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 70’s to low 80’s in the main lake on Wednesday (9/16/2015). The lake level was slightly above the top of the dam. The water was light brown and slightly cloudy in the lower lake.
Blue cats and a few bullheads were scattered throughout the lake and were hitting live minnows and cut bait. Moderate numbers of crappie were in loose schools in the main lake on deeper flats and channel edges, usually at depths of 6 to 12 feet. A few crappie were scattered singly or in small schools on shallow to mid-depth cypress knees, wood cover, and shoreline weed beds in the main lake and in mouths of major creeks. Active crappie were hitting live minnows, Wright Bait Co. curlytail jigs, small tubes, Kalin crappie scrubs, and small swim baits. Some small to medium yellow perch were scattered on main lake shoreline flats and were hitting live minnows and small jigs. A few bluegill and shellcrackers were in small loose aggregates scattered along shorelines, around cypress trees, and just out from shorelines in the main lake. Other larger bluegill had moved out to mid-depths, especially around wood cover. Bluegill and shellcrackers were hitting live crickets and worms, flies, and small tubes and jigs. Some bass and pickerel were on lily pad flats and along shorelines in lower reaches of major creeks and in shallow bays and some shorelines in the main lake, while other bass and a few pickerel were on deeper flats and channel edges in the main lake. Bass and pickerel were hitting live minnows, spinnerbaits, swim baits, stick worms, and jigs, with some topwater action early on many days.
Fishing with Capt. Conway, Carolyn Conway had 11 bluegill, 1 crappie, 1 yellow perch, 1 roach minnow, and 1 bass.