Lake Whitehurst

[Rippinglipz]

Hey I have never fished this body of water yet. Was thinking about trying this upcoming spring and I'm going to take the long paddle across little creek under the railroad bridge in my canoe and need to know exactly the 30 ft deep pits are and if anyone has had good luck there to possibly share some good areas and also what to use to catch the walleye in there too.

[VAHunter]

The borrow pits are located on either side of, and in front of the airport runway.  I used to fish that lake all the time for walleye, but haven't been there since they closed the ramp years ago.  I haven't heard from anyone about the fishing, but it used to be great.  I'd imagine that any walleye that are left will be very large by now.

 

As for tackle, my favorite was to throw a chartreuse marabou jig/shiner combo.  I'd just toss it out and let it go to the bottom and bounce it back to the boat.  I also caught a ton of walleye on shad raps and rattle traps.  I saw many guys trolling with crawler harnesses as well and catching fish.  Oh yeah, be ready for a big flathead at any time.  There are some really big catfish in that lake.  Good luck.

[CanoeBasser]

i have gone in whitehurst a handful of times, i think the biggest issue is that bass are not the predatory fish in there so they are a little nervous but to even everything out it is completely unpressured. with all that being said id say your best bet is to stay near the airport and focus on the dam and the lily pads

[Rippinglipz]

oh sweet! Thanks for the info and advice. Do you think there are any striped bass left? Heard there was some abundance but maybe rare. 

[CanoeBasser]

i haven't seen any this far i wasent even aware that there are some in there i guess it would make since being that little creek is almost connected to whitehurst not too sure on that if you are looking to catch stripper you can paddle out under the hrbt or if your military fish in between of the small boy docks on little creek base

[VAHunter]

To my knowledge the state never stocked striper in Whitehurst.  Long ago they did put in hybrids (wipers).  When I first started fishing the lake in 1997 there were still some left, but I haven't seen or heard of one out of there in more than 15 years. 

[Rippinglipz]

What size/weight of a deep diving crank bait or lipless crankbait should I use in the lake?

[VAHunter]

Most of the lake is no deeper than 6-7 ft.  For those areas I would suggest an SR7 or any other tight-wobbling crankbait that will run 6-8 feet deep.  As for weight of a lipless bait, I almost always fish a 1/4 oz. there, but you can easily fish a 1/2 oz. as well. 

[Florida Cracker2]

On 2/5/2016 at 8:03 AM, VAHunter said:

To my knowledge the state never stocked striper in Whitehurst.  Long ago they did put in hybrids (wipers).  When I first started fishing the lake in 1997 there were still some left, but I haven't seen or heard of one out of there in more than 15 years. 

I never heard them called that...  It fits. They put some in my area and call them sunshine bass. I have caught 4 so far and noticed they die quickly if you foul-hook them and take a little too long getting them back into the water.

[Alex Gemes]

Where's the best spot to fish this lake from shore? I just moved back here from SD after finishing my navy contract and I'm trying to find some different lakes from my usual spots. Where a good place to park car and fish from shore? Also does any one know if you can fish this lake from base? 

[Brayberry]

The Lake Whitehurst Fishing Station and Boat Ramp closed on November 1, 2009, due to Norfolk International Airport security needs and updated regulations issued by the Federal Aviation Administration. The City of Norfolk, which operated the station and ramp, has no plans to re-open these facilities. Current fishing access to the lake is limited to lakefront residents and their guests. The VDGIF suspended its management of fisheries in the lake in 2009 because of the loss of public access to the lake.

For more information about the closure of the fishing station and boat ramp at Lake Whitehurst, please contact the City of Norfolk's Reservoir Manager at (757) 441-5678. 

[jighead56]

This is an old post but, update is there is a new one slip ramp.

Many kyackers laugh here these days. 

The one slip is short and can be a tricky one with west winds.

 

The lake was stocked with a large quantity of Walleyes and Hybrid bass decades ago.

