Anglers throughout Virginia and neighboring states want to know "how are the fish bitin'?" To provide some answers, more than 25 license agents, marinas, fishing guides, and bait shops have volunteered to serve as contacts for information on recent fishing conditions for primary rivers and lakes throughout the state. Sarah White, outdoor writer and regular contributor to Virginia Wildlife magazine, prepares this Fishin' Report from interviews with these contacts the week prior to publication of the Outdoor Report.

The rivers and lakes featured in the Fishin' Report are listed by VDGIF Administrative Regions so you can quickly locate the area in which you are most interested. Consult the regional location map to find the major river or lake you want to know about.

For regulations and conditions on saltwater fishing, visit the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) website. Mandatory Saltwater Angler Registry: Effective January 1, 2010, there is a new requirement that saltwater anglers obtain a federal registry number by calling 1-888-674-7411, or online at www.CountMyFish.noaa.gov.

The new 2010 Freshwater Fishing in Virginia (Fishing Regulations) book has been published and a copy can be obtained at the upcoming fishing and hunting shows, all license agents and Department offices. VDGIF Fisheries Division Director, Gary Martel, notes, "This publication not only contains the fishing regulations, but an extensive 'Let's Go Fishing' section, with information about major sport fish, public fishing lakes, major fishing rivers, and the trout stocking program. Also, you can find information about fish citations, state records, angling education programs, exotic species, and more." The Freshwater Fishing Regulations section, including the complete Trout Fishing Guide, on our website have also been updated for 2010.
Safe Boating is No Accident—Wear your Life Jacket and Take a Boating Safety Class

Attention boaters, VDGIF has begun to phase in Virginia's boating safety education requirement and wants to remind boaters that as of July 1, all operators of personal watercraft (PWC), including Jet Skis, Sea Doos, and other PWCs, age 14 to 35 will need to have proof of boating safety course completion onboard while operating the vessel. PWC operators must be at least 14 years old. To find out more about the boating safety requirement, the rest of the phase-in for Virginia boaters, or to find a boating safety course, visit the Department's website.

Virginia's life jacket laws require that there must be one wearable (Type I, II, III, or V) USCG approved life jacket of the appropriate size for each person on the boat. All boats, except for personal watercraft, canoes, kayaks, and inflatable rafts, must carry one USCG approved Type IV throwable ring or seat cushion. In addition, if you are boating on federal waters where the USCG has jurisdiction, children under the age of 13 must wear a life jacket unless below deck or in an enclosed cabin.

For more information on boating water safety and the BoatU.S. Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water go to BoatUS.com. For details on Virginia's laws or to take a boating safety course, check out the DGIF boating website.

Review the article, "Does Your Lifejacket Really Fit?" in the May 26, 2010 Outdoor Report Be Safe... Have Fun section.
Got Pictures of Your Catch? Share Them With Us on Flickr!


No matter how you send in your pictures, please remember to include the species, date, and location of your catch. If you know the length and weight, please include it.

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Sarah White's Notebook - Regional River and Lake Reports on Fishing Conditions



Region 1 - Tidewater

Little Creek Reservoir: (757) 566-1702. No report this edition - call for updates.

Beaverdam Reservoir: Contributed by C. Blair Evans, Park Supervisor, (804) 693-2107. According to Blair, the bass bite is slow, but you just might get lucky with plastic worms or cranks. Crappie action is heating up; trolling a minnow over the grass beds is the way to go. A 27 ½ in. channel cat, weighing over 10 lbs. was landed off the pier. Cut bait and chicken livers are your best bet for cats. Not many perch have been landed. Bluegill are still going nicely for crickets. Note: They do not sell crickets at the station. The water is slightly stained, at full pool and 72 degrees.

Virginia Beach: Captain Jim Brincefield (443) 336-8756. Despite there being lots of wind, things are not too bad up Capt. Jim's way. Very large spot are being landed at Rudee and Lynnhaven Inlets, they are going for Fishbite and bloodworms. Speckled trout are in the same spot attacking Mirrolures. Bluefish are there to be had around the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, try cut bait and spoons. The water is fairly clear and 66 degrees.

Chickahominy River: River's Rest (804) 829-2753. Charlie Brown says that he hopes that this Football season, Lucy will not pull the ball away at the last moment. He also reports that lots of bass are being landed. They like spinners, plugs and soft plastics. Lots of cats, some up to the 60 lb. range are coming in; try cut bait or chicken livers. Not much word on crappie, but they should be moving to their fall patterns. Bream are going for crickets. No word on perch. The water is slightly stained and cooling.

