Hot Side Lake Anna

[TOXIC]

First trip out since returning from 85 degree weather in Florida to 29 degree air temps here in Virginia.  To say I was having a little temperature shock is an understatement.  We came home from Florida to some warm weather here but of course the day before we headed out a massive cold front with high winds moved in.  My expectations were pretty low but surprisingly we had a very good day.  Boated in the neighborhood of 75 fish and a couple of good ones including the biggest striper I have caught in a while.  Ned rig, dropshot and blade baits did all the damage.  Fished the Ned with a 4” Senko, 5” Pro Senko and a Shad Shape Worm.  Dropshot was rigged with the same Shad Shape Worm.  Seems they wanted baitfish imitators.  Great day aside from the cold?

[Blue Raider Bob]

45 minutes ago, TOXIC said:

First trip out since returning from 85 degree weather in Florida to 29 degree air temps here in Virginia.  To say I was having a little temperature shock is an understatement.  We came home from Florida to some warm weather here but of course the day before we headed out a massive cold front with high winds moved in.  My expectations were pretty low but surprisingly we had a very good day.  Boated in the neighborhood of 75 fish and a couple of good ones including the biggest striper I have caught in a while.  Ned rig, dropshot and blade baits did all the damage.  Fished the Ned with a 4” Senko, 5” Pro Senko and a Shad Shape Worm.  Dropshot was rigged with the same Shad Shape Worm.  Seems they wanted baitfish imitators.  Great day aside from the cold?

You got the high winds I got yesterday but you kicked their butts, while I just shook my fist and complained to the weather gods! Sounds like an "EPIC" day! Great Job!

[TOXIC]

Heading back out Sunday after 81 degrees yesterday and projected 38 degrees Saturday.  Supposed to be close to 60 degrees Sunday.  That’s some yo-yo temps for sure. 

[BigTerp]

@TOXIC Glad to see you were out and got on them on the hot side. I always appreciate your reports. I'm about to start gearing up for our annual trip to the hot side at the end of March. Last year the Ned's tore them up!! Accounted for probably 75% of our fish over 4 days. Both reactors should be pumping 100% this year. Hoping that helps us out. I'll be sure to report back after our trip. Good luck on Sunday!!

[Blue Raider Bob]

3 hours ago, TOXIC said:

Heading back out Sunday after 81 degrees yesterday and projected 38 degrees Saturday.  Supposed to be close to 60 degrees Sunday.  That’s some yo-yo temps for sure. 

Same here. We are expecting highs Sunday in the upper 50's. I'm heading for the Cumberland, or the Tennessee rivers. Surface temps in my pond were 68 yesterday. Yo-yo for sure!

[GaryH]

On 2/20/2023 at 12:59 PM, TOXIC said:

First trip out since returning from 85 degree weather in Florida to 29 degree air temps here in Virginia.  To say I was having a little temperature shock is an understatement.  We came home from Florida to some warm weather here but of course the day before we headed out a massive cold front with high winds moved in.  My expectations were pretty low but surprisingly we had a very good day.  Boated in the neighborhood of 75 fish and a couple of good ones including the biggest striper I have caught in a while.  Ned rig, dropshot and blade baits did all the damage.  Fished the Ned with a 4” Senko, 5” Pro Senko and a Shad Shape Worm.  Dropshot was rigged with the same Shad Shape Worm.  Seems they wanted baitfish imitators.  Great day aside from the cold?

Great job. ????

[TOXIC]

Update from last Sunday.  Cold.  It was cold. ?. Fish did not cooperate as well.  We had to hang close to the ramp for an extended time due to the heavy fog on the lake.  It wasn’t just water fog either.  I drove through a lot of it getting to the lake. Ned’s did the most damage and our blade bait bite was greatly reduced.  I was on the catfish big time for most of the day?

[BigTerp]

22 hours ago, TOXIC said:

Update from last Sunday.  Cold.  It was cold. ?. Fish did not cooperate as well.  We had to hang close to the ramp for an extended time due to the heavy fog on the lake.  It wasn’t just water fog either.  I drove through a lot of it getting to the lake. Ned’s did the most damage and our blade bait bite was greatly reduced.  I was on the catfish big time for most of the day?

