Capt. Art Conway of Conway’s River Rat Guide Service (804-514-1486) out of
Ed Allen’s Boats and Bait reported that Chickahominy Lake mid-day water
temperatures were in the high 80’s in the lower main lake and in the major
creeks on Wednesday (7/31/2019). The lake level was about an inch below the
top of the dam and the water was light to medium brown and slightly to
moderately cloudy in the central lake, with an algal bloom in some shallows.

Some blue cats and bullheads were along drop-offs and in channels in the
main lake while others had dispersed onto flats and into creeks. When
active, cats were hitting live minnows and cut bait. Early in the mornings
a few crappie were in creeks, along shorelines in the main lake, and on
flats in the main lake, but most crappie were along main lake channel edges,
frequently near wood cover. Active crappie were hitting live minnows,
Wright Bait Co. and Southern Pro curlytail jigs, small tubes, Kalin crappie
scrubs, and small swim baits. Yellow and white perch were scattered or in
loose aggregates on deep flats, drop-offs, and channels in the main lake and
in major creeks, and when active, both species were hitting live minnows,
small swim baits, and small jigs. A mix of sizes of bluegill and
shellcracker were scattered on shorelines and on flats out to 3 to 5 foot
depths in the main lake and in some creeks. When active, bluegill and
shellcracker were hitting live worms and crickets, Nikko nymphs, flies, and
small swimbaits. Pickerel and bass were located along shorelines early in
the morning (especially under duckweed patches), around cypress trees, on
flats, and on channel edges. When active, bass and pickerel were hitting
live minnows, top waters (especially frogs in duckweed patches),
spinnerbaits, swim baits, stick worms, crank baits, jerk baits, and jigs.

Fishing with Capt. Conway, Rebecca Steele and Ben Mitchell had 19 bluegill,
2 shellcracker, 2 crappie, and 1 blue cat. Steve Novak had 21 bluegill, 3
shellcracker, 7 crappie, 1 pickerel, 1 blue cat, and 1 citation gar.