that they make, Hydra's (large & small), Mega Miki's, Finesse Miki's, Air Pocket's, Monster Miki's (the name sais it all), Pen 2's, Sneaks, Spoon Tail's, Kaiser's, Stinger's, Swing's & Armor Shads for their soft plastics. As far as hard baits we have DC-100, DC 200, Striker 90's and longbills. Dolphin top water baits coming soon. Last but not least we have the Popular NEKO Weights!!!!!

Nov 11 Dave's Tournament Tackle back at APM

2010-11-12T11:02:00.002-05:00

Part of the order from Dave's T Tackle arrived today and is up on the shelves. 12 doz Tiger Shad Spinnerbaits from 1/8oz to 1/2oz are on the wall. You wanted Daves Shaky Heads, well we have them. The Screwball, Spot Hopper and Pro Finesse are all here. King Sling Jigs are here as wel as the best Shad Head on the market today. I am still waiting on Flippin Jigs, Swiming Jigs and Finesse Jigs. Stop on in and see us.

Nov 5 Persuader American Image Blades

2010-11-05T14:44:00.003-04:00

Another small order arrived on a UPS truck today. This time it was from Persuader American, their Image Blades Spinnerbaits came in. I have never been a big fan of painted blades but, these are not your run of the mill painted blade. These baits have real pictures of baitfish on them. The two that are pictured pictured Shad & Yellow Perch. We also have them in Shiner, Crappie, Blue Gill and for the Potomac fisherman Yellow Perch for that spring time creek bite!!

Nov 4 & 5 Rattle Head Baits

2010-11-05T14:27:00.003-04:00

Today the Rattle Head Bait Co. Spinnerbaits and Buzz Baits came in. If you have never heard of or seen these baits, you need to. They have a rattle in the head as well as a hook that will move around when the fish jumps. This way they will not be able to throw the bait as easy. The are also made in the USA!!!!!!!!!! The baits that we are stocking were made just for Anna Point Marina, they all feature double gold blades. We have both colorado/willow & double willow in stock.

Nov 4 Krazy Blades

2010-11-05T14:21:00.002-04:00

Today the Krazy Blades arrived at the Shore Store. We have a very good selection at a very Good price. They are $3.29ea or 3 for $9. Stop on by and check out the Heavy Metal Fishing section.

Nov 3 Redemption Day

2010-11-05T14:11:00.003-04:00

Dad and I were back in the woods today for a half day. He was back in the Pine Tree stand and I was in my usual perch. I was still having thoughts of the giant I had missed just 24 hours ago when I heard leaves being scrunched to my left. Here came a spike buck followed by a doe and a nicer buck. The spike was about 100 yards in front of the doe and the larger buck was bumping the doe around. As soon as I had a clear shot the smoke filled the air again. Just like yesterday at almost the same time. The end result was different though. My buck went about 25 yards and piled up. A few minutes later the spike chased the doe right past my stand, so close that she almost hit the ladder on my stand. That was a little scary, thank god for Hunter Safety Systems!!!

Nov 2 In the woods with Dad

2010-11-05T13:40:00.005-04:00

As many of you know I am an avid deer hunter. With the new full time job at Anna Point and my guiding, bow season came and went with me only seeing a tree twice. Today is different though, it is Muzzle Loader season and I have 2 days off. My Dad took off as well so we could hunt together. We arrived at the farm well before daylight and bumped knuckles like always and were off to our stands. I was perched 18 feet up a White Oak tree before sunrise and Dad was in the Pine Tree stand that I have taken several nice bucks from in the past.

At about 7:45 I heard Dad shoot and he immediately was calling me on the radio. He said that he had shot at a nice buck and didn't know if he had hit him, he also told me he was coming my way to get ready. Within 10 minutes I had a GIANT buck a mere 40 yards from me and I was BUSTED!!!! He took off and I got him to stop about 90 yards away, I could clearly see his shoulder and smoke filled the air. It was not the same buck that Dad shot at, this one came in from the other direction. After looking for any sign of a hit and not finding any, I was in the dumps. I said lets go see if you hit yours, we found blood and his buck. It is a nice 8 pointer. Congrats Dad!!!!!!

I have often wondered why I get up well before daylight and sit in a tree all day just to kill a deer just before dark. I have taken approx 100 deer in my life and I can count on both hands the number of them that has taken a DIRT NAP in the morning. When Dad shot this morning I received my answer to why I get up so early. The largest buck of Dads 75 years on this earth was soon to go for a ride on the Artic Cat. I Love You Dad, lets do it again tomorrow!!!!!!

