WE CONTINUE TO SELL FIREARMS, BUT WE
ARE MOVING AND THE STORE IS CLOSED FOR THE WINTER
WE SELL AND TRANSFER FIREARMS
BY APPOINTMENT. FOR MORE INFORMATION SEND ME
AN EMAIL AT VIRGINIAOUTDOORSMAN@GMAIL.COM
FOR INFORMATION, ONLINE GUN SALES AND PRICES GO TO
http://www.virginiaoutdoorsman.com/content/hunting.html
OUR ADDRESS, EMAIL AND PHONE NUMBER ARE UNCHANGED
Water Temperature: 45 - 49 degrees Water Clarity: Good
The surface water temperature dropped a little as a result of the subfreezing temperatures over the past weekend, but water temperatures from just a couple of feet below the surface down to 100 feet remain virtually unchanged. Local angler Joel Janecek has been capturing the lake water temperatures down that deep for the past several months and his most recent readings indicate the temperature 90 feet below the surface is only 5 or 6 degrees cooler than those near the surface. The current water temperatures are significantly warmer than they have been in the past several years and that is keeping the baitfish and those species that feed on them more active and closer to the surface than usual. According to the current forecast, the freezing temperatures of this past weekend will be replaced over the next two weeks by warmer weather as we return to temperatures reaching well into the 50’s during the day and seldom dropping below freezing at night. Skies will range from sunny to partly cloudy with occasional periods of precipitation. It will become progressively darker at night as we approach the next new moon on February 21st. The lake is essentially at full pond and all ramps are operational.
Bass fishing has
been very good and in recent tournaments, anglers find they must bring five
bass weighing in excess of 17 pounds to the scale in order to finish in the top
three or four. Bass continue to be caught on a variety of different lures and
techniques. Deep diving, suspending jerkbaits (Staysee, DD Pointer) cast and
retrieved on points are a good choice this time of year as are larger flutter
spoons (Strike King). Bass feeding on baitfish will hit both of these lures as
well as swimbaits and other plastics. Slow rolled spinnerbaits (Nichols) are
producing bass around the outside edges of deepwater docks, in submerged stump
fields on points and the edges of submerged drop-offs.
The new Alabama
rigs are producing bass and other fish here in Virginia. For those that have
yet to see these rigs, the Alabama rig is very similar to the small, very
lightweight umbrella rigs used behind planer boards by striper anglers here for
years. The Alabama rig is built with slightly lighter wire in its five arms and
lures are attached to it without the use of leaders. The Alabama rig is
designed to be cast and retrieved using braid line and a medium heavy to heavy
action baitcasting rod. There are a variety of different lures that can be used
on these rigs. Probably the most popular is the swimbait, as the Alabama rig is
designed to resemble a small school of baitfish. Other lures including spinner
baits, flukes and grubs rigged on jigheads are also successful. Some anglers
are reportedly rigging the Alabama rig with plastic creature baits or worms and
dragging it along the bottom like you would a Texas rig. I recently ordered
several Alabama like rigs that are significantly smaller and lighter than those
used for bass and will be testing them out for crappie, white perch and other
fish over the next couple of months. While certainly controversial, I believe
this will be one of the hot lures this spring and it is likely here to stay.
Bass continue to be caught this winter by anglers vertically jigging with spoons like those by Berry, Hopkins, Cotton Cordell and Kastmaster. Good jigging locations include the edges of steep points, submerged deep water bluffs, river channels and around the edges and tops of submerged timber and laydowns. The dropshot is another effective presentation technique for suspended fish, especially those sitting a foot or two above the bottom of the lake. When bass are found sitting on the bottom, especially around natural rock, the traditional pig and jig with a heavy football head is a good choice.
The last tournament in the Winter Weekend Series Bass Tournament was held this past weekend. The last three consecutive events in the series were won by the team of Danny and Trevor Towe. On January 21st their total weight was 19 lbs. 3 oz. and they caught the tournament big fish weighing 4 lbs. 7 oz. Second place in this event went to the team of Phillip VanDerveer and Chris Lucas with 17 lbs. 13 oz. The third place team, James Jordan and Douglas Eubanks caught bass weighing a total of 8 lbs. 5 oz. The following week Trevor and Danny won the event when they caught five fish weighing 19 lbs. 13 oz. Second place honors in that tournament were earned by the team of Mark McFadden and Matt Kluender of Moneta with a weight of 18 lbs. 9 oz. Third place went to the team of Matt Bomar and Tim Staple of Moneta when they brought five bass weighing a total of 17 lbs. 15 oz. to the scale. The big fish was caught by the father-son team of Charles Fochtman and Charles Fochtman Junior, a nice largemouth that weighed 5 lbs. 11 oz.
