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 mid 40’s to low 50’s on Wednesday (2/15/2017). The
lake level was about an inch above the top of the dam. The water was light
brown and slightly cloudy in the central lower lake.

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. Many crappie
were along drop-offs and in channels in the main lake, especially near wood
cover, and a few crappie were in channels in the creeks, especially up the
lake. Many crappie were scattered rather than in large schools, and have
been on flats adjacent to deeper water on sunny afternoons. Many crappie
have been inactive recently, but activity has been slowly increasing,
especially up the 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 channels and in
some creek channels and were hitting live minnows, small swim baits, and
small jigs. Most bluegill and shellcracker were along channel edges in the
main lake and were occasionally hitting small jigs, Nikko nymphs on drop
shot rigs, small swim baits, and live worms. Most bass, pickerel, and
bowfin were on flats, along drop-offs, or in channels in the major creeks
and the main lake. Bass activity has been sporadic, but has been increasing
with more stable conditions. When active, bass and pickerel were hitting
live minnows, spinnerbaits, swim baits, stick worms, crank baits, suspending
jerk baits, and jigs.