North Landing River and Back Bay: West Neck Marina (757) 426-6735. Dewey's store was flooded due to recent heavy rains, but he was able to share some information with us. Bass angling has been good, with the focus being on top waters, spinners and cranks. Crappie are coming in on minnows and jigs. Bluegill are biting crickets and red worms. The water is slightly stained and in the mid 70s.

Norfolk Lakes: Dasheill's Show Room (757) 539-7854. Drew Dixon told me that there are plenty of bass going for top waters early and late, try soft plastics during the day. Crappie are not very cooperative just now, but soon should be schooling as the water cools. Lots of cats are going for cut bait. The bream bite is "slacking off", but try a cricket or red worm anyway. The water is clear and in the mid 70s.

Blackwater and Nottoway: By Riverkeeper Jeff Turner www.blackwaternottoway.com The Blackwater and Nottoway Rivers have been at flood stage for the last week. The rivers are falling but still too high to be fishable and that status will remain at least until this weekend. After all this freshwater gets gone, the fishing in both rivers should be fantastic. All the accumulated yuck and stagnant summer water will be gone and dissolved oxygen levels should be back on the healthy side.

Upper and Lower Tidal James: Local Guide, Captain Mike Hoke, Life's Revenge Guide Service, (804) 357-8518. Capt. Mike says that both large and small mouth angling is good; try soft plastics, inline spinners and cranks. Crappie are really hitting in the creeks and around structures, white curly tail grubs are the lure of choice. The cat bite is good, especially flatheads, one of Mikes clients brought a 34 lb. one to the boat! Blues are biting too; try cut bait. Striper action is also going well; try white perch, bucktails or cut eels. Gar are responding to minnows on a cork. The water is stained, but clearing towards Richmond and around 63 degrees.

Upper and Lower Tidal James: Local Guide, John Garland, Screaming Reels Fishing Charter, (804) 739-8810. No report this edition.

Upper and Lower Tidal James: Capt. Mike Ostrander, James River Fishing School, Discover the James, (804) 938-2350. No report this edition.

Region 2 - Southside

Lake Gordon: Contributed by our man in the boat Willard A. Mayes. Into everyone's life some rain must fall, all the rain we needed last summer fell last week, which kept me off the lake some and also created work I have been putting off most of the summer. I couldn't take it any longer, so Cricket Man and I were on Lake Gordon by 9:45. As soon as my boat hit the water the wind started blowing so I left the fly rod in its case, vowing only to use the spinning rods. Somehow I think you have heard this before but the water is still low but it is clear with a slight greenish stain and much cooler. We fished from the ramp down to the first pasture to the right as you go up the lake just drifting with the wind, me with the spinning rod and Cricket Man with his worms. I would catch a crappie fairly often and Cricket Man was having trouble finding fish that were dining on worms, so he started trolling the worms and picked up his spinning rod with jig and twister tail and joined me catching crappie. He did catch 4 crappie with worms trolling behind the boat. I moved him in an area where we have caught white perch and he caught 5 nice ones on the worms and I got 2 but one of them wasn't much bigger than my thumb. He also caught 4 hand size bluegill there, too. We finished the day drifting down the lake about 100 feet from shore line in water from 8 to 4 feet picking up crappie from 8 to 12 inches. Cricket Man caught his limit and threw back several and I ended the day with 49 crappie keeping my limit of them in the 9 to12 inch range. The 2 inch lime and purple twister tail on a 1/32 lead head on a slow retrieve stopping now and then seemed to work best. My guess is we were catching the crappie from 3 to 6 feet of water. We caught the most in the area where the 2 by 4 is sticking out the water. Cricket Man caught one channel cat and one chain pickerel on his worms. Neither of us were bothered with any bass.

Sandy River and Briery Creek: Contributed by Longwood College Fishing Club's Jack Pollio. Studying hard with classes back in session - no report this time.

James at Scottsville: Local Guide L.E. Rhodes www.hatchmatcherguideservice.com, (434) 286-3366. The James is in great shape. The Smallmouth have pretty much moved into the deeper holes. Around mid day look to the shallows as the fish will move up, chasing baitfish as the day and water warms. Soft plastics (grubs, stick baits and fluke style) are the best producers. Fly anglers throwing streamers and crayfish patterns are bringing fish to the boat. Do be careful around the ramps as the high water from a couple weeks ago has them covered in mud.

The bridge work at Hardware River landing has been completed opening up two sections of river that hasn't seen much traffic for close to two years. There is about a month of quality top water action left for the year. Get out if you haven't and enjoy the James. Give me a call if you want to book a trip or just talk fishing!

