Taylor's Journal
March 22, 2008
What a crazy day! The weather was all over the place and so were the fish. It was hot, it was cold, it was calm, it was windy, sunny, overcast, and the fish bit everything in the tackle box but nothing very well. In the morning I was able to pull a few bass of the shallow end of docks with a shaky head worm. As the wind really started to crank early afternoon I was forced to fish a very turbulent bank (as everyone was staying put in the calm water). I turned the trolling motor all the way up and found some nice fish willing to bite a jerk-bait in the breaking surf. Later in the afternoon I met up with Charlie and we got on bite at the bottom end of the lake with crank-baits and rattle-traps, good dam fishing! Somewhere in there I think we pulled a few on Carolina-rigs. It’s a transitional time of year and it’s hard to find a pattern right now that works for more than a day, sometimes only a few hours. See Charlie’s journal for additional pictures.
Sunday January 13, 2008
Charlie and I kicked off the 2008 tournament year with a second place finish in the Virginia Open Bass Winter Tournament Series held at Sturgeon Creek Marina. After putting together what I thought was a respectable 12.71# bag, we were blown away by Preston and Larry bringing 3 bass in the 5lb class to the scales and having a total of 19.30#! Rumor has that most anglers experienced a strong bite early in the morning but the larger bass caught came through the mid-day. Jerk-baits continue to produce however other patterns may start to produce as lake temperatures continue to drop as more winter-like weather pushes in.
Saturday January 12th, 2008
Hunting season is over and it’s time to get back to work on Lake Anna. It’s cold but the largemouth action is still hot. See Charlie's entry for more
October 19th 2007:
Slow bite tonight until 6:30. After that the trolling rods spent more time folded over than not. After boating a half dozen 7lbers in about 20 minutes we picked up the troll and starter casting on some localized fish that were feeding fairly aggressively. Charlie managed to boat another four fish while I managed to break off two. Another awesome evening, doubling up on solid fish and letting some big ones get away. Where is everyone? The lake looks abandon. These fish are biting!
October 14th 2007:
After donating a lower unit to Boggs Point on Saturday and only catching one 11” bass today, Charlie and I were in pretty good spirits come weigh in time. We decided to try and salvage the weekend by boating a few stripers. Got on some active fish near the State Park and managed to troll up a half dozen in the 6-7 lb range. While trolling we spotted birds crashing, bait coming out of the water, and fish boiling the surface. We immediately picked up the trolling rigs and crept on top of the breaking fish. Stripers were violently taking Zara’s and Pop’Rs. One fish, easily in the 12 -14 lb class, must have bit the Super Spook 5 times before hooking up and breaking the line right at the boat. Some passing boats decided they wanted to join in. The additional boat traffic / noise made the fish sound only occasionally breaking the surface. As the action slowed the other boats left but the fish were still there and anxious to inhale any crankbait / jerkbait swimming in the 6-8 foot range. The fish became increasingly aggressive in the last hour of daylight. They would strike 4 and 5 times per cast before hooking up, sometimes right next to the boat. It is hard to describe the feeling of a 7lb striper biting 2 feet away from the boat and immediately ripping of 75 feet of line, but on 8lb test with a medium action spinning outfit, it was more than a good time. Not sure how many fish we caught but my arms were tired by the time the fish let up. Some of the best fishing I have ever had on Lake Anna!
Sunday October 7, 2007
Only had a couple of hours today (3 to 6pm) but managed to find some fish willing feed. Stripers are congregating on 20’ humps and channel edges when it’s time to feed before settling back into the 35’ basement to scratch and fart right at dark. Mixed in with the stripers were some respectable largemouths just as aggressive in striking the two rod spread. Active feeding fish are showing up in smaller/tighter grouped schools, shallower, and more fixated on structure. The larger schools are lethargic and just drifting around in the deep channels. Mid-lake seems to be the spot.
Sunday October 1, 2007
Gorgeous afternoon on the water doesn’t seem like October already. Stripers are readily taking baits trolled over humps and channel edges anywhere near the splits, also catching some respectable largemouth bass using this technique. We probably caught a dozen or so fish this evening, no monsters but lots of fun. As the daylight fades fish are moving closer to shallow flats, try to focus on any identifiable structure on the flat (point, rocks, roadbed, etc.).
Sunday September 9th, 2007:
We kicked off the fall portion of the Lake Anna Bass Series true Bumpass fashion. I showed up about 5 hours late to find Charlie severely sunburned with one dead bass in the live well (deep-hooked). We covered most of the lake between Contrary Creek and Hunter’s Landing squeaking out two more fish. With less than five minutes left in the tournament I managed to hook up on a solid 5.55lb bucket-mouth. I thought I was going to still be fighting the fish long after the tournament had ended but Charlie managed to get him in the net with about 3 minutes left. We then made the trip back to Sturgeon’s Creek, airborne most of the way, 25 seconds away from being disqualified. The 5.55 didn’t hold up for the big fish but we took 7th place and a check large enough to cover the entry fees and a few cold beers. The last minute catch made this day one to remember.
Tuesday August 14, 2007:
The Tuesday night tournament is still alive and well with twenty boats entering today. The bite was slow to say the least. With somewhat of a cold front and a rising barometer, everyone found it difficult to put together a limit. I managed to boat on fish weighing in at 3.58lbs with Charlie’s help on the net….barely had him hooked in the side of the mouth. At the end of night it was the Josh and Darrin show taking 1st place and finishing in the money for the 5th time this summer on Tuesday night! Nice bag fellas.
-TM-
Monday August 13th 2007:
I have been doing so much tournament bass fishing this summer I couldn’t remember the last time I caught a striper in Lake Anna. I grabbed three trolling setups, dropped the boat in the water, and checked out a couple of spots Charlie and I have been seeing a lot of active fish on the graph while bass fishing. I spent the first hour or so with no lines in the water just searching and watching the graph for what I thought were stripers. I found a good school between the mouth of Mitchell and Contrary Creek but no bites. Hooked up on something right at the Louisa side of the 208 Bridge but after two good head shakes it was gone. Picked up and ran to the splits to make a pass at one of my favorite summertime lines. Hooked up on a solid fish but broke the line about half way back to the boat…shame on me, I don’t think I have changed the line since early spring. It was beginning to get dark at this point but with two bites on my tandem buck tail setup I was confident I would not go home empty handed. Two hundred yards later this 23” morsel took a 7” blue herring X-Rap. Our friend Karen proudly hoists the catch. Karen is visiting from England this summer and had her first largemouth and striped bass experience on Lake Anna today. No trophy by any means but a pleasant night on the lake.
-TM-
