Lake Anna Report - March

Charlie Bowles

Bass
When the water reaches the magic temperature of 55 degrees Bass will “stage” or move towards the shallower creeks and coves that they will soon spawn in. During this period the bass will “wake up” and get much more active than they have been in the winter. The lower end of the lake is going to warm before any other area. Dike 3, Valentine Cove, Levy Creek, Rockland Creek, and Dukes Creek will be great areas to concentrate your efforts. Use ½ ounce to ¾ ounce Spinnerbaits, 5” Jerkbaits, and ¼ ounce swimjigs. Don’t forget your favorite variety of finesse baits when the bite gets a little tougher. I also like to use lizards and senko type baits on a Carolina rig. This technique allows you to cover a lot of water and present your bait as being somewhat weightless at the same time.

Striper
There are lots of smaller stripers in the Dike 3 area. There are big fish mixed in, it’s just a matter of presenting bigger baits and waiting it out. Many of the larger Stripers will be caught in the main rivers near Terrys run, S-turns, Christopher run, and Duck in hole creek. ¼ ounce to ½ ounce Swimbaits and Jerkbaits will be very productive in these areas. If you are a live bait fisherman use a shallow presentation during lowlight and overcast days. During bright sunlight go out to deeper feeding flats and use down lines. Last but not least, trolling can produce stripers in size and numbers. DD 22’s, Lec 15’s, Red Fins, Stretch 25s and umbrella rigs are some of the most productive set ups.

Crappie
Watch for Crappie to move to some of the 15 ft rock piles and bridge pilings h. Use 2” pearl grubs and tubes and small and medium minnows.