Kerr Reservoir: Bob Cat's Lake Country Store, (434) 374-8381. Bobby Whitlow says that things are looking up as the water level rises and the water cools. The bass will be found in the shallow (2 to 12 ft.), they will go for shallow running cranks. Crappie fishing will also pick up and also be in the shallows. Look for them around docks, bridge pilings and brakes. The cat bite is good, try cut bait, live shad or live bream. Stripers are biting early and late on top waters. The water is clearing and in the 60s.

James at Lynchburg: Angler's Lane, (434) 385-0200. Tom Reisdorf told me that smallmouth are going for top waters and minnow imitators. Rainbows and browns in the Jackson are attacking sub-surface caddis imitators sizes 14 to 16. The recent rains have really helped the brookie bite; try a caddis dry, size 14. The water is in the mid to high 50s.

Lake Gaston: Holly Grove Marina, (434) 636-3455. Holly Grove is closed for the season, but will re-open in February.

Lake Gaston Health Advisory: The Virginia Department of Health has issued an advisory on walleye fish consumption due to mercury contamination in Lake Gaston. Recent fish tissue sample results from the North Carolina Division of Public Health show mercury levels in walleye fish exceed the amount considered safe for long term human consumption. VDH advises the consumption of no more than two meals a month of walleye taken from Lake Gaston. Virginia's advisory stretches from John H. Kerr Dam downstream 18 miles to the Virginia-North Carolina state line. For additional details, visit the VDH fish consumption advisory page.

Smith Mountain Lake: Contributed by Mike Snead. Virginia Outdoorsman, (540) 724-4867, www.virginiaoutdoorsman.com.

Crappie: The crappie fishing is really picking up during the day and the quality of the fish being caught has been exceptional so far this year. Many crappie anglers report good success using the small and medium sized "shiners", available at local tackle shops, rigged on gold, thin wire hooks. Submerged brush and timber continue to be the best producing structure. Crappies are also being caught at night around "underwater lights". The lights are designed to be used underwater (submersible) and are reportedly more effective than floating lights or those sometimes suspended over the water on booms.

Stripers: Stripers continue to be caught using live bait and most anglers continue to report success using both downlines and shotlines. Shotlines pulled behind planer boards and floats have also been productive. Stripers continue to chase schools of baitfish to the surface and break on them around the lake. Recently most breaks have been seen near the mouths of the major creeks and in open water either early in the morning or on days when the sky is overcast. Anglers continue to catch nice stripers and an occasional bass on lead core line outfits and the traditional three-way rig with a Sutton spoon and swimbait, bucktail or sassy shad. Another effective trolling rig is the four arm Umbrella rig.

Bass: Fishing continues to be mixed. While some report having luck finding and catching schooling bass off points and humps, others report having found schooling bass, but having a difficult time hooking up. The Rico continues to be one of the favorite topwater lures for schooling bass. Buzzbaits and spinners have also been working as have other top water poppers. Several anglers reported success using Carolina Rigs on points and humps while others said they caught bass using jigs off rock ledges and in deeper water. Light weight shaky head jigs and Senko worms continue to produce an occasional fish under docks, especially under structure up along the rocky shoreline.

Catfish: Channel catfish continue to be caught using Magic prepared stink baits. Flathead catfish are being caught on nightcrawlers, live shad and shiners presented on bottom rigs in deep water.

Panfish: Panfish have moved back up along the docks and shoreline where they can be caught on small crappie minnows, red wigglers and small jigheads rigged with curly tailed grubs and other selected plastics.

The water is fairly clear and 70 degrees.

Region 3 - Southwest

Claytor Lake: Rock House Marina, (540) 980-1488. Greg Osborne says that the bass bite has been slow, but try topwaters in the morning and plastic frogs in grass during the day. No word on crappie, but things should improve. Cats are biting well on live shiners and live shad. No word on perch, but as with the crappie, things will get better soon. Bream are around the docks, going for crickets and worms. The water is clear and in the high 60s.

Upper New River: Contributed by Captain Forest Pressnell, (540) 818-5274, New River Charter. Recent minimal rains and cloudy weather really fired the fish up on the River for several days. The river has since dropped to low levels again with clear water so it can be a challenging bite. Water temps are dropping as well, so slow down your presentation for the smallies with tubes, grubs, etc. Jerkbaits have remained good for walleye at night or cloudy days. Muskie are becoming much more aggressive.

Lower New River: Big Z'S (540) 639-1651. John Zienius says bass fishing has picked up; try GitZits or small cranks. Cats like live or cut shad, Muskies are still wary due to the clear water, but you can't go fishing in his area without having a "muskie encounter". The water is clear and in the 60s.

New River: Tangent Outfitters, (540) 257-0415. Shawn Hash told me that local bass are going for cranks. Muskies are hitting hard on soft plastics, inline spinners and top waters. The water is clear and in the low 60s.

