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 very low 40’s in the lower and upper main lake on Wednesday (2/10/2016), and will drop over the weekend. The lake level was about 8 inches above the top of the dam. The water was light to medium brown and slightly cloudy in the central lower lake, with more murky water up the lake and in some bays and creeks.
Blue cats and a few bullheads were in channels and winter holes and were hitting live minnows and cut bait. Crappie action was still slow throughout most of the lake due to the cold water, but some small schools were moderately active late last week and early this week. Most crappie were in loose schools in the main lake in channels and on channel edges, usually at depths of 8 to 15 feet, and frequently in the neighborhood of wood cover. Crappie in areas with current were in eddies and backwaters out of the main currents. Numbers of active crappie had not appeared yet in the creeks. When active, crappie were hitting live minnows, Wright Bait Co. curlytail jigs, small tubes, Kalin crappie scrubs, small swim baits, jigging spoons