First and most important, the fish are becoming slower and slower. The bass will be close to deep water and after bait. Fish the points and flats near this type of structures. Deep brush piles and rock piles are great for winter fishing. On warm days you can find them in 4 ft. of water on points and in coves near deep water. On January 17, 2009, I caught a 8 1/2 lb. and 5 lb. bass on a swimbait in 5 ft. of water. Good Luck!

We are coming into some great striper fishing. Currently the fish are from the splits to all the way up to both rivers. They are also in some of the creeks and at Dike II and III. I enjoy winter fishing because you will find the fish breaking the surface and feeding on bait. This produces some great top water action. Most of this action is in the early morning, late evenings, and even on overcast days. During the day locate the schools and vertical jig them. Live bait works well on free lines and down lines. Good Luck!

Bass

When the water reaches the magic temperature of 55 degrees Bass will “stage” or move towards the shallower creeks and coves that they will soon spawn in. During this period the bass will “wake up” and get much more active than they have been in the winter. The lower end of the lake is going to warm before any other area. Dike 3, Valentine Cove, Levy Creek, Rockland Creek, and Dukes Creek will be great areas to concentrate your efforts. Use ½ ounce to ¾ ounce Spinnerbaits, 5” Jerkbaits, and ¼ ounce swimjigs. Don’t forget your favorite variety of finesse baits when the bite gets a little tougher or you are trying to follow up the other baits. I also like to use lizards and senko type baits on a Carolina rig. This technique allows you to cover a lot of water and present your bait as being somewhat weightless at the same time.

Striper

There are lots of stripers in the Dike 3 area. Many of the larger Stripers will be caught in the main rivers near Terrys run, S-turns, Christopher run, and Duck in hole creek. ¼ ounce to ½ ounce Swimbaits and Jerkbaits will be very productive in these areas. If you are a live bait fisherman use a shallow presentation during lowlight and overcast days. During bright sunlight go out to deeper feeding flats and use down lines.

Crappie

Watch for Crappie to move to some of the 15 ft rock piles and bridge pilings later in the month. Use 2” pearl grubs and tubes and small and medium minnows.

 Call 540-287-3591 or Visit www.hookedonlakeanna.com to see a recent journal of catches, book a trip, or learn more about fishing Lake Anna!