Post by 31Airborne on Apr 10, 2022 14:14:39 GMT -5
My partner and I were looking for a little redemption after our miserable showing at Chesdin last month. Anna is a lake we both know well - for its good and bad - and were pretty stoked about the timing for this event. Pre-spawn can be a fun time on Anna. Likewise, if the weather changes sharply (and it always seems to right before the tournament) it can be a real challenge for the most seasoned Lake Anna angler. WTs and conditions looked to be very similar to what I fished on Hartwell last week so my going-in position for day 1 of practice was to target the same kinds of structure I fished in SC. Some will call this folly since lakes and rivers all have personalities of their own. In this case, it proved to be a smart move.
Practice. Got in town in time to get about 5 hours in on WED. I used this day to run up into the rivers (my preferred place to fish), hoping to see a little stain on the water and warmer WTs. I was curious to see what, if anything, the recent rains (they were heavy in the area) had done. To my surprise, both rivers were very fishable (maybe 2-3' of viz) from The Splits up. The backs of the feeder creeks were dirty so I didn't spend any time there. I started off on the last sets of secondary points in the creeks, thinking I would find plenty of staging fish. Didn't take long to hook up on the first fish. I was able to draw strikes on a DT-10, a jig, and a c-rig just about everywhere I went. No quality but plenty of numbers. THUR was our weather day. Another front was supposed to come thru about midday, so we worked the lower end of the lake that morning. I targeted the same stuff in the larger feeder creeks and the deeper main lake coves/cuts. Had fewer bites but the quality was much improved. Was able to get the WED pattern to work in a number of places so my confidence was building. As it turned out, the line of storms broke up and dissipated before they got to Anna. We had a few sprinkles and lite showers. That was it. Could've fished well into the afternoon. We used FRI to check out some new water and to scan some of the places we didn't want to disturb during practice. Was able to confirm our pattern was holding up just about all over. Also spent some time up shallow, thinking some of the fish may have been feeling the urge to do the deed. Had a few bites but the quality was off compared to our point pattern. After dinner on FRI, we spent some time looking at the map and discussing our practice. We had a short list of places we wanted to hit on TX day. It would be a matter of who beat us to them. All of them are essentially community holes so we had to keep our options open. We drew up a plan that focused on places that had a track record of producing better fish. Some of these spots were places we worked in practice, some were plan old history. Our plan was to run-n-gun, making a few casts at a target before moving on to the next. In short, we'd do exactly what we had done during practice (with a few Lake Anna favs mixed in).
TX day. The weather turned cold overnite (39* at launch) but the WTs held ~steady. We drew boat #33 (out of 38) so we got to see where the field went. We based our starting point on what we saw the other teams do. To our surprise, no one went to a small, fairly mundane secondary point right across from the blast-off site. It had been a go-to place for better fish for us for a number of years. A perfect combination of hard bottom, sharp breaks, and wood. This point is on the right hand side of a small pocket that is a known spawning area. I idled into the pocket and began working the point from the inside transition lane. Made my first cast up shallow and dragged my c-rig thru a small piece of brush right on the break. As the bait cleared the brush I watched the line as the weight fell to the bottom. Nothing. No jump, no twitch. As I began reeling up the slack I felt a dead weight. I immediately reeled down all the way and buried the hook. First cast, first keeper - a chunky 4 lb'er. Five minutes later I hook up again, this time on the front face of the point. A solid 3 lb keeper. After another couple of casts I boat keeper number 3, another solid 3 lb fish. Maybe 10 minutes later I hook up on keeper number 4, a solid 15" fish. Maybe 2 lbs. Not bad for a first stop. Four fish for about 12 lbs. Our pattern and presentation were holding up and the better fish were showing up. After a few more passes on this point we began our milk run, starting on the lower end of the lake.
