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New to Virginia fishing and I'm looking for a go place to fill a cooler at. I live down the street from Occoquan Reservoir and plan on trying it this weekend. Where is the best place to fish in the Occoquan? It is so big that I am sure to strike out if I try to fish it without some tips!
Also, what are the best lakes to fish for the specks up here in the north?
Lastly, when do the specks start moving into the shallows, here in Virginia?
Thanks............Steve
Welcome aboard Steve. I can't help you with that area of Va but hopefully someone can.
All I know is that you need a new screen name. :D
Here We Go Steelers, We Go!!!
Come on TapOut, I have seen your pictures on here and and I know you can give me some tips! As for my beloved Browns, This is our year baby !!!
Thanks, Bill
Welcome aboard. I know nothing about fishing in NOVA. Sorry I can't help you.
Now, if you ever venture down to SE VA, I can give you plenty of help.
If want some good line pullage check out Fletcher's boat house on the potomac river ...they are listed the river there at fletcjers is just below where the potomac becomes a tidal basin and is very loaded with all species of fish ....I have never crappied there but have been there numerous times in the early 90's ....they have hand built wooden v bottom boats for rent and you add your own power!!!! there are walleye smallies largemouth rockfish herring white perch and all the catfish you can stand... It will require a D.C. permit not much though and this place is a gorgeous fishery never know your in D.C. just above Georgetown....The white perch should be bout in at this time Its worth the phone call anyhow.. In D.C. water you are allowed to use treble hooks and snatch herring wich is fun as well..... good luck and welcome to crappie .com
New to the area this is a must fish locale
Ok Mr. Brown. I've never fished northern VA but in Southern VA big crappie have been found in water 5' deep when the temps were in the upper 40's. Water temp was 51-55 Saturday and I found a few late in the day on a sunny bank in water less than 5' deep.Quote:
Originally Posted by Go Browns
An interesting article I read stated that the crappie will be on their spawning beds when you have between 13.2 and 14.6 hours of daylight. Of course, they will be in there plenty before that. Right now in Virginia Beach we have 12.25 hours of daylight. Of the 47 crappie I caught Saturday some were as deep as 16' in 20' of water. The vast majority I caught were at least 10' deep. I'm sure the water up you way is colder than down here.
Steve- Welcome to the board! I have very limited knowledge of lakes to the north of Richmond, but did have a nice day at Lake Abel (southern Stafford Co.) last October. It's a long skinny lake with some very deep water in places, lots of wood along the extensive shoreline, and many beaver huts. It's TMO and DGIF recommends 2 batteries. In a full day's fishing, I didn't make it all the way to the end.
Welcome to the board... Wish that I could help you out but I from the southern part of the state!!! I would like to make a few trips up that way and try a few different lakes whenever I can find the time! Since you and TapOut are on the subject of football... How 'bout them PANTHERS!!! :D:D:D
Blake
Right where you live is supposed to be great crappie fishing: "Occoquan Reservoir has a very good crappie fishery and anglers should concentrate on areas with structure during the early spring. Anglers consistently catch fish around boat docks, fish attractors, or brush piles." Slab's comment on the Potomac are accurate from what I've heard, 'tho, I've never had the opportunity to fish there, Lake Anna is close for you and is a real fish factory. The Dogwoods are gonna bloom real soon!
Speaking from experience (been in nova 42 years) I vote the Occ every time. Don't dismiss Burke either. You'll get river run fish, but nothing like whats waiting in those big lakes. My step dad tells me Curtis is good too.
Occoquan Res. is good when it's on. But it's so big and so DEEP that they can be hard to find when they're not right up on the banks doing the do. And they ain't doing it yet.
There's a dude on the Maryland forum that used to post reports here that catches the snot out of em on the Potomac.
No need to reply.......but I think that was a little uncalled for :rolleyes: Now that the bills have T.O. 2009 will be quite interesting, BRING THE STEEL CURTAIN :eek::DQuote:
Originally Posted by TapOut64
Oh yeah, ( bring your popcorn) :D:D
Hey TapOut,
Thanks for the info! I hope to have pics of some slabs, posted soon!
Mottlet,
Do you fish the Occoquan regularly? If so where do you find the Specks around this time of year, depth? location? etc?
