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 upper 50’s in the lower main lake and the mid 50’s in the upper lake on Wednesday (11/9/2016). The lake level was about even with the top of the dam. The water was light to medium brown and slightly cloudy in the central lower lake, with more murky water on downwind shorelines and in some creeks.

Most blue cats and bullheads were on flats and channels in the main lake and scattered in creeks and hitting live minnows and cut bait. Most crappie had accumulated on mid-depth flats and wood cover and along drop-offs and channel edges in the main lake. Active crappie were hitting live minnows, Wright Bait Co. and Southern Pro curlytail jigs, small tubes, Kalin crappie scrubs, and small swim baits. Small to medium yellow perch and white perch were scattered or in loose aggregates on some main lake flats and in channels and were hitting live minnows, small swim baits, and small jigs. Most bluegill and shellcracker had moved to deeper flats, brushpiles, and channel edges and were hitting small jigs, Nikko nymphs on drop shot rigs, small swim baits, and live worms. Some bass, pickerel, and bowfin were along shorelines and cypress groves, on lily pad and hydrilla flats, and along drop-offs in the major creeks and the main lake. When active, bass and pickerel were hitting live minnows, spinnerbaits, swim baits, stick worms, crank baits, jerk baits, jigs, and topwater baits.

Fishing with Capt. Conway, Jerry Davis had 7 bluegill, 1 crappie, 1 yellow perch, 1 white perch, 1 blue cat, 1 bowfin, 2 pickerel, and 4 bass. Tom Porter had 4 bluegill, 26 crappie, 5 white perch, 1 pickerel, and 3 bass.