Nov 1 Anthony, Sam & David

2010-11-05T13:22:00.003-04:00

Anthony Degregrio and his mother fished with me back in Aug. Today he brought 2 of his friends along. 13 year old David and 13 year Sam. That's right three 13 year old boys in the boat!!!!! The day started off cold and clear, we took off down lake in search of stripers first. I located one school, unfortunately they would not co-operate. We quickly switched gears and started fishing for bass.The wind was picking up out of the north and was blowing around 15mph.

We pulled up to our first spot and quickly hooked a fish on a Tiger Shad Spinnerbait. We were fishing wind blown rock points with deep water near by. I moved to spot number 2 and BAM another fish on the spinnerbait. A pattern was coming together quickly. Area number 3 had the same results. 3 fish on 3 windy points with rocks. I knew where I had to go next so I fired up and we were off. This is when the day starts going south.

I was at the mouth of Sturgeon Creek when my engine started to knock. I thought oh no I am blowing up another engine. I shut down and pulled it into neutral, knock was gone. I reeved it up and it purred, put it back in gear and knock was back. Lower unit went south on me!!!! Oh well, you have to pay to play. I am hoping that the lower unit on my blown engine will bolt up to my brothers, if it does I will make the switch and be back on the water.

Oct 23 Tackle Starting to Arrive

2010-10-24T06:20:00.003-04:00

The Toothe Ache Spoons arrived on Fri and today Paycheck Baits Repo Man came in. Within the next week we are expecting baits from Damiki, Dave's Tournament Tackle, Persuader America and Rattle Head. Izor Line should also be arriving soon. We are getting ready to make an order to Bass Pro Shops for their XPS Series of baits also. The Shore Store is starting to look like a tackle shop.

If anyone is planning on making a large order, come by and see us. Let us try to give you the best price. Bulk orders with friends or if you are just getting ready to upgrade you older equipment. But regardless of whether or not you are ready to make an order, COME BY AND SEE US ANYHOW!!!!!!!!

Oct 22 Dave & Bob

2010-10-23T09:55:00.003-04:00

Went out for a half day trip today with with Dave Alvino & his friend Bob. Dave has had a home on the lake for a couple of years now and struggles to catch fish. We were greeted with very chilly air temps and bluebird skies. A cold front blew through yesterday afternoon and the pressure was climbing fast. We headed downlake and started throwing Rat L Traps on windy points. I went back into a small cove with no wind and tried out a new bait. The Dolphin, made by Damiki is a top water walk the dog style bait. I walks easy, has great hooks on it and has a small profile. They will be available at Anna Point soon.

After the wind became relentless, we ran back up to Sturgeons Creek and caught a couple more small ones on traps. I then moved to another creek and banged out a nice chunky 16" fish on the trap. Once this front is over with the lake should return to normal and the fish start biting again. The total was 8 fish today with 3 keepers. Not to awful for a tough day and only 5 hours of fishing. MLAGS

Update from Dave & Bob.....THe guys went back out after our morning and caught this nice bass in one of the areas I showed them. Great job guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oct 20 Anna Point Marina update

2010-10-20T22:29:00.002-04:00

We are half way through week 2 at the marina and we started ordering today. Over 230 Toothe Ache Spoons were ordered today and should be here by the weekend. (hopefully) This afternoon we also met with good friend and tackle representative, Russle Newton. Russle reps for Damiki, Dave's Tournament Tackle, Persuader America, Izor Line, Rattle Head Baits and many more.

We made a huge order of Damiki, we will be the largest dealer of Damiki Tackle in the area. Persuader has a great looking new spinner bait for 2011 that we ordered today, the Image Blade Spinner baits are definitely an eye catcher and in my opinion a fish catcher also. They will defiantly be in my boat!!!! The Rattle Head Spinner Bait caught Dave's eye and we made a substantial order, this unique bait has been on my partners rod for a while now. Izor Line will have almost a whole end cap to itself in the store.

Tomorrow we will be ordering Dave's Tournament Tackle Tiger Shads, Shakey Heads and Jigs. Saturday, I have a meeting with Scott Burton, lots of Burton Baits coming soon!!!! Stop by and see us and let Dave and I know what you would like to see in the store.

Oct 19 Crappie fishing with Brother Willie

2010-10-20T22:13:00.004-04:00

This afternoon my brother and me went out for some fall speck fishing. We were on the water by 4pm and on our way to the Pamunky arm of the lake. We bounced from dock to dock catching some small fish and the occasional keeper. We finally found a dock that was loaded with fish, small potato chip fish and keepers. We were throwing 2" Southern Hot Pro curl tail grubs on a 1/16oz jig head. When we were finished, somewhere around 50 crappie were caught with 13 nice keepers and the largest was 13 1/2" and weighed in at 1lb 12oz.

The fall bite is definitely on now, in my opinion the best to come later in the month and into November. If you make it out to the lake, stop by Anna Point Marina and say hello.