hey yall i was just wondering that as the summer is coming on if crankbaits are good at lake anna? if so where and what color works best? please PM me is you dont want to share your secrets with everyone. i am a young angler trying to learn as much as possible. thanks

Nitro or Sam might be able to give you the flavor of the day on lake Anna. Nothing beats first hand trial and error tho! Use baits that will make bottom contact at the depth you are fishing. Look at long tapering points and see if you can graph bait and bass with the bait. Stumps and other cover will be a bonus. Never hurts to get info from the ramp you are launching from either. Good luck!

Nitro or Sam might be able to give you the flavor of the day on lake Anna. Nothing beats first hand trial and error tho! Use baits that will make bottom contact at the depth you are fishing. Look at long tapering points and see if you can graph bait and bass with the bait. Stumps and other cover will be a bonus. Never hurts to get info from the ramp you are launching from either. Good luck!

Sound advice right there man ! Excellent post quan !!

As far as what baits , myself I am quite partial to the Strike King ( KVD ) cranks , right now I would be throwing the sexy shad 1.5 , 2.5 in the shallower areas , also 5 , 6 , 10 XD for those deeper breaks , if the water is stained in the areas you are fishing then I would go with the chart sexy shad , whatever you do , make it make contact with the cover or structure that is available , pause it for a second and start cranking again !

Good luck and be safe !!!

One Lake Anna. Can be fun or it can be difficult. You won't know until you get on the water.

 

I wish I could give you the "magic pill" so you would get a hit on every cast. But no one can. Only the fish can tell you what they want and you know you have to find the pattern, which could take a few hours on the water and then change during the day.

 

So what to throw in the crankbait line?  Here are some suggestions:

1.  Your favorite crankbait.

2.  Go through the 100, 200 and 300 series of crankbaits to try to find the depth the bass are holding.

3.  Shad colors for starters. Then change to other colors if the bass don't want your shad crankbaits or the water is heavily stained and you need a bright color pattern.

 

Now, where are the bass?  Who knows?

 

This is what I suggest:

1.  Pound the bank and any wood you can find, especially wood in any grass or pads.

2.  Start out with a topwater of your choice and give it 15 minutes. You will find out fast if they want topwaters.

3.  Go with plastics. Shaky heads and wacky Senkos. Flip, pitch and cast them everywhere, especially in shallow water and under docks, boat houses, piers, on wood, in the pads (Senkos) in the grass, parallel to the grass. Hit all coves and creeks and creek banks.

4.  Docks and piers may be holding the bass.  Hit them all from all angles until you find where the bass are holding on them. Some bass may be out a few feet while others will be under the structure. Skip the plastics under the piers and boat houses. Don't rush. Let the bait sit for 10 seconds before you move it back to your boat.

5.  Throw your cranks and Chatterbaits parallel to all sides of the docks and boat houses. Throw that Chatterbait everywhere.

6.  If there is chop on the surface go with a spinnerbait and throw it like you do a crankbait but get more into the grass with it.

7.  If you like the drop shot give it a try. Fish it on any structure you find in addition to the shaky head and Senkos.

8.  Jigs can be productive.  Give them a try and fish them slow. Black/blue, PB&J and any favorite jig may produce strikes. And take a swimming jig with you and give it a shot.

9.  #5 or #7 Shad Raps in silver with black back can work on One Fish Anna. If the sun is out go with silver with a blue back.

 

Try to keep it simple.  The bass "should be" (I hate writing that as the bass do not know what "should" or "should not" means) by the shallows. The spawn is over and the bass are swimming around looking for an easy meal.

 

Getting back to crankbaits, the Bandit 100 and 200 series and other brands with the same depth "should be" productive.

 

Personally, I would put more emphasis on the plastics first and if they fail then pick up a cranking stick and have at it. I would throw the plastics at the bank and all wood I can find plus the structure I mentioned above and drag or bounce it slowly back to the boat until it is out of the strike zone.  Then reel it in fast and flip and pitch it again as fast as possible.

 

Watch your line and keep a finger on the line. I use a spinning rig to flip and pitch and earlier this week the bass were picking up the plastics and walking off with them.  No hard hits.  In fact, the two I caught on a buzzbait were snagged by the trailer hook.  So they are back to their slow summer activity.  If you feel any hits or what feels like a hit give it a few seconds and set the hook.  You will get the "feel" of how they are hitting so you can try to avoid deep hooking them.

