Dogwoods Popping Open In Virginia

[Sam]

My Dogwood tree's blossems are starting to blossom.

 

They opened this week.

 

No leaves on the tree but the buds are opening.

 

The bass are on their beds!

 

Found some 55* water in Buggs Island last Sunday so with the sunny skies they are headed to the beds in central Virginia!

[Darren.]

Mine are budding, I expect them to pop in another few days.

Already found a couple of beds and some 4 pounders! Lost two bigger ones at the net. Deep sadness ensued...but they were ferocious shakers. That's probably why they're so big!

[soccplayer07]

I have been waiting for this post Sam!!! 

[flyfisher]

I am hoping to find a few this weekend myself....i know of a nice 26" fish that i caught last year that i really hope is in the same spot

[Doubled Over]

Went to some smaller ponds and at the edges they were 70 degrees. Might of been my thermometer but..... The spawn is here.

[BlackMagic82]

Tournament tomorrow morning with my club out at Swift Creek... Hoping to load the boat up with big momma piggies.  Taking my father in-law out for his first tournament ever and he's been bass fishing for 50+ years.  Hope everyone who's fishing this weekend does well, good luck gentlemen.

[quanjig]

Found some yesterday on beds!

[SPEEDBEAD.]

LOL, must be nice!

[DJ 6_6]

_{Will last night's and this morning's front that moved through postpone their movements on to beds for a few more days?}

 

_{How soon after a front like the one that passed the Washington D.C. area earlier today, do bass resume their normal feeding/spawning/daily behavior?  Just curious.}

[Sam]

Nope, the ones on their beds or the males getting the beds ready will continue unabated.

 

The ones staging will have lockjaw for this afternoon and to around noon on Saturday.

 

You may want to wait until a little later on Saturday to go out but go out as the big females are on the move heading to shallow water.

 

Check the water temperature and if it is 55* or warmer you can catch the big females in the shallows and around any structure you can find.

 

Let us know how you do.

[Darren.]

Funny, guess I was wrong about "in another few days".

Mine popped today!!

Here we go!

[Wayne P.]

Where I fiished earlier this week, the surface water temp got up to 64.3 degrees in the afternoon, I checked the bottom temp in that area and it was 54.7 degrees at five feet..

[quanjig]

Once the fish have comitted to the deal, they are in close proximity to bedding areas. Like Sam said, may be a little more difficult to get them to bite at times but its doable! This is when a jerkbait is a jewel. Male might be up and preparing, the female is close by. Get it in, and just watch your line!

[Traveler2586]

I was on the Potomac Thursday the 11th and only found some small males hanging on wood cover.  Here are some water temps from my log; Broad CK was 64.3 at the mouth and 68.0 up in the back.  I did find some green SAV in Gunston but no fish.

 

 

Location                Time             Air               Water

 

Broad CK              13:10                               64.3 -68.0

 

Piscataway CK     14:51                                 69.6

 

Gunston Bay         10:16                                 68.0

 

Mattawoman CK   16:36            87.8              67.2

 

Mattawoman CK    09:46                                 64.2

[Sam]

Looks like the Potomac is a week or two behind the greater Richmond Area and the Historic James River.

 

But the Dogwoods are creeping towards you so give it a a week or so.

 

Let us know what you find out and of your success after those Dogwoods bloom in your area.

[Hannock]

Gonna hit up Aquia today. But looking at the tide charts, I missed high tide this morning. By the time I can get on the water it will be low tide until 10pm. May still have some luck. We'll see.

[Brick]

The males are preparing beds in small northern Virginia ponds/lakes.  I've seen quite a few walking the shores.  

[craww]

Hit several bodies of water yesterday, still no bass on beds but tons of shallow fish. Saw several crappie on their beds. Spotted a male and female bass paired up and hanging within a 15' square area, gravitating back towards a particular spot that will end up being a bed.

[BlackMagic82]

Fished Swift Creek Res on Saturday and didn't see any fish on beds. Fished Chick Lake for the first time yesterday and couldn't figure that place out, do they bed back on the cypress roots? I found muddy bottoms everywhere I looked.

[Sam]

On the Chick they bed in the creeks.

 

Check out the backs of the creeks.

 

Cypress trees usually in sand.

 

Other trees in mud.

[quanjig]

Plucked a couple off beds today, this was the biggest.

Female made this fish look small!

[JSPOONE]

went out and did some sight fishing today with a zoom salty white pearl tube and caught this 3.2 and this fish made it 9 straight days of catching bass    .. biggest this yr so far 

[Traveler2586]

Congratulations Jspoone, nicely done.

 

The down side of this time of year is my truck is now GREEN