Region 4 - Mountain and Shenandoah Valley

North and South Forks of the Shenandoah: Harry Murray (540) 984-4212 www.murraysflyshop.com. Harry is on vacation in Montana (shades of A River Runs Through It!) He will be back soon.

Lake Moomaw: Local Guide, Mike Puffenbarger, (540) 468-2682, www.mapletreeoutdoors.com. Puff reports that the lake is filling again due to recent rain. With temps cooling and some more rain to fill in the lake a little more, the fishing will pick up dramatically the next few weeks. Puff notes he will be busy this week catering for a group of wounded warriors that Dominion Power is hosting for a trout fishing trip in a remote area of Bath County. These heros are participating in a Project Healing Waters program and will get to fish for 2 days with guides and tackle all courtesy of Dominion, VDGIF and volunteers. Visit Puffs maple tree outdoors website for hunting and fishing tips and information for the Highlands area.

Region 5 - Northern Piedmont

Piedmont Rivers: Local author Steve Moore, SwitchFisher.com / Wade and Shoreline Fishing the Potomac River - DC to Harpers Ferry. Finally! The massive rainfall we received over the last week has recharged all of the Piedmont rivers and has brought new life back to the trout streams in the Blue Ridge. The Upper Potomac is fishing well with most of the smallmouth concentrating in the deep channels. The best wading will be above the confluence with the Monocacy while those who fish from boats will have the run of the entire river. You should see the thick grass beds start to break up fairly soon and that will open more of the river to fishing. The Rappahannock and Rapidan are back to their seasonal normal levels. It remains to be seen whether the bass will move back into the shallow areas of the confluence and other places typically targeted by wading anglers. The Rapidan is below the threshold for enjoyable canoeing or kayaking. The good news is that the float from Motts Run to Fredericksburg on the Rappahannock is within the lower margin of the acceptable levels. Good places to target in that section include the bend in the river at 38.318707,-77.528722 and the half mile leading into the I-95 bridge. Trout stocking has begun with the Robinson River getting the first dose in the Piedmont area! Anglers are encouraged to avoid the mountain streams since the fall spawning season is upon us. With the trout stocking program in full swing, you'll have plenty of alternatives.

Lake Orange: Contributed by Darrell Kennedy of Angler's Landing (540) 672-3997. Angler's Lane is closed for the season. Although the shop is closed, the Lake remains open for use.

Mid Point Potomac: Warbird Outdoors, (703) 878-3111. Chuck Taylor reports that few anglers have been out due to high winds. The water is cooling.

Potomac: Outdoor writer and fishing guide, Charlie Taylor provides a weekly Fishing Report for the Potomac River and other NOVA lakes and rivers, which may be accessed at any time at: http://mysite.verizon.net/vzeqbewt/. This web-report is updated every Thursday afternoon.

Lake Anna: Contributed by C. C. McCotter, McCotter's Lake Anna Guide Service, (540) 894-9144.

Largemouth Bass: Fish have fed heavily prior to the turnover and remain schooled but less willing to feed now. They've seen plenty of shad and lures that look like shad, so you'll have to search out the most aggressive pockets of fish that have not been touched yet. Or.... you can go dock by dock, looking for the loners. When using the first pattern, turn your attention up lake in the top one third of the North Anna and Pamunkey Branch. Use spinnerbaits, swimming jigs and small crankbaits for fish on willow grass and rocks. Try a jig or shaky worm for fish under docks. Going dock by dock is good in the mid lake region and the shaky head is the bait of choice with this pattern.

Stripers: Plenty of actively feeding small fish remain around the dam even with one reactor off. It is scheduled for restart by the middle of the month. Fish swimbaits like a Berkley Realistix Minnow or Ripple Shad near the surface when you see breaking fish. Birds are now present and will let you know where to fish. Use a Toothache Spoon or Crazy Blade for deeper fish. You can follow these schools for hours if you pay attention and don't spook them. The region from Jetts Island up to Hunter's Landing is full of striper, too. They should turn on in the coming days and weeks. No reports yet of fish up the North Anna, but they should be above the Rt. 522 Bridge around the mouth of Duck In Hole creek.

Crappie: The fish returned to the docks at the end of September. No saddlebags yet, but some slabs. With the continued low water level you can shoot a jig way back under docks where the fish are. Hottest regions are the upper Pamunkey and North Anna.

Lake Anna: Contributed by Local Guide Jim Hemby (540) 967-3313. No report this edition.

NOTICE: All anglers are reminded to acquaint themselves with a good description of the northern snakehead fish. If you should manage to catch one of these exotic imports, please kill it immediately and report the catch to either the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries or the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.