Back to Crappie,Quote:
Originally Posted by backtocrappie
Please help me out with some specfic tips on where to find the specks in the big Occoquan? I have heard that Burke is really difficult to fish. My buddy says that if you can catch a minnow of out it, then your lucky. Do you catch them regularly out of Burke?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Redy2Fish
What area of the Occoquan do you fish in the spring? It's so big that I am not sure where to start?
Coker,Quote:
Originally Posted by Corker
Have you ever fished it in the Spring?
Burke is made difficult due to pressure and mid day stupidity. If you are going to fish Burke, be the first on the water, or the best on the water. As it stands it's a phenomenal fishery chalk full of monster bass and muskie, walleye, white & yellow perch, gills and big specks! The bait shop there sells minnows roughly from Memorial day to Labor day (never the same from year to year). If you are set and ready, you can avoid the formal ramp by the bait shop and go straight to the back (near the dam) and launch from an unregulated primitive ramp.Quote:
Originally Posted by Go Browns
Occ- go to Fountainhead and launch there ($5 fee) they are best in the area. Their bait shop is open year round, fully stocked with minnows and tackle, food, drinks, restrooms. Get ready for DEEP waters with sharp drop offs, cliffs etc. Get about 2 doz smalls, 2 doz med and hit any tree or brush pile you see. I have HEARD a story recently from a contractor of mine, 10 years ago or so he caught a 5 lb speck out of there. 2lb and 3 lb are fairly common for determined anglers. One tip though, anchors are almost pointless at Fountainhead. The sides are so steep in places that they rarely grab anything. The bottom is a mixture of rock, mud, sand, gravel and tons of submerged trees. I'd go down there with you if I wasn't so caught up with kids and job.
Not yet, but I hope to change that soon!Quote:
Originally Posted by Go Browns
I've never fished it, just relaying some of my very limited not-so-local knowledge. I can testify firsthand though, that Lake Anna has lots of fish, haven't been there in over a year, but, ready to try it again soon.Quote:
Originally Posted by Go Browns
I fish exclusively for crappies in the Reservoir. Last year was my first full year of chasing after them there. And I have a lot to learn about that Reservoir. It's the kind of place that could take a lifetime to learn. As other posters have said, it's massive with so much structure and so much deep water. I had outboard troubles for much of last year, so I was limited in my range out of Fountainhead with the electric.
In the spring, I could a couple smaller ones in the cove straight out from the ramp. But it wasn't until later in the summer that I had my best catches. There is a particular fallen tree on the other side of the river from Fountainhead to the right. This is the deep side. The top of the tree sits over 30ish ft of water. This is where I caught a bunch of nice slabs using medium minnows. I happened to stumble upon it one day when I was cruising the shoreline and saw minnows swimming on the surface.
A co-worker slammed them a couple of times further up the river at Ryan's Dam. He tied to the end of the Dam and fished off the bottom and caught a nice mess of huge ones. I've tried that before, but with no luck. I have caught LM and even a SM bass there though. But one of the problems with the reservoir is if you fish off the bottom, you are going to get hooked into a cat. Which is fine, but in my case usually ends up with a broken line with my light crappie tackle.
It's an interesting place to fish. Massive temperature differences with all of the varying depths. The south side is the steep side and there are places you can be not 15 feet away from shore and be over 40 ft of water. Some of the houses on that side have floating docks sitting over water of that depth. It's so strange and frankly kind of freaks me out! Be prepared for a lot of snags. So much of the structure you'll fish is the fallen trees and those branches extend to places you can't see.
A lot citations come out of this place though. When you do get on the crappies, they are slabs. I rarely catch small ones. I was out there two weekends ago and not even a nibble. The water was still pretty cold though. I might head out this weekend to see if anything has started. One of the reasons I like fishing here is that I feel 100% safe about eating the fish out of here. I don't feel the same about the Potomac (even near Fletcher's north of DC). I've never fished Burke, but from what I hear it has a ton of pressure for its size and there are a lot of small fish.
Her are a few spots to try early season on Lake Anna
Zachary Taylor bridge ( within 50 yrds of each side)and even the docks at Timms restaurant
Stubs Bridge road, Mainly east side in the deeper water
The cove north west side of rt.522. Opposite side from Christopher rub campground. The northern bank fished best but plenty of others fish it.