Art Conway (804-514-1486) out of Ed Allen’s Boats and Bait reported that
Chickahominy Lake was totally thawed on Wednesday (2/25/2026). The
mid-day surface water temperature in the lower lake was 42.8 degrees F
and was the same temperature all the way to the bottom in the channel.
Surface temperatures were typically about a degree lower in most areas
of the upper end of the lake. The lake level was about 8 inches above
the top of the dam. The water was light to medium brown and slightly
cloudy in the top 2 feet, but much more murky for several feet below 2
feet, apparently due to an algal layer.

A few blue cats, channel cats, and bullheads were scattered in deeper
regions of channels in the main lake. Most crappies were in the
traditional winter holes. White perch have occasionally been in loose
schools roaming channels, especially at the upper end of the lake. Most
bluegills and shellcrackers have been in channel basins. A few scattered
pickerel and bass have occasionally been in creek channels near creek
mouths or on main lake flats and channel edges, but many have moved
deeper.

We found no active fish today, but bass fishermen have done well in
several recent tournaments, and pickerel should be moving into the
creeks soon.