Art Conway (804-514-1486) out of Ed Allen’s Boats and Bait reported that
on Wednesday March 11 Chickahominy Lake mid-day surface water
temperatures in the lower lake varied extensively. The surface
temperature in the channel in the lower end of the lake was 62.9 at the
surface, 60.6 at 5 feet below the surface, 57.6 at 10 feet, 52.5 at 15
feet, and 50.8 at 20 feet. Surface temperatures in the creeks were
higher. The much stronger wind this afternoon may mix the layers,
averaging out the water temperatures.

The lake level was about 2 inches above the top of the dam. The water
was light to medium brown, clear at the surface, slightly cloudy in the
top 3 feet, but much more murky for several feet below 3 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, but some were also in some creeks.
Some crappies were moving into spawning areas in creeks. White perch
have occasionally been in loose schools roaming channels, especially at
the upper end of the lake, but have been hard to locate recently. Most
bluegills and shellcrackers have been in channel basins and have mostly
been inactive, but should eventually show up in the creeks. A few
scattered pickerel and bass have been in creek channels and channel edge
flats.

Tom Porter and I found a few active crappies, bass, and blue cats in the
creeks today.