We land our 5th keeper - a fat 13"er - at our first stop. My partner quickly culled it on an even fatter 14" fish that was holding on the end of a recently fallen tree. Then it got a little slow. We hit 8 or 10 places on our list, getting some bites but no hook-ups. As we motored our way back up the lake my partner motions me to pull over. He says, "We left an area that was holding quality fish. Our point may have dried up but there are others in that creek we can work." After a quick pass on our starting point, we idle across the creek to a series of points with steep drops and scattered rock. After a couple dozen casts my partner hooks up. His rod is doubled over hard. I can hear his drag squeaking. This is a toad. He played the fish perfectly and led her into the net. Our 14" keeper (maybe 1.5 lbs) was replaced by a fat 5.13 lb mama. Not 5 minutes later he hooks up again, on the same point, this time landing a solid 3 lb'er. Another nice upgrade. We spent the rest of the day continuing our milk run. Nothing but a few nips. We ended up the day in the same creek we started. Had a few bites but didn't land any of them. We finished the day with 5 fish for 18.89 lbs. Good enough for 3rd place.
Observations: 1) WTs started off around 52* on WED midday, warmed to upper 50s by the end of the day. THUR AM we saw 55* at launch, lower 60s in some places by the afternoon. FRI AM was cooler so WTs dropped a couple degrees, but warmed quickly when the sun came out. WTs on TX day held constant at 56-58*. Combination of wind, cooler temps, and clouds kept the water from warming up. 2) Water clarity down lake was the usual Anna - clear, maybe 6-7' of viz. Got a little clouded in the back of the feeder creeks but the water was still very fishable. Water up in the rivers was stained but fishable. Maybe 2-3' of viz. I was told that the water became ~choco milk way up in the head waters and backs of feeder creeks but we didn't see it. 3) Bait was a mixed bag: thick in some creeks and coves, absent in others. We saw huge pods of bait suspended over creek channels, smaller pods up shallow on the structure we fished. No real pattern to it. 4) 8-10' was the magic zone for us all week. We caught fish shallower but not the quality we wanted. The better fish were holding deeper. 5) We did not have much of a moving bait bite, even in the wind. We threw them all - spinners, chatters, rattlers, jerks, and cranks - to no avail. The fish were tight to the bottom for the most part where we fished. We did mark and catch fish suspended over the tops of brush and rock piles, but these were the exception. Most of our fish came off of breaks. 6) C-rig did most of the damage for us. We had a few fish, including a few good ones, on a jig during practice, but on TX day we stayed with what was working most consistently for us. Nothing fancy on the plastics. Greens, some with color fleck and some without. 7) A few of our bites were no-doubters. I mean freight train jobs (incl my partner's 5 lb'er). Most of our bites were more subtle. It was almost like the fish were sneaking up on the bait, sucking it in, and sitting there. No visual indicator of the bite. It just felt mushy. We had lots of bites where the fish had only the tails of the baits in their mouths. We went thru quite a few baits reacting to these. 8) Wind blowing across the target area was better than wind blowing in on it. Almost all of our bites came on the lee side of structure or cover. 9) Sharp breaks were better than shallow tapers. We targeted points and transition lanes where the contour lines were tight together. Places where the structure transitioned from a shallow taper to a steeper drop were special. 10) You had to be patient with your target. In most cases, we had to make multiple casts to a given area before we got bit. 11) Fish were bunched up. With few exceptions, we had multiple bites or caught multiple fish on each stop (practice and TX). Another reason to be patient with your target. 12) We did see a few places where fish were actively prepping beds. Even in the wind you could see the water clouding up where they had been fanning.
The biggest take-away from this week is a lesson a dear friend shared with me many years ago: trust your practice (thanks, Jim!). Another lesson worth mentioning is on the value of TOW. Having three days of practice gave us a solid feel for where the fish were and how they were feeding. As the weather changed, we were able to efficiently adjust. This played heavily in our TX day performance. We didn't have a lot of legit bites (not counting the peckerhead nibbles), but we landed all of them. Our plan for this event was based on what we had learned the previous three days. As our tournament day unfolded, we made subtle adjustments to boat position and presentation to accommodate the ever-changing weather conditions. It worked. Staying with a presentation we had a lot of confidence in was key. As we worked thru our practice, we were able to pick up on how the fish were taking the bait. This paid huge dividends on TX day.
The time I've invested on SML in learning how to efficiently fish structure was also key. The map view on my electronix has become the single most important. Understanding where and how fish are relating to structure makes it easier for me to develop patterns I can replicate. It also adds a degree of clarity to what I see on 2D/3D/side scan views. Focusing on the map keeps me from worrying about distractions like very clear or very dirty water. A subtle but very important secondary benefit.
