Brad Reams

thanks for the report. I've never fished NL River, but I've fished the Blackwater & Nottoway, and I'd assume it's very similar (tanin coffee stained, cypress trees). I use to have most of my luck with hard jerkbaits on those rivers. I'd give that a shot and chatterbait and maybe crankbaits & rattle trap. reel and pause die action. tight lines & good luck

Oddly Egypt is one of the few places that I've EVER been checked. AND.. that time they didn't check my license just looked for boating requirement tickets. nice report, brings back memories, there my favorite bait used to be Yamamoto Hula Grubs.

Fished Egypt Bend a few times, thought the fishing was always good to decent. We'd drive from Winchester to fish Egypt, any day over Riverton. ought to be some musky in that stretch too I'd think. tight lines

Don't count on the lock working, the last time I was there the locks weren't working. Seems they're frequently inoperable or broken, I researched Lake vs River # LM BASS Citations, Chick Lake was the #1 spot in VA for 2020 Lake 2020 citations #37, 2019 was #36, 2018 was #19 River 2020 citations ?? (didn't find anything), 2019 was #8, 2018 was #7

I prefer the lake I've had good luck on the river, but getting the tide timing right is not always easy. The boat traffic on the river is at least 4X more than you'll see on the lake. The lake now has equaled or exceeded the river, for the amount of citation bass. The lake has a good bit of hydrilla, not sure the river is choked up as much as the lake with it. They're both good fishing spots, but I give the edge to Chick Lake. Upper Chippokes Creek is another good spot, only fished it 1 time, but good quality bass, little pressure, little difficult to get to, but it's worth a try.

no idea, but brackish water there, speckled trout or stripers probably you're only options

Fished Anna for the first time since mid 90's! Fished out of Christoper Run, on Sun-Mon-Tues. Sunday PM was pretty brutual, high winds and trying to learn the lake on a slow day. 68-69 Temp Monday was real good, started with drizzle and light rain till mid afternoon. Bite was consistent. 70-71 Temp Tuesday was good, not great and Temp 72-74. Caught 90% off Riprap in 5-10' no bites chasing lures Did all of the fishing above 208 bridge.

I've been waiting to wade fish the James (above the falls) for a few months now, the gauge has been high for forever, and now it looks like it's finally back to normal levels, I'm thinking the SMB and Flatheads should be biting good, also the shad should be running. I'd say your Best bet for a good chance on big largemouth is Chick Lake. 1 hour drive from Richmond but worth it. Chick river is good also, but you got to deal with the tide there.

bummer, but thanks for the follow up. I've had very little success when the water is stained, on float trips. Tiny torpedo is a good one for river fishing, a crippled killer is a similar slightly better bait. glad you had some luck on Jerkbaits. I'll use the small ones when the fishing is tough, and flukes if the fishing is good. the double fluke only works in my dreams, so far. ? Great looking action, even tried it in saltwater, and lakes, but never had any luck on it.

what was the water temps? thanks

I've never fished there, however I've fished the James, New, Doah rivers. depending on water clarity, I'd stick with natural colors if clear, senkos, grubs, lizards, in green pumpkin or watermelon. If stained then chartreuse or purple, plastics, spinnerbaits. the NED rig is a good smallie lure, however I find that it does get snagged in rocks. good luck, looking forward to your follow up report.

heading there this spring, I haven't fished it in 20+ years. I hope to time it right with the spawn for stripers and largemouth

salt water, well brackish i guess. speckled trout or rockfish is what to fish for, check with RW's Tackle in Callao, they'll steer you on the right path, with Tremendous selection of bait and lures

yeah it's been a while since I ate one, but I remember it was real tasty, just a lot of bones to deal with

Sunday AM I took my canoe up to Namozine Creek. Launched on the Amelia side of 708 bridge my 1st time visiting this location didn't start well...? steep & slippery bank ended up with me in the water ? after emptying my canoe and gathering all my gear, I started fishing topwater, up the creek. I had 2 nice blowup misses, and caught 2 bass about 2# after the topwater bite quit, I fished downstream I managed to catch 1 nice pickerel, I'd say very close to citation size but I didn't weigh or measure it. and caught a couple more, and had my 20# leader line cut. on the way back in I noticed a garden hose tied to a tree and a much better launch area to get out from. good day, considering my start, and I should learn from my mistakes, to make the next trip a better experience.

definitely, and less idiots to deal up in the creek. less gas too

clarity was pretty stained sorry no Temp gauge to report. there was ZERO surface activity, nothing much else to report.

Finally made it out Saturday, for a few hours in the afternoon. Just fished Whippernock, and the amount of fishing pressure was pretty light. I only managed to catch 1. Didn't have my scale but somewhere between 4-5 is my guess.

nope, I'd say the freshwater hasn't made it down that far yet. Will it rebound? IDK I think in the 80's VaBeach started pumping water from the Ocean into Back Bay and that is where the whole fishery nosedived. not 100% sure, but pretty sure that was the root cause.

Yep! Currituck/BACK bay in VA was a powerful bass fishery also, I heard old timers said it was better than Florida in the 70's, hence the BASS Classic. Back Bay is connected to Currituck Sound, and BACK BAY is now mostly freshwater and making a comeback for bass fishery. Not far by air from OBX, but far by road travel.

DANG! 12 lakes! already in 2020? interested to see what lakes on your list. I haven't fished that many in my lifetime lol. I use to fish Lake Holiday off 522 in Frederick Co. probably my favorite of all.

North River down in Grandy is brackish. Mainly I saw lots of Gar & Crabs down there. Saltwater I like fishing the along the walkway at Oregon Inlet bridge and the causeway from NH to Manteo, and behind Bodie Island Lighthouse. practice learning to throw a Cast net, took me a while to master that

thanks for the report. I haven't made it out there yet this year. I've heard the boat traffic has been heavy. Do you see more boats than usual?

awesome info/advice! That's exactly what I want it for my Crankbait rods. I'll definitely give it a shot now, thanks

hmmmmm, Don't think I know where that is, but I think I found it on the map. Little bit skinny water last time I was there, draggin too much for me. I'm usually between Stras and Catletts Ford.