At least you were catching!! Curious what water temps you guys found? I'm itching more and more each day to get down there. 3 weeks and counting!!

[TOXIC]

1 hour ago, BigTerp said:

At least you were catching!! Curious what water temps you guys found? I'm itching more and more each day to get down there. 3 weeks and counting!!

Totally dependent on where we went but it was 60-69.

[casts_by_fly]

22 minutes ago, TOXIC said:

Totally dependent on where we went but it was 60-69.

 

Normally I'd consider that spawning temp.  Since its a 'heated' lake, does that still hold true?  is it that rough temp throughout the winter and how does the spawn there compare to neighboring lakes that aren't 'heated'?

 

thanks

rick

[flyfisher]

1 hour ago, casts_by_fly said:

 

Normally I'd consider that spawning temp.  Since its a 'heated' lake, does that still hold true?  is it that rough temp throughout the winter and how does the spawn there compare to neighboring lakes that aren't 'heated'?

 

thanks

rick

I used to think spawn was based on water temps and while they are around a certain temperature, some studies indicate the amount of daylight per day is as much a trigger and that normally correlates with temperature but not always.  

[casts_by_fly]

36 minutes ago, flyfisher said:

I used to think spawn was based on water temps and while they are around a certain temperature, some studies indicate the amount of daylight per day is as much a trigger and that normally correlates with temperature but not always.  

 

That's my thinking in asking the question.  If Anna is up to temp now, that's at least a month or 6 weeks sooner than I'd think a nearby lake would naturally get there.  Lots of other natural occurances are a combination of daylight and temp, i.e. need a minimum temp to allow it but day length is the trigger.  Some are the other way around.

[Logan S]

On 3/2/2023 at 12:44 PM, TOXIC said:

Update from last Sunday.  Cold.  It was cold. ?. Fish did not cooperate as well.  We had to hang close to the ramp for an extended time due to the heavy fog on the lake.  It wasn’t just water fog either.  I drove through a lot of it getting to the lake. Ned’s did the most damage and our blade bait bite was greatly reduced.  I was on the catfish big time for most of the day?

I was actually there last Sunday as well, I think I saw your boat out there (not to many out).  I was solo in a black Skeeter.  Was my once a year day trip to the hotside.  

 

I had tons of followers on FFS but nothing ever committed so I quit....Went up shallow and sight fished for cruisers and did pretty well.  Nothing huge, but lots of a fish if you could hit them with a cast before they saw you.  

Only reason I have 2 in hand is because I saw both at the same time - caught one, flipped it in the boat and then picked up another rod and fired at the second fish and caught him too . 

[TOXIC]

1 hour ago, Logan S said:

I was actually there last Sunday as well, I think I saw your boat out there (not to many out).  I was solo in a black Skeeter.  Was my once a year day trip to the hotside.  

 

I had tons of followers on FFS but nothing ever committed so I quit....Went up shallow and sight fished for cruisers and did pretty well.  Nothing huge, but lots of a fish if you could hit them with a cast before they saw you.  

Only reason I have 2 in hand is because I saw both at the same time - caught one, flipped it in the boat and then picked up another rod and fired at the second fish and caught him too . 

Nice!  We got a little derailed on the weather.  You did great! 

It is extremely difficult to time the spawn on this lake because of the temperature differences.  Generally speaking it occurs earlier and lasts longer.

[TOXIC]

On 3/3/2023 at 11:30 AM, BigTerp said:

At least you were catching!! Curious what water temps you guys found? I'm itching more and more each day to get down there. 3 weeks and counting!!

Here’s a little update from what is probably our last outing to the hotside this season.  We will be moving over to the Rappahonock river and hopefully the Potomac if it starts fishing better.  It was a cold day with high winds so we made the best out of it.  Caught some shallow fish but didn’t see any on the beds was able to get a couple of striper and literally 30 catfish.  Water temps were 65-75.