We have three weeks to regroup. Potomac River is next (30 APR). Has been a long time since I fished the river in spring. Looking forward to [re]learning a few things.
peace,
B
Practice. Got in town in time to get about 5 hours in on WED. I used this day to run up into the rivers (my preferred place to fish), hoping to see a little stain on the water and warmer WTs. I was curious to see what, if anything, the recent rains (they were heavy in the area) had done. To my surprise, both rivers were very fishable (maybe 2-3' of viz) from The Splits up. The backs of the feeder creeks were dirty so I didn't spend any time there. I started off on the last sets of secondary points in the creeks, thinking I would find plenty of staging fish. Didn't take long to hook up on the first fish. I was able to draw strikes on a DT-10, a jig, and a c-rig just about everywhere I went. No quality but plenty of numbers. THUR was our weather day. Another front was supposed to come thru about midday, so we worked the lower end of the lake that morning. I targeted the same stuff in the larger feeder creeks and the deeper main lake coves/cuts. Had fewer bites but the quality was much improved. Was able to get the WED pattern to work in a number of places so my confidence was building. As it turned out, the line of storms broke up and dissipated before they got to Anna. We had a few sprinkles and lite showers. That was it. Could've fished well into the afternoon. We used FRI to check out some new water and to scan some of the places we didn't want to disturb during practice. Was able to confirm our pattern was holding up just about all over. Also spent some time up shallow, thinking some of the fish may have been feeling the urge to do the deed. Had a few bites but the quality was off compared to our point pattern. After dinner on FRI, we spent some time looking at the map and discussing our practice. We had a short list of places we wanted to hit on TX day. It would be a matter of who beat us to them. All of them are essentially community holes so we had to keep our options open. We drew up a plan that focused on places that had a track record of producing better fish. Some of these spots were places we worked in practice, some were plan old history. Our plan was to run-n-gun, making a few casts at a target before moving on to the next. In short, we'd do exactly what we had done during practice (with a few Lake Anna favs mixed in).
TX day. The weather turned cold overnite (39* at launch) but the WTs held ~steady. We drew boat #33 (out of 38) so we got to see where the field went. We based our starting point on what we saw the other teams do. To our surprise, no one went to a small, fairly mundane secondary point right across from the blast-off site. It had been a go-to place for better fish for us for a number of years. A perfect combination of hard bottom, sharp breaks, and wood. This point is on the right hand side of a small pocket that is a known spawning area. I idled into the pocket and began working the point from the inside transition lane. Made my first cast up shallow and dragged my c-rig thru a small piece of brush right on the break. As the bait cleared the brush I watched the line as the weight fell to the bottom. Nothing. No jump, no twitch. As I began reeling up the slack I felt a dead weight. I immediately reeled down all the way and buried the hook. First cast, first keeper - a chunky 4 lb'er. Five minutes later I hook up again, this time on the front face of the point. A solid 3 lb keeper. After another couple of casts I boat keeper number 3, another solid 3 lb fish. Maybe 10 minutes later I hook up on keeper number 4, a solid 15" fish. Maybe 2 lbs. Not bad for a first stop. Four fish for about 12 lbs. Our pattern and presentation were holding up and the better fish were showing up. After a few more passes on this point we began our milk run, starting on the lower end of the lake.
We land our 5th keeper - a fat 13"er - at our first stop. My partner quickly culled it on an even fatter 14" fish that was holding on the end of a recently fallen tree. Then it got a little slow. We hit 8 or 10 places on our list, getting some bites but no hook-ups. As we motored our way back up the lake my partner motions me to pull over. He says, "We left an area that was holding quality fish. Our point may have dried up but there are others in that creek we can work." After a quick pass on our starting point, we idle across the creek to a series of points with steep drops and scattered rock. After a couple dozen casts my partner hooks up. His rod is doubled over hard. I can hear his drag squeaking. This is a toad. He played the fish perfectly and led her into the net. Our 14" keeper (maybe 1.5 lbs) was replaced by a fat 5.13 lb mama. Not 5 minutes later he hooks up again, on the same point, this time landing a solid 3 lb'er. Another nice upgrade. We spent the rest of the day continuing our milk run. Nothing but a few nips. We ended up the day in the same creek we started. Had a few bites but didn't land any of them. We finished the day with 5 fish for 18.89 lbs. Good enough for 3rd place.
