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 were in the high 60’s to low 70’s in the main lake and the
major creeks on Wednesday (4/19/2017). The lake level was about even with
the top of the dam. The water was light to medium brown and slightly cloudy
in the central lower lake.

Most blue cats and bullheads were on flats and channels in the main lake and
scattered in creeks, and were hitting live minnows and cut bait. Most
crappie were in post-spawn condition, either on channel edges in the creeks
or on wood cover in the main lake. Active crappie were hitting live
minnows, Wright Bait Co. and Southern Pro curlytail jigs, small tubes, Kalin
crappie scrubs, and small swim baits. Small to medium yellow perch were
scattered or in loose aggregates in creeks and on shoreline flats in the
main lake. When located, they were hitting live minnows, small swim baits,
and small jigs. Bluegill and shellcracker were scattered or in small
schools, with some still on mid-depth flats in the main lake and some moving
into the creeks on shallow flats. Bluegill and shellcracker were hitting
small jigs, Nikko nymphs, small swim baits, and live worms. Most bass were
on or near shorelines in major creeks and some areas of the main lake. Some
bass appeared to be on beds. Pickerel were still in many creeks on
shorelines or around wood cover. When active, bass and pickerel were
hitting live minnows, spinnerbaits, swim baits, stick worms, crank baits,
jerk baits, and jigs.

Fishing with Capt. Conway, Steve and Mitch Novak had 2 bluegill, 3 crappie,
2 yellow perch, 1 pickerel, and 11 bass. Ron Hummel had 25 crappie, 1
white perch, 1 pickerel and 2 bass. Brian Martin and Joe Walton had 10
bluegill, 1 shellcracker, 1 flier, 42 crappie, 1 bowfin, and 2 pickerel.  Brian’s crappies included a 15 1/4 inch length citation.  Tom Porter had 11 bluegill, 2 fliers, 25 crappie, 1 blue cat, and 1 pickerel.