This past weekend, the Daleville team of Danny and Trevor Towe won the tournament with five bass that weighed an incredible 20 lbs. 5 oz. Charlie Fochtman and his son Charles Jr. of Moneta placed second in this event with a total weight of 17 lbs. 13 oz. Third place honors in this past weekend’s tournament went to Jim McCullough and Ronnie Lemons with a total weight of 17 lbs. 3 oz. The tournament lunker was a huge largemouth bass that was caught by the team of Douglas Eubanks and James Jordan. This past weekend’s tournament big fish weighed an incredible 6 lbs. 13 oz. The weight and quality of the bass caught by the anglers competing in this series were excellent all winter. This was one of the best winter series conducted in years. Congratulations to all the anglers who have supported this series by competing in it and especially to its organizer, Tournament Director Phillip VanDerVeer.
Striper fishing
continues to be mixed. One day the fish are feeding actively and readily caught
and the next they can be found in good numbers, but prove almost impossible to
catch. Fishing with live bait continues to be very effective. When stripers are
located using electronics or diving seagulls, vertically jigging with spoons
and flukes rigged on heavy jigheads can also prove to be very productive. There
continue to be large schools of baitfish in the middle and upper sections of
the lake and when there is plenty to eat and the stripers are not feeding,
getting them to hit a spoon or a fluke can prove challenging. Several anglers
report they are catching striped bass off primary and secondary points very
early in the morning, in the evening and at night casting and slowly retrieving
medium size, deep diving jerkbaits (Redfin, Long A, Thunderstick, Pointer).
Anglers continue to catch stripers trolling. A number of stripers have been caught over the past several weeks by anglers pulling Umbrella rigs (Urigs), swimbaits and deep diving crankbaits behind their boats with either their gas or electric trolling motors. During the daytime, most stripers continue to be located and caught in the main channel and the larger creeks from 15 to 70 feet below the surface. Occasionally, anglers will find a school of striped bass further back in one of the larger creeks, especially when large schools of baitfish are also there early and late in the day. Casting, counting down and retrieving lures like lipless crankbaits, vibrating blade lures, swimbaits and flukes can be an effective technique this time of year whether stripers are found shallow or deep. For a great striper charter with a Captain who has been fishing this lake successfully for years go to http://kennysstriperguideservice.com/ and arrange a guided fishing charter with Captain Kenny Short. I promise you and your friends will have an incredible time. If you wish to call Captain Kenny directly just dial (540) 493-9541 and please tell him I sent you.
The crappie bite
is reportedly good. I am not a crappie fisherman, but in talking to several
anglers who are while out on the water I learned the bite has been pretty good
this winter. According to them, small live minnows continue to be the bait of
choice, but have been harder to find this winter because there are fewer tackle
shops open and selling live shiners. These same anglers reported that the
crappies are being found suspended in deep water brush from 8 to 25 feet below
the surface and that when minnows were not available very small, lightweight
jigheads with plastic Bobby Garland trailers and tiny flutter spoons have been
producing good numbers of quality fish.
The Virginia Outdoorsman store remains closed, but we continue to sell and transfer firearms on a special appointment basis. If you are interested in transferring, buying or having us sell your firearm on consignment, just go to http://www.virginiaoutdoorsman.com/content/hunting.html. You will find information about our firearm related services there and how you can gain access to a huge inventory of guns that we have available for sale online. If you need additional information or want to have me sell a firearm for you, just send me a detailed email at virginiaoutdoorsman@gmail.com.
Tight lines and enjoy a safe winter.
http://www.virginiaoutdoorsman.com/index.htm
Mike Snead http://www.virginiaoutdoorsman.com (540) 721-4867
40 Village Springs Drive, Hardy VA 24101
In Westlake
Directly Across From Wendy’s On Rte 122
(About 3.5 Miles South Of the Hales Ford Bridge)