Not sure they still do stock these anymore.

It is a member of a chain of lakes for the water supply in Tidewater. 

Lake Smith, Little Creek Reservoir, Western Branch, Prince and burnt Mills are included. 

City of Nirfolk permits are required.  

9.9 are the limit.

 

As for the Whitehurst topography it is a flat shallow lake with a number of burrow pits ranging from 28' -16'. These were dug to build the adjoining Norfolk Airport.

There are number of species in the lake. Including a few Muskies caught decades ago.

I've heard very little of recent Walleye or Hybrids catches lately.

But, I'm sure many still remain.

 

Finally if anyone has updated fishing reports I need to hear them.

 

Decided to take run out to the poorly designed bout ramp launch. Obviously the engineers are fishermen. 

Regardless i did talk to a regular that said they have restocked this inpoundment with Walleye. 

Good news for me cause I do love Walleye cheeks.

What used to be a 9' channel edge in the main lake has silted to a virtually flat bottom with no cover to be found in the main lake.

 

But my diligence will not be thwarted.

 

Water temp ranged from 58°-62°.

Water level is about 1' low. 7' could easily be up to 8' if we could get some rain.

[JHoss]

15 hours ago, jighead56 said:

It is a member of a chain of lakes for the water supply in Tidewater. 

Lake Smith, Little Creek Reservoir, Western Branch, Prince and burnt Mills are included. 

City of Nirfolk permits are required.  

9.9 are the limit.

While all of those lakes listed are operated by the City of Norfolk, they are not a connected chain as I'm reading here. Western Branch, Burnt Mills, and Lake Prince are a connected chain. Lake Smith, Little Creek Reservoir, and Lake Whitehurst are part of a different, connected chain of lakes. 

 

 

 

Couple things to add to this thread:

 

Word is that the Whitehurst Ramp is a great place to have your truck broken into and stuff stolen. While they say it's gotten better in recent years, it's still one of the worst around.

 

I would think long and hard before I ate anything from Whitehurst with the amount of pollution coming in from the airport. Last time I was there, there was a sign to this affect warning about the contamination from jet fuel. 

 

 

[jighead56]

Good points on the chain of lakes between the two cities. Even though a City of Norfolk boat permit is required.

 

As for the exception of the burrow pits in Lake Whitehurst . I wished we had deeper water as do Western Brance, Prince and some of Burnt Mills.

Burnt Mills being my favorite of the Suffolk lakes. Just the shallow sany ramp is a challenge without getting your feet wet.

Being a recent leg amputee, negotiating boat to dick is challenging enough.

But, I do appreciate your feedback 

[JHoss]

40 minutes ago, jighead56 said:

Good points on the chain of lakes between the two cities. Even though a City of Norfolk boat permit is required.

 

As for the exception of the burrow pits in Lake Whitehurst . I wished we had deeper water as do Western Brance, Prince and some of Burnt Mills.

Burnt Mills being my favorite of the Suffolk lakes. Just the shallow sany ramp is a challenge without getting your feet wet.

Being a recent leg amputee, negotiating boat to dick is challenging enough.

But, I do appreciate your feedback 

Yep, I figured you meant that they were all connected by ownership, but thought it worth clarifying for anyone not as familiar with the area. 

 

Did you make it out to Branch or Mills this year? They have been two of my favorite local lakes the last few years, but they were NOT good to me this year. Branch is probably 5 ft below normal pool right now making navigation tough and the bass seem to be struggling to maintain weight for some reason- not for lack of bait, though. Mills was also tougher this year than usual. I struggled to catch limits in a few events out there and most tournament bags were down across the board. I didn't notice anything different about the lake health other than an anecdotal increase in pickerel. 

 

I'm with you, I wish we had a big, deep lake around here. Branch is one of the few around with actual structure, but its too small to really run a pattern on. Back Bay, Northwest River, and North Landing River have the size, but lack the depth and traditional structure that a bigger lake would have.