Veterans' Day Fishing Tournament, Lake Anna, 9-11 NOV 2018
Nov 12, 2018 14:42:05 GMT -5
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Post by 31Airborne on Nov 12, 2018 14:42:05 GMT -5
Another incredible show by Team Dirt. This event gets better every year. Those of us who know Larry and his family personally understand what a labor of love this is for them. What we don't see is the effort that goes into organizing all the moving pieces Larry has built into this wonderful tradition. Thanks again, Larry. Team Dirt rox. I teamed up w/ Bill Rysanek for the event. Had an old Army friend come down for the practice days. We made a long weekend of it.
I spent FRI and SAT fishing. Just fishing. I didn't have any game plan in mind other than to go out and fish. I looked at my journal entries for this time of year from previous outings. Almost all of them had a moving bait component to them so I had a variety of crankbaits tied on. I also had the usual slow presentation stuff - jig, c-rig, fluke, underspin, jerkbait. I keyed on bait - if I saw some I stopped and fished, if I didn't see any bait I kept on going. I started in the backs of creeks/coves and worked my way out. I started w/ moving baits. Nope. Switched to the jerkbait and underspin. Nope. Switched to the c-rig and got bit almost right away on a subtle secondary point. Was able to get this bite to repeat in a number of places. Also found a number of fish holding tight to wood. This bite also was fairly widespread. As the day warmed I switched to the fluke and was able to get a few fish to eat that, again on wood. I had one bite on a jig and I missed that one. Everything I saw in practice said throw the c-rig on secondary points and wood. That, folks, is what I did.
TX day - a balmy 22* but thankfully the wind laid down. The first ride downlake was brisk but worth it - we bagged three keepers on the first stop. We worked our way back uplake, stopping in creeks and bigger coves along the way to target points and brush piles. The bite was slow and often very tentative but the fish were eating. We caught a limit but they were your typical Anna keepers - 5 fish for 6.7-something. Rysanek schooled me from the back of the boat. He had it going on.
Observations: 1) I was surprised to see the water holding heat. Saw 62 at HPM; 63 in Boggs; 64 in Levy (as far down as I went); 59.8 in Pigeon (as far up as I went). The cold nite we had SAT/SUN didn't affect things much. Clarity midlake and down is good. Stained (2' of viz) in Pigeon. heard the stain is much heavier uplake but did not see it for myself. 2) Saw a good bit of bait back in creeks on FRI. It disappeared on SAT and SUN. A few small pods here and there but no signs of the fall migration in the areas we visited. 3) All of our bites were fairly shallow, mainly 6-8'. First breaks and any kind of wood in that depth held fish. The first set of secondary points were best. 4) Bites for us were a little weird on SUN. Fish would eat but they seemed a bit tentative, almost like they were sneaking up on the bait. You had to let the fish take it for a bit before setting the hook. 5) Nothing fancy on plastics - greens, greens w/ red, greens w/ chartreuse tips.
We stayed at the LASP cabins this time, a first for me. Worked out nicely. Short drive to the usual launch site (HPM), plenty of room for parking, always good to have a fireplace in the evening when it's cold. Recommend keeping these in mind if you're traveling to Anna. Also, the park has 2 lodges. These would be perfect if you have a larger group.
peace,
B
I spent FRI and SAT fishing. Just fishing. I didn't have any game plan in mind other than to go out and fish. I looked at my journal entries for this time of year from previous outings. Almost all of them had a moving bait component to them so I had a variety of crankbaits tied on. I also had the usual slow presentation stuff - jig, c-rig, fluke, underspin, jerkbait. I keyed on bait - if I saw some I stopped and fished, if I didn't see any bait I kept on going. I started in the backs of creeks/coves and worked my way out. I started w/ moving baits. Nope. Switched to the jerkbait and underspin. Nope. Switched to the c-rig and got bit almost right away on a subtle secondary point. Was able to get this bite to repeat in a number of places. Also found a number of fish holding tight to wood. This bite also was fairly widespread. As the day warmed I switched to the fluke and was able to get a few fish to eat that, again on wood. I had one bite on a jig and I missed that one. Everything I saw in practice said throw the c-rig on secondary points and wood. That, folks, is what I did.
TX day - a balmy 22* but thankfully the wind laid down. The first ride downlake was brisk but worth it - we bagged three keepers on the first stop. We worked our way back uplake, stopping in creeks and bigger coves along the way to target points and brush piles. The bite was slow and often very tentative but the fish were eating. We caught a limit but they were your typical Anna keepers - 5 fish for 6.7-something. Rysanek schooled me from the back of the boat. He had it going on.
Observations: 1) I was surprised to see the water holding heat. Saw 62 at HPM; 63 in Boggs; 64 in Levy (as far down as I went); 59.8 in Pigeon (as far up as I went). The cold nite we had SAT/SUN didn't affect things much. Clarity midlake and down is good. Stained (2' of viz) in Pigeon. heard the stain is much heavier uplake but did not see it for myself. 2) Saw a good bit of bait back in creeks on FRI. It disappeared on SAT and SUN. A few small pods here and there but no signs of the fall migration in the areas we visited. 3) All of our bites were fairly shallow, mainly 6-8'. First breaks and any kind of wood in that depth held fish. The first set of secondary points were best. 4) Bites for us were a little weird on SUN. Fish would eat but they seemed a bit tentative, almost like they were sneaking up on the bait. You had to let the fish take it for a bit before setting the hook. 5) Nothing fancy on plastics - greens, greens w/ red, greens w/ chartreuse tips.
We stayed at the LASP cabins this time, a first for me. Worked out nicely. Short drive to the usual launch site (HPM), plenty of room for parking, always good to have a fireplace in the evening when it's cold. Recommend keeping these in mind if you're traveling to Anna. Also, the park has 2 lodges. These would be perfect if you have a larger group.
peace,
B