 

Don't doze. The hits can come at any time once the bait hits the water.

 

Remember, the sun warms the western and northern banks first so you may want to go there. Try coves, docks, boat houses, piers, retaining walls, rip rap, bridges, marinas, and if you have a map of One Fish Anna, look for some humps.

 

Let us know how you do and what worked.

 

All the best for a fun and safe trip. And don't for get your needle nose pliers to remove the hooks.

 

One more thing. I fished One Fish in May and the VDG&F conservation officers were on the lake. I did not see them stop anyone. Few jet skis and pontoon boats were out at that time. Will be a lot more jet skis and pontoon boats plus the skiers and tubers so be careful.  Have your safe boating card with you just in case the conservation officers are at the ramp or on the water.

 

Tight Lines.

P.S.  Do you still have that pretty girl friend? The one in a previous photo of you and her together fishing?

 

If so, bring her along for good luck!!!!

skipping docks with shakey heads, senkos or soft jerkbaits is the most consistent pattern i've seen on Anna.  sometimes theyre suspended in deeper water off the fronts of docks, and sometimes they can be way back underneath up in shallow water.  Definitely want to work the docks if topwater isn't working early and any of your search baits aren't locating fish and getting bit as the sun rises higher.  I know cranks and some other moving baits will produce on Anna at times, but the highest percentage shot I think is slowing down and skipping docks.  Pay attention to where they are positioning themselves on the docks, because like Sam said, they should be close to the shallows, but often times they will suspend off the front in deeper water or if there is a significant drop off.  Have to remember there is a ton of fishing pressure on Anna so I like a slower presentation as the bigger fish tend to be a little finicky...but a lot of them may still be in a post-spawn/feeding up stage and may be in the mood to chase.  Never really know until you're out there.  Basically I'm just reiterating part of what Sam suggested, but i really like skipping docks on Anna. 

skipping docks with shakey heads, senkos or soft jerkbaits is the most consistent pattern i've seen on Anna.  sometimes theyre suspended in deeper water off the fronts of docks, and sometimes they can be way back underneath up in shallow water.  Definitely want to work the docks if topwater isn't working early and any of your search baits aren't locating fish and getting bit as the sun rises higher.  I know cranks and some other moving baits will produce on Anna at times, but the highest percentage shot I think is slowing down and skipping docks.  Pay attention to where they are positioning themselves on the docks, because like Sam said, they should be close to the shallows, but often times they will suspend off the front in deeper water or if there is a significant drop off.  Have to remember there is a ton of fishing pressure on Anna so I like a slower presentation as the bigger fish tend to be a little finicky...but a lot of them may still be in a post-spawn/feeding up stage and may be in the mood to chase.  Never really know until you're out there.  Basically I'm just reiterating part of what Sam suggested, but i really like skipping docks on Anna.

Good to see Sam is still our information guru !! He always has some of the most informative posts for our anglers .

I like your post bream !! Very nice indeed !!

An interesting point you make about that being the most productive pattern , I think the biggest reason that pattern works so well or is the most productive is because that's what most do at Anna , it's pretty rare to see any boats on the main lake fishing those deep breaks and bends , summertime boat traffic is Insane , especially on the weekends , during the week it's pretty manageable though , if ya get the chance to explore during the week I'd take it , lots of good cranking opportunities , if your familiar with her the night crank and spinner and top water bites are awesome !!

Good to see Sam is still our information guru !! He always has some of the most informative posts for our anglers .

I like your post bream !! Very nice indeed !!

An interesting point you make about that being the most productive pattern , I think the biggest reason that pattern works so well or is the most productive is because that's what most do at Anna , it's pretty rare to see any boats on the main lake fishing those deep breaks and bends , summertime boat traffic is Insane , especially on the weekends , during the week it's pretty manageable though , if ya get the chance to explore during the week I'd take it , lots of good cranking opportunities , if your familiar with her the night crank and spinner and top water bites are awesome !!

