Capt. Art Conway of Conway’s River Rat Guide Service (804-746-2475) out of Ed Allen’s Boats and Bait reported that Chickahominy Lake mid-day water temperatures ranged from the mid to high 70’s in the lower lake and slightly higher in the backs of the major creeks on Wednesday (6/19/2013). The lake level was about a foot above the top of the dam. The water was medium brown and slightly cloudy in the lower lake.

Blue cats and a few channel cats were widely scattered in a variety of depths in the lower main lake and in the creeks and were hitting live minnows. A mix of sizes of crappie were scattered on submerged wood cover, along channel edges, near some lily pads, and on weed flats near shoreline cover in the main lake and creek mouths. Crappie were hitting live minnows, Roadrunners, Kalin crappie scrubs, tubes, swim baits, and Wright Bait Co. and Southern Pro curlytail grubs. Larger bluegill and shellcrackers were in loose clusters on many shorelines in the main lake and in some areas up the creeks and were hitting flies (especially wet flies and nymphs), small tubes and jigs, and live worms. A few bass were around creek mouths and on flats in the main lake, and were hitting flyrod bugs, topwaters, crankbaits, jerkbaits, and plastic worms, particularly early and late in the day.

Fishing with Capt. Conway, Tom Porter had 67 bluegill, 2 shellcrackers, 1 warmouth, 1 crappie, 3 yellow perch, and 1 bass. Ross Alfonso, Austin Alfonso, and Ryan Ladd had 41 bluegill, 3 shellcrackers, and 1 warmouth. Becky and Jimmy Bogese had 32 bluegill, 5 shellcrackers, 4 crappie, and 5 yellow perch.