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 main lake water temperatures were in the mid to high 70’s on Wednesday. The lake level was about six inches above the top of the dam. The water was brown but relatively clear in the lower lake and moderately murky in hydrilla mats in the lake and up the creeks. Most major and minor creeks were filled with hydrilla except in the channels, and hydrilla beds extended out from the shoreline of most areas of the main lake. Many hydrilla beds had fairly distinct weedwalls along their outer edges.

Small to medium crappie were widely scattered on shallow to mid-depth flats and on the channel edges in the main lake. Mid-depth wood cover occasionally held some nice crappie. Crappie were biting a little better than recently and were hitting live minnows, Wright Bait Co. and Southern Pro curlytail jigs and tubes, small swimbaits, and Kalin crappie scrubs. Small to medium bluegill were scattered along weedwalls and around shorelines in the main lake and up some of the major creeks. Most larger bluegill had moved off shorelines and were on shallow or mid-depth flats or along deeper weedwalls. Bluegill were hitting live worms and crickets, flies, small Wright Bait Co. and Southern Pro curlytail jigs and tubes, small swimbaits, Kalin crappie scrubs, and small spoons. Bass and bowfin were scattered along the shorelines and mid-depths in the main lake. Bass were most active at sunrise and sunset and were hitting live minnows, frogs and toads, creature baits, soft plastic stick baits, crank baits, and plastic worms.

Fishing with Capt. Conway, Malcolm Turnbull had 57 bluegill, 2 crappie, and 4 shellcrackers. Tom Porter had 94 bluegill and 4 crappie. Capt. Bill Buck and Hollis Pruitt had 40 bluegill, 2 shellcrackers, 1 warmouth, 5 crappie, 1 channel cat, and 1 bass.