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 middle 80’s in the lower main lake and in the major
creeks on Wednesday (8/14/2019). The lake level was a few inches above the
top of the dam and the water was light to medium olive-brown and slightly to
moderately cloudy in the central lake, with more cloudy water along many
shorelines.

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 some 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. Many bluegill and shellcracker
abandoned the shorelines while the sun was on the water. 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.