Post by 31Airborne on Nov 14, 2021 14:31:14 GMT -5
Made the trip up to NOVA for the annual Veterans' Day Fishing Tournament (VDFT). Larry Martin, a local business man and veterans supporter, and his family have put on this event since 2005. It's their way of paying tribute to those who've served in uniform. This has evolved into the biggest event on Lake Anna - 103 boats this year.
I linked up w/ my old FoM partner for this one. We met up on SUN w/ the plan to spend the week on the water. Gave me the chance to explore Anna during a time of year I don't usually see it. Also gave me some time to reconnect w/ old friends from days living in NOVA. The week didn't disappoint. We managed to catch a lot of fish (altho' very few good ones), saw lots of people I hadn't seen in a while, and the weather was perfect (got sunburnt in mid-NOV).
I spent SUN and MON working up in the rivers (my default location on any impoundment). Saw 56-58* on SUN w/ slightly stained water (~2' of viz). Tons of bait everywhere but no fish interested in anything I offered. On TUES and WED I focused on the lower lake area. Saw +63* and clear water (+5' of viz) everywhere below the 208 bridge. The bite was definitely on. Had a really good jerkbait bite early. Managed a few peanuts on crankbaits later in the AM. As the sun came up the fish moved closer to the deck so I relied on bottom presentations (jig, c-rig, t-tig, and shaky head) for my bites. The bass cooperated. Every point I fished held a school of fish willing to eat. Once a certain bite played I switched to another presentation. That was my cycle for every stop I made over these 2 days. By TUES afternoon I had a pretty solid, reliable point pattern going. It would entail covering some water to get the right bites but that's part of the deal.
Had a strange weather change on TX day (THUR). Didn't get cold or windy after the front passed thru but the wind direction and air pressure changes were significant. We found fish holding on the same stuff but in nowhere near the same numbers and without the aggressive bites we'd enjoyed over the practice days. We made many (many) adjustments throughout the day but none of them helped much. We managed to claw out a small bag of fish (4) w/ the last 2 coming with less than an hour to go in the day. All of our fish came off of points using slow, bottom presentations. Nothing on moving baits for us. Bites were far and few between - a dramatic change from the previous 2 days.
Observations: 1) WTs ranged from 56 up in the Pawmunkey arm on SUN to 68 near the dam on TUES and WED. The stain line is ~the splits. A little dingy up in the rivers but very fishable.
Clear midlake on down. 2) Bait was hit and miss. Tons of it up in the cooler water; more sporadic in the warmer water. Saw some baitfish pods in creeks and main lake cuts/coves, saw some out in the main channel, and saw some hanging over points and ledges. 3) In spite of the perfect water conditions we had no (zero) top water bites. Jerkbait (full and small sizes worked) was better for us early. I threw cranks of all kinds all 4 days without much to show for it. I saw no schooling activity the entire time I was there. 4) Points with well defined spines were better than rounded points. Points w/ well defined spines that extended out into the channel were best. If the point had a hump or crown on the end of it, all the better. This pattern held up on main lake and secondary points. 5) Plastics accounted for most of our fish. Natural colors were best. No glitter when it was cloudy, glitter when it was sunny. 6) My partner had been on a dock bite (jig) in the weeks before the event. Our best fish on TX day came off of a dock w/ a deeper water front. That fish was sitting on top of a rock pile along one of the outside pilings. 7) 8-12' was the magic range for us. Vast majority of our fish came from this range. We did have a few shallow water fish but nothing I would call a pattern.
Judging by the final results, everyone had a bit of an off day. It usually takes 22+ lbs to win on Anna this time of year. Winning bag was 16 and some change. Everyone I spoke to said their bite was off compared to practice.
The Martin Clan outdid themselves again this year, putting on a first rate show. Was great seeing the Lake Anna local doods and the many supporters who came out to cheer on the vets. Dave Fauntleroy (Fish Tales on Lake Anna) did a fabulous job MCing and managing the weigh-in, as always. If you're a veteran or a supporter of veterans, keep this event in mind for NOV 2022. Lake Anna is a wonderful fishery. My partner and I found a superb VRBO rental 5 mins from the launch site. Made for the perfect base camp for our week on the water.
