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It's been a while since I've posted any fish haven't had a chance to get on the water.This morning was good to me landed three citations and lost one .Attachment 92546Attachment 92547Attachment 92548Attachment 92549Attachment 92550Attachment 92551Attachment 92552Attachment 92553
Outstanding honey hole you have there Kevin.
Great job on the citations, thanks for sharing.
unreal...congrats
nice fish
Please tell me you fished somewhere other than the Occoquan
Fished the dam end Friday and Monday and it's nothing but a muddy debris field from last weeks storms. Could only manage a few sunfish both days.
BTW.....Congrats on the three (er four) citations.
Yes I fished the Occoquan , lots of muddy water but luck was on my side i guess .Very hard to navigate the river and rough on my prop . next time you go [jmh 9000] p.m. me maybe we can trade hot spots or baits . I like the summer crappie fishing at the occoquan the most .
Kevin - Not looking for any hotspots but would love some pointers on summer fishing. I typically have good luck in spring and fall but the summer time is very hard for me. I usually fish with minnows (that seem to die as soon as they hit the water once it gets in the 80s). Are you fishing deep in the summer (bottom bouncing)?
Chip - Try rosy reds if you can find them. They will hold up in hot water better than shiners. I can't help you with Occoquan-specific suggestions, but questions about fishing depth have several answers, including:
- fish rise to the surface early and late in the day when the sun is low in the sky.
- crappie strike from below, so always err on the side of 12" too shallow.
- if the lake is deep enough to have a thermocline during the heat of the summer, base your fishing depth on the depth of the thermocline, not bottom of the lake.
- otherwise, fish about 2" above the bottom during the heat of summer.
Chip so far as the summer bite I find slow vertical jigging on structure deeper the better. So far as the bait I find jigs work for me. Just keep trying different colors until one works & buy your jig heads by the 100s you will need them for summer fishing when the fish are holding tight. This is what works for me hope this helps.
Outstanding report!
Thanks Kevin! When the minnows start dying I will switch to jigs. I think I have almost every color of the BGBS jig. I also purchased some small hair jigs that I may try.
Corker - Unfortunatly we don't have a large selection of minnows in NoVA. In-fact, I don't even know where to get them from mid November until April. I guess Petsmart carries them but they are probably too small. I believe the Occoquan does get a thermocline at about 23 feet in the main river channel during the summer. At least I think that is what I am seeing on my sonar? Kevin / jmh is this what you guys see?
23' would be about right for a thermocline. It's in that range at Abel, too.
See if your minnow store will tell you who is their supplier. Then call the minnow farm & see what other retailers they supply in your part of the state. Maybe when you check a few of them you'll find one that stocks minnows Nov. - Apr.
Good looking catch! Congrats on the citations!!!
Blake