Lake Mercer, Fairfax Va Question

[kdionise]

i fished lake mercer this mornin for several hours and didnt have much luck. i think my problem was i spent to much time walking and not enough time fishing! this was my second time there so i decided just to walk alot and see what i see. i parked at the park entrance off Hooes rd and ended up way down by the stumps at the back of the lake.

Is there anywhere else to park to get to that side of the lake quicker? and any other general tips about the lake? like what works for you there and what spots you fish?

thanks, Keith

[quanjig]

Google maps will help you with the road name to get you to the upper end of the lake!

This fish March '11

This fish March '12

I don't have much luck after the prespawn at mercer. Bigbarge is the guy that can be of most help about mercer. Vaparrothead also does well there!!

[kdionise]

Very nice, thanks for the reply. Did you catch those pigs by the dam? I never try there I've just been goin straight to the stumps which havent been that fruitful. And also if you wouldn't mind sharing what you were throwin when you caught those?

[quanjig]

They were caught along the dam and both fish were caught on jerkbaits. Mercer is a tough place to catch fish. The forage base is shad and crayfish, with plenty of bluegill and crappie. Every one of those fishes is way out of control and big fish are tough to come by anymore. It used to be a place you could catch a lot of nice fish with the occasional giant. I think those days are gone. You can also catch some nice pickeral and really big crappie from there!!

[Bigbarge50]

That is interesting Quan.... You would think that abundance of food sources (from large to small prey) would lend itself to good growth all over for bass.

I have had luck in the stumps..... though no secret..... green senkos and brown jigs have done really well for me. When you read about the forage there, makes total sense.

I only once have made the treck with my boat.... and damaged it. I would love to get out there with a boat, because I would think the stumps near the deeper water would have big fish potential (but can not be reached from shore) and there are some ledges as you work your way up from the dam.

I like mercer because not many people are willing to walk back there. It would be a shame if the lake goes downhill. I heard similar rumors about huntsman, but have no way to verify.

[quanjig]

I think you are right about huntsman as well. I fish there more than mercer and have noticed a big drop in quality as well as quantity of catches. Big shad kill there in late January early February this year. Couple of time I counts more than a dozen eagles in the trees as well as hundreds of gulls looking for the shad as they rolled to the surface. I don't recall ever seeing anything like that from there before. My catches from Huntsman this year have been dismal. Hope it's just cyclical and fishing starts to improve!

[kdionise]

thanks for the replies. is there anywhere to put a small john boat in there?

[Bigbarge50]

Yeah it is a very long walk...... up the hill, across the dam, around the bend, and down the hill.......... it is a tough hal, pack light.

[quanjig]

I think you would be better of with a kayak or canoe, like Bigbarge said its a hike! If you have wheels on it, you can drag it down the dirt access road at the top end by the stumps but again it's quite a walk.

[SouthernBassslayer]

I just got done fishing mercer and last night and tonight i caught 18 pounds of bass caught one 6.7 and one 6.4 and my buddy lost another big one. the lake is alive recomend spinners carolina rigs and brush hogs

[shimmy]

I just got done fishing mercer and last night and tonight i caught 18 pounds of bass caught one 6.7 and one 6.4 and my buddy lost another big one. the lake is alive recomend spinners carolina rigs and brush hogs

come on man. Don't throw that weight out there like that! Give us pictures!! Those are two huge bass. Well done. Wish i had time to hit this lake.

[Bigbarge50]

Pics would be nice.... was this shore or boat action? Either way those are HUGE fish

[Yinzyaker]

Those sound like some pretty nice fish. I fished Mercer extensively last year. My PB was a 6 pounder that I caught their from shore in the stumps. I have fished it both from my Kayak and shore and always seem to do alot better in the kayak. This year I have only took the Kayak out their once and ended up with 5 in the 2-3 lb range. I have fished it alot form shore this year and have not had very good luck. mostly I will walk down the access road do by the stumps. Last weekend I decided to change it up and fishe the dam. I hooked 3 in about 2 hours, but only landed one. None had any size to them. When I fish from shore I often run into a local or two either fishing or walking the path who tell me about the glory days their and all fo the 7-8 pounders in their. I would like to think theres still some left but who knows.

[Bigbarge50]

Those glory days might be a little too glorious....... 7 and 8 would seem hard to come by on just about any body of water.

There are some deeper water and ledges when you can get out in a boat that I am sure would hold bigger fish. I got my downscan out there once and was seeing some ledges and such down to 15ft...... which with this heat is where almost all the big one would lurk. The spring was hot, the summer has been insanely hot...... I can not imagine bigger fish really hanging in the stumps unless it is out more towards the middle and closer to deeper water. Now you get a cool off and some cloud cover and the water drops to below bath water temps..... could see some action.

[Bassmass21]

ive only caught 3 bass here and a couple cat fish and of course blue gill, but the amount of time ive spent fishing and amount of fish ive caught arent correct anyone have any hot spots at mercer?

[Bob Murray]

Has anyone fished lake mercer recently?  My understanding is that when they dredged huntsman lake, they brought the fish over to lake mercer?  

[quanjig]

They did put the fish from Huntsman into Mercer but I don't think improved the fishing there very much! I've fished it a few times this year but haven't caught any, none!!