Suggestions please for lakes near Chesapeake.

I usually fish the Northwest River, which is near my home an has been productive in recent years, but this year with the drastic water fluctuations due to these frequent North wind blowouts it has been tough fishing.

I used to fish Lake Cahoon but during the good years on the NWR, I stopped making the drive and put a larger motor on my boat, but I still have my 9.9 Yamaha.

So, I am thinking of fishing small lakes again at lest until NWR stabilizes.

Lake Smith in VA Beach is closer, but I know nothing about it. Little Creek across the road I believe is only open to military folks as I understand it.

What is going on lately in Cahoon and Meade? Is it worth the longer drive?

Are there other nearby options to be recommended that aren't affected by the rapid fluctuations in the rivers?

Welcome to c.c.

The obvious other lakes are just as far: Western Branch and Burnt Mills. 10 hp limit.

Welcome aboard.

Thanks, I have about decided against Lake Smith. I have a Norfolk sticker. That's good for Western Branch, Burnt Mills, and Lake Prince out that way.

I have read that the ramp at Burnt Mills is a headache. Any information on those choices?

Yeah, Burn't Mill's ramp can be a bear. Its all sand and very shallow. I always wind up doing some wading. Prince is a good lake but hard to fish. There are plenty of fish in it but hard to find. At one time the state record came out of Prince. That leaves Western Branch. A good lake to fish. The city was working on the ramp but they should be done by now. Hopefully Tapout will see this thread and give you some better advice.

Since they redid the boat ramp at Burnt Mills is it fine. (I should say redid, on opening day after the lake had been closed for years, I was 6th or so to launch and I watched 2 trucks get stuck but that was because they had put loose gravel down, but they since fixed it) Lake Smith is very shallow with an average depth of about 5' however, plenty of large crappie are caught there. I got a 15"er one summer but it only weighed 1lb 8oz but plenty of 2lb'ers have been pulled out of there. As for Little Creek across the road, anyone can put in there but that ramp can be tricky, not sure if they have done any work on it but I do see trailers there.

Some of our members have had really good luck at Meade as well as Cahoon but I rarely fish them. Burnt Mills can be fun, Prince is a tough nut to crack, and I do well at Western Branch during the warmer months. I swear I missed me a 3lb'er out there, dang thing spit the hook on me.

As Tap noted, the ramp at Burnt Mills is fine now. Plenty of crappie in there as well. I really prefer Meade and Cahoon for crappie. In my opinion, Cohoon has the most large crappie. Meade has really been coming on the last few years. Smith is loaded with large crappie. Tap noted that his 15" fish only weighed 1.8, but I've caught many 14" fish there that exceeded 2 lbs. (not during the spawn either). My buddy hit up Smith last week and caught plenty in the 12-15" range. Little Creek also has good crappie fishing, but I don't think it holds up to Smith. As noted, the ramp at Little Creek is tricky. A bunch of us green carp guys went in there about 5 weeks ago and cleared out the ramp area by hand. While it's not a perfect scenario, it is much better than what it was. Just keep your motor tilted up when launching. Good luck to you, sir and welcome to the site.

Thanks for all the good info.

I switched motors last night. The 'river motor' is too heavy to handle by myself so I had to rig a hoist in my garage to be able to switch quickly. Now I can be set up for river or pond in 10 minutes.

I think I will try Western Branch Friday, though Burnt Mills is tempting.

Is there a good place to buy shiners nearby or should I load up here in Chesapeake?

If I catch something worth showing I will post it.

Interestingly, I drove past Little Creek today and there was a barricade blocking the boat ramp that said no fishing, no trespassing. Not sure what that is all about.

I tried Western Branch today. Apparently I've been fishing rivers so long I have forgotten how to fish lakes. Got skunked.

Tried creek mouths and fallen trees reaching into deep water. 15 feet to 4 feet. Not a bite.

For comparison, I keep fishing stats on everything so I looked up Western Branch and roughly this time in April over the last few years and on April 28, 2012 water temp was 63 and I caught 5 crappie, April 13, 2013 water temp was 68 and I caught 1 crappie, April 18, 2014 water temp was 60 and I caught 6 crappie so I found it tough this time of year as well. Only went out there early April last year, on April 3, with water temp at 55 I caught 2 crappie. I have not gone there this year yet. The good news is that I have done a lot better at Western Branch once the water temp moves up.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pa Boat

rig a hoist in my garage

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That can handle certain jobs, but if you ever get a chance to acquire one of these,
you'll never regret it! I bought one a few years ago & have used it to swap motors
from boat to boat, remove and install motors, and (this past week) hoist the bow
of my boat far enough off the trailer to replace a broken roller bracket. Yes, there are
other ways to do these things, but it's hard to beat the flexible convenience of rolling
this little crane to the job. With the legs folded up and the boom lowered, storage
doesn't eat up too much floor space. It's a lifetime investment and the pricetag isn't bad
if you wait and watch HF's promotions.
http://www.aprsystems.com/hoist.jpg
1 Ton Capacity Foldable Shop Crane

Thanks, Tapout, for the encouragement, its good to know others have had bad days there too.

I keep promising myself I'll keep careful records but somehow it never gets done. I even bought a phone app that was supposed to make it easy, but it was so buggy I gave up on it.

I'll try someplace else next and revisit Western Branch when it get warmer.