 

Night fishing out there sounds incredible...would love to do that.  Yea i guess I sort of forgot that the main lake gets so crowded with rec boaters inbteween memorial and labor days it's hard to try and fish that deep structure anyway....which is probably why ive never heard of it really being productive! 

hey thanks everyone for the advice i really appreciate it im hopefully going out Saturday and will post any catches 

Lots of great information!  I'm a newbie to Anna also.  Actually heading that way on Sunday....I know, I know, its gonna be crowded.  Will have the wife and kids with me, so we are gonna get fishing in early, and then plan for swimming and such once around noon or so. We're gonna hit up some bridge pilings for crappie, then if thats a no go, work some of the deeper coves bass fishin with drop shots, shaky heads, etc.    I've only been to the lake once, and put in at Anna Point marine.  Does anyone know of any free boat ramps near that side of the lake? 

I don't think there are any free ones to launch from unless you know Someone with a private ramp , most all the ramps close up early , around dusk or dark , if you want to stay longer and enjoy some peaceful nite fishing , you can launch from the state park , their gate will open to let you out after dark .

Good luck and be safe !!!

Good to know about the state park nitro.  Thanks for the reply!   I will be sure to post a report about our trip Sunday.  We'll be dragging plastics probably, and hopefully we will be able to pass on some info (depth, structure, location, etc) to help someone else out. 

Does anyone here know why some of the bass in Lake Anna are very dark green?

Does anyone here know why some of the bass in Lake Anna are very dark green?

I'll see if I can help you out DD and have it make sense to ya .

This is the way I understand it to work , the receptors in the basses eyes help to cue the pigment cells in their skin .

Input from the eyes help to trigger hormones in their skin to move pigments either closer or further away from the skins surface .

Areas with good cover and or vegetation or even both adds up to darker defining colors with more pronounce sensory lines and if I am not mistaken , whiter bottoms .

When they hang out in open areas like suspended over deeper water they tend to be lighter in color , this means their only cover is a school or open water , waters with no vegetation and only have rocks or wood or shallow waters that are clearer , they tend to take on a much darker appearance more toward a black .

If you look at the bass in my avatar , it was caught in an area of Anna that has good vegetation and lots of cover , pretty greens and a Snow White belly .

This is pretty much all I know of the color platforms and why some are the colors they are , hope that helps .

Good luck and be safe !!!

I'll see if I can help you out DD and have it make sense to ya .

This is the way I understand it to work , the receptors in the basses eyes help to cue the pigment cells in their skin .

Input from the eyes help to trigger hormones in their skin to move pigments either closer or further away from the skins surface .

Areas with good cover and or vegetation or even both adds up to darker colors with more pronounce sensory lines and if I am not mistaken , whiter bottoms .

When they hang out in open areas like suspended over deeper water they tend to be lighter in color , this means their only cover is a school or open water , waters with no vegetation and rocks or wood or shallow waters that are clearer , they tend to take on a much darker appearance more toward a black .

If you look at the bass in my avatar , it was caught in an area of Anna that has good vegetation and lots of cover , pretty greens and a Snow White belly .

This is pretty much all I know of the color platforms and why some are the colors they are , hope that helps .

Good luck and be safe !!!

Nah, they are just nuclear fish. The ones in the hot side glow at night

Nah, they are just nuclear fish. The ones in the hot side glow at night

Haha !! It's funny you should mention that , down by dike 3 at night you can shine a spotlight in the water and it would pick up the eyes of the walleye , weird site to see , but cool !!

Haha !! It's funny you should mention that , down by dike 3 at night you can shine a spotlight in the water and it would pick up the eyes of the walleye , weird site to see , but cool !!

I wish there were still walleyes in lake anna...they quit stocking them and they all died out. But starting this year, the department is going to stock 'eyes in the Rivanna River! 

I wish there were still walleyes in lake anna...they quit stocking them and they all died out. But starting this year, the department is going to stock 'eyes in the Rivanna River!

Friend of mine caught one early two years ago , haven't seen any pics since , it was about 4 years ago I did this , they were still there at that time , not many but they were there .

I didn't know they quit stocking them , good to know they will be stocking them in the river though , I never really fished for them at all but I hear they are fun to catch .

I believe they started stocking saugeye(sp) at Anna this year in an effort to establish another gamefish. I think woods and waters had an article about it. You might even be able to find some info at the VADGIF website. I thought Odenkirk had something to do with it.