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 to mid 70’s in the upper and lower lake and in the major creeks on Wednesday (4/17/2013). The lake level was about six inches above the top of the dam. The water was brown and moderately cloudy (due mainly to pollen) in the lower lake.

Blue cats and a few channel cats were widely scattered in a variety of depths in the lower main lake and in the creeks and were hitting live minnows. A few crappie in a mix of sizes were still scattered in the channels and on flats of the major creeks, and in some of the spawning areas, especially around cypress trees. Larger numbers of crappie were in some of the staging areas near creek mouths and on wood cover in the main lake. Crappie were hitting live minnows, Kalin crappie scrubs, tubes, and Wright Bait Co. and Southern Pro curlytail grubs. A moderate number of bass and pickerel were in the major creeks and around creek mouths and were hitting crankbaits and jerkbaits, frequently very close to shoreline vegetation. Fishing with Capt. Conway, Karen and Larry Hanneman had 23 crappie, 1 yellow perch, 1 white perch, 2 blue cats, and 1 bass. Tina and Tim LaLiberte had 23 crappie, 1 shellcracker, 1 yellow perch, 1 blue cat, and 1 pickerel.