To all my brothers and sisters in arms, thank you for doing your part.
peace,
B
I linked up w/ my old FoM partner for this one. We met up on SUN w/ the plan to spend the week on the water. Gave me the chance to explore Anna during a time of year I don't usually see it. Also gave me some time to reconnect w/ old friends from days living in NOVA. The week didn't disappoint. We managed to catch a lot of fish (altho' very few good ones), saw lots of people I hadn't seen in a while, and the weather was perfect (got sunburnt in mid-NOV).
I spent SUN and MON working up in the rivers (my default location on any impoundment). Saw 56-58* on SUN w/ slightly stained water (~2' of viz). Tons of bait everywhere but no fish interested in anything I offered. On TUES and WED I focused on the lower lake area. Saw +63* and clear water (+5' of viz) everywhere below the 208 bridge. The bite was definitely on. Had a really good jerkbait bite early. Managed a few peanuts on crankbaits later in the AM. As the sun came up the fish moved closer to the deck so I relied on bottom presentations (jig, c-rig, t-tig, and shaky head) for my bites. The bass cooperated. Every point I fished held a school of fish willing to eat. Once a certain bite played I switched to another presentation. That was my cycle for every stop I made over these 2 days. By TUES afternoon I had a pretty solid, reliable point pattern going. It would entail covering some water to get the right bites but that's part of the deal.
Had a strange weather change on TX day (THUR). Didn't get cold or windy after the front passed thru but the wind direction and air pressure changes were significant. We found fish holding on the same stuff but in nowhere near the same numbers and without the aggressive bites we'd enjoyed over the practice days. We made many (many) adjustments throughout the day but none of them helped much. We managed to claw out a small bag of fish (4) w/ the last 2 coming with less than an hour to go in the day. All of our fish came off of points using slow, bottom presentations. Nothing on moving baits for us. Bites were far and few between - a dramatic change from the previous 2 days.
Observations: 1) WTs ranged from 56 up in the Pawmunkey arm on SUN to 68 near the dam on TUES and WED. The stain line is ~the splits. A little dingy up in the rivers but very fishable.
Clear midlake on down. 2) Bait was hit and miss. Tons of it up in the cooler water; more sporadic in the warmer water. Saw some baitfish pods in creeks and main lake cuts/coves, saw some out in the main channel, and saw some hanging over points and ledges. 3) In spite of the perfect water conditions we had no (zero) top water bites. Jerkbait (full and small sizes worked) was better for us early. I threw cranks of all kinds all 4 days without much to show for it. I saw no schooling activity the entire time I was there. 4) Points with well defined spines were better than rounded points. Points w/ well defined spines that extended out into the channel were best. If the point had a hump or crown on the end of it, all the better. This pattern held up on main lake and secondary points. 5) Plastics accounted for most of our fish. Natural colors were best. No glitter when it was cloudy, glitter when it was sunny. 6) My partner had been on a dock bite (jig) in the weeks before the event. Our best fish on TX day came off of a dock w/ a deeper water front. That fish was sitting on top of a rock pile along one of the outside pilings. 7) 8-12' was the magic range for us. Vast majority of our fish came from this range. We did have a few shallow water fish but nothing I would call a pattern.
Judging by the final results, everyone had a bit of an off day. It usually takes 22+ lbs to win on Anna this time of year. Winning bag was 16 and some change. Everyone I spoke to said their bite was off compared to practice.
The Martin Clan outdid themselves again this year, putting on a first rate show. Was great seeing the Lake Anna local doods and the many supporters who came out to cheer on the vets. Dave Fauntleroy (Fish Tales on Lake Anna) did a fabulous job MCing and managing the weigh-in, as always. If you're a veteran or a supporter of veterans, keep this event in mind for NOV 2022. Lake Anna is a wonderful fishery. My partner and I found a superb VRBO rental 5 mins from the launch site. Made for the perfect base camp for our week on the water.
To all my brothers and sisters in arms, thank you for doing your part.
peace,
B