Observations: 1) WTs started off around 52* on WED midday, warmed to upper 50s by the end of the day. THUR AM we saw 55* at launch, lower 60s in some places by the afternoon. FRI AM was cooler so WTs dropped a couple degrees, but warmed quickly when the sun came out. WTs on TX day held constant at 56-58*. Combination of wind, cooler temps, and clouds kept the water from warming up. 2) Water clarity down lake was the usual Anna - clear, maybe 6-7' of viz. Got a little clouded in the back of the feeder creeks but the water was still very fishable. Water up in the rivers was stained but fishable. Maybe 2-3' of viz. I was told that the water became ~choco milk way up in the head waters and backs of feeder creeks but we didn't see it. 3) Bait was a mixed bag: thick in some creeks and coves, absent in others. We saw huge pods of bait suspended over creek channels, smaller pods up shallow on the structure we fished. No real pattern to it. 4) 8-10' was the magic zone for us all week. We caught fish shallower but not the quality we wanted. The better fish were holding deeper. 5) We did not have much of a moving bait bite, even in the wind. We threw them all - spinners, chatters, rattlers, jerks, and cranks - to no avail. The fish were tight to the bottom for the most part where we fished. We did mark and catch fish suspended over the tops of brush and rock piles, but these were the exception. Most of our fish came off of breaks. 6) C-rig did most of the damage for us. We had a few fish, including a few good ones, on a jig during practice, but on TX day we stayed with what was working most consistently for us. Nothing fancy on the plastics. Greens, some with color fleck and some without. 7) A few of our bites were no-doubters. I mean freight train jobs (incl my partner's 5 lb'er). Most of our bites were more subtle. It was almost like the fish were sneaking up on the bait, sucking it in, and sitting there. No visual indicator of the bite. It just felt mushy. We had lots of bites where the fish had only the tails of the baits in their mouths. We went thru quite a few baits reacting to these. 8) Wind blowing across the target area was better than wind blowing in on it. Almost all of our bites came on the lee side of structure or cover. 9) Sharp breaks were better than shallow tapers. We targeted points and transition lanes where the contour lines were tight together. Places where the structure transitioned from a shallow taper to a steeper drop were special. 10) You had to be patient with your target. In most cases, we had to make multiple casts to a given area before we got bit. 11) Fish were bunched up. With few exceptions, we had multiple bites or caught multiple fish on each stop (practice and TX). Another reason to be patient with your target. 12) We did see a few places where fish were actively prepping beds. Even in the wind you could see the water clouding up where they had been fanning.
The biggest take-away from this week is a lesson a dear friend shared with me many years ago: trust your practice (thanks, Jim!). Another lesson worth mentioning is on the value of TOW. Having three days of practice gave us a solid feel for where the fish were and how they were feeding. As the weather changed, we were able to efficiently adjust. This played heavily in our TX day performance. We didn't have a lot of legit bites (not counting the peckerhead nibbles), but we landed all of them. Our plan for this event was based on what we had learned the previous three days. As our tournament day unfolded, we made subtle adjustments to boat position and presentation to accommodate the ever-changing weather conditions. It worked. Staying with a presentation we had a lot of confidence in was key. As we worked thru our practice, we were able to pick up on how the fish were taking the bait. This paid huge dividends on TX day.
The time I've invested on SML in learning how to efficiently fish structure was also key. The map view on my electronix has become the single most important. Understanding where and how fish are relating to structure makes it easier for me to develop patterns I can replicate. It also adds a degree of clarity to what I see on 2D/3D/side scan views. Focusing on the map keeps me from worrying about distractions like very clear or very dirty water. A subtle but very important secondary benefit.
We have three weeks to regroup. Potomac River is next (30 APR). Has been a long time since I fished the river in spring. Looking forward to [re]learning a few things.
peace,
B
