Lake Anna Virginia

[TOXIC]

I used to guide on this lake and I’ve watched it declining over the years.  Development has gone crazy and so far this year there have been 3 drownings, an ecoli outbreak that sickened 30 people and put some kids in the hospital on dialysis, a no swim advisory for toxic algae and finally cautions and no swim issued due to stray electrical current in some part of the lake.  That’s a lot of negative for what used to be a beautiful lake. 

[ButchA]

So sad... I'm down here in Henrico Co, and have been to Lake Anna many many times over the past 20 years.  I know it well, and have seen the massive development for years.  What used to be a nice, pristine, 17 mile long lake, is no longer what it once was. ☹️

[VolFan]

I actually got married there. I loved that lake when we lived in DC about a decade ago. I haven’t seen it lately- it’s a shame that it would go so far downhill.

[Swamp Girl]

Paved paradise and put up a parking lot. 

 

This is why I won't build on my 4.5 acres of lakefront. Development in Maine is the number one predictor of water quality. As the homes go up, the water quality goes down. 

[TOXIC]

I will admit it was always busy on a summer weekend not unlike a lot of rec lakes and it was not one of my favorite times to guide but now a lot of my fishing friends say it’s almost impossible on summer weekends.  Opposite end f the scale is the Potomac river where it used to be polluted and terrible fishing, has been cleaned up and now major tournaments are held on it.  The hidden resource is the Rappahonock River and it’s where I spend the majority of my time.  

[TOXIC]

And today I read where a boat blew up at the gas dock at Anna Point Marina.  1 burn victim airlifted out, 5 injured. 😢On edit…another article popped up in my feed regarding a 9 year old who died when the boat she was riding in capsized at night. 

Edited July 6, 2024 by TOXIC

[moloch16]

I was just there for the 4th of July week vacation, first time to Lake Anna, we rented a house for the week.  Turns out it was on the "hot" side which is also the "private" part of the lake.  I must say, those living on the private part of the lake have it made in the shade, hardly any boat traffic compared to what the public lake experiences, and fishing was pretty decent probably due to the greatly reduced fishing pressure on that part of the lake.

 

The down side was the water temperature was insane, 90+ degree water temp, sometimes reaching 95+.  It was a hot week air-temp wise and the bass still felt warm to the touch when taking them out of the water.  Amazingly, the bass fishing was still pretty good even with the water so hot.  I caught multiple 1 to 3 pound bass in 2-3 foot of water near boat docks.  The last one we caught in this weight class really struggled to recover after being caught, we thought the fish was going to die.  We jumped in the water and swam with the bass to keep water going through the gills and help it along, it finally swam off slowly heading for deeper water, so I think it made it.  Still, the water temps... good lord I've never seen anything like it!

 

I don't know how the hot side isn't infested with more ecoli and covered in algae with water temps staying that hot all summer long!  Seems water that hot would cause a lot more problems than it seems to.

[TOXIC]

@moloch16 I pretty much only fish the private side also known as the “hot” side.  It’s not unusual for the water to get upwards of 100 degrees in the throws of summer.  It gets so warm on that side because the three pools are cooling ponds for the reactor water before it gets pumped back into the public side aka the “cold” side.  I don’t fish it at all in the summer but it’s a blast in winter because the water stays warm.  My fear is that the hot side is not far behind the cold side with development booming in the last 5-10 years.  Areas that were pristine coves not long ago are now lined with docks and houses.  Add in the much warmer water and it’s a recipe for disaster.  Dominion owns the lake and all it’s going to take is some kind of lawsuit for them to rethink the “recreational” aspects.  There is also a proposal out there to add a third reactor to the power plant. Heaven only knows what that will do environmentally.