McCotter's Lake Anna Guide Service Fishing Report/Forecast Mid September
Lake Anna, Va. - Amazing September weather has further cooled Lake
Anna into the ...more 70s up lake and the lower eighties down lake. This has
moved crappie to their shallower water haunts, made striper begin to
feed consistently and pushed baitfish into the backs of creeks where
largemouths are following. It won't be long now before the shorelines
are ablaze with fall color.. Here's what you can expect on your next visit.
Largemouth Bass - You can find the baitfish in
the backs of major creeks like Sturgeon, Marshall, Serks, Pigeon,
Contrary, Ware, Plentiful, etc. but you might not catch bass. So
what's the deal? It's all about your timing. The lake's largemouths
will feed early and late in the day now as they are already fat from a
summer of plenty. What you need to do is locate the baitfish schools
and check back three to four times a day to pattern out the feed. A
multi-arm rig with baits the size of the bait you are seeing can be
deadly now. If you don't want to mess with baitfish and schooled bass,
tie on a shaky head worm and hit mid lake docks and up lake rocks.
Down lake bass are schooled over humps and can be targeted with
topwater walking baits, grubs and small crankbaits.
Striped Bass - Now is the time to hunt striper. Sometimes you find
them within five minutes of leaving the marina, sometimes it takes an
hour. Striper are breaking just about every morning now somewhere on
the lake. There are schools at The Splits and along the State Park and
down between Dike 1 and Dike III. These schools mostly consist of fish
from seven inches to 25". The bigger fish have moved up lake. You'll
find them above the first two bridges in both the North Anna and
Pamunkey Branches but they are trickier to pattern. Topwater walking
baits, multi-arm rigs and Toothache spoons are the three most
consistent producers now. Trolling and fishing with live bait is fair
to good at times but it's difficult to remain mobile with four to 12
lines out! Watch for seagulls in the up lake region showing you where
to fish now.
Crappie - Once the water dropped to 80 the fish returned to docks,
rocks and brush in 8-14' of water in the upper part of the lake. Small
jigs, fished on 1/32-oz. jig heads are good as are minnows on slip bobbers.
Good luck and see you on the water.