Post by flintster55 on Oct 9, 2018 14:03:47 GMT -5
The kayak trail I fished this year held it's "classic" this past Saturday at Lake Anna. We had 20 guys competing and I was not able to prefish due to some work commitments, so I arrived around 10pm Friday night to Christopher Run Campground and got a good nights rest for tournament day. I have never even been to the lake, much less fished it before, so I waited for the sun to come up a little before launching. Talk about going in completely blind.
I was on the water about 7:10 and making my way out of the creek towards a more main lake area I had scouted some on google maps. Water was decently stained in the back of the creek I launched in, so I moved out in search of some clearer water. I was planning to hit some mainlake points and some docks to see if I could find a pattern. Did see some fish busting here and there, but never could get any takers on a topwater. Threw medium and shallow crankbaits with no luck. No luck with a senko or drop shot either. First fish came around 9:30 on a senko flipped up under a bush on a steep bluff wall and went 13". Next and biggest fish came off a laydown in about 8 ft of water on a ned rig. I actually saw her roll on the bottom as she ate it, so I knew she was good size. She went 18.25" and maybe a solid 3lb. Rounded out a small but decent 5 fish limit with 3 more coming on the ned rig 11", 13.5" and 12". Unfortunately, #5 flipped off my measuring board before I could get a picture so I finished with 55" for the day which was good for 7th out of 20. If I had been able to get a pic of #5, I would've finished 3rd with 67". I was slightly disappointed to say the least, but that's part of the catch and photo release type fishing we do. 1st placed finished with 83" anchored by a solid 21" kicker.
Lots more boat traffic (bass and rec) than I expected for October too. Talked to a few guys fishing tournaments that were struggling to fill a limit, so that made me feel a lot better given my kayak limitations compared to a fast glitter rocket. Water temp stayed pretty consistent between 76-78 most of the day. Most of my fish came from 12ft or less of water. With a few coming in less than 5ft probably. Only one came off a dock, with the rest coming off of rock or wood structure. All in all, I still consider it a victory catching 5 fish never having been on the lake before. Looking forward to heading back sometime next year with at least a little experience under my belt.
I was on the water about 7:10 and making my way out of the creek towards a more main lake area I had scouted some on google maps. Water was decently stained in the back of the creek I launched in, so I moved out in search of some clearer water. I was planning to hit some mainlake points and some docks to see if I could find a pattern. Did see some fish busting here and there, but never could get any takers on a topwater. Threw medium and shallow crankbaits with no luck. No luck with a senko or drop shot either. First fish came around 9:30 on a senko flipped up under a bush on a steep bluff wall and went 13". Next and biggest fish came off a laydown in about 8 ft of water on a ned rig. I actually saw her roll on the bottom as she ate it, so I knew she was good size. She went 18.25" and maybe a solid 3lb. Rounded out a small but decent 5 fish limit with 3 more coming on the ned rig 11", 13.5" and 12". Unfortunately, #5 flipped off my measuring board before I could get a picture so I finished with 55" for the day which was good for 7th out of 20. If I had been able to get a pic of #5, I would've finished 3rd with 67". I was slightly disappointed to say the least, but that's part of the catch and photo release type fishing we do. 1st placed finished with 83" anchored by a solid 21" kicker.
Lots more boat traffic (bass and rec) than I expected for October too. Talked to a few guys fishing tournaments that were struggling to fill a limit, so that made me feel a lot better given my kayak limitations compared to a fast glitter rocket. Water temp stayed pretty consistent between 76-78 most of the day. Most of my fish came from 12ft or less of water. With a few coming in less than 5ft probably. Only one came off a dock, with the rest coming off of rock or wood structure. All in all, I still consider it a victory catching 5 fish never having been on the lake before. Looking forward to heading back sometime next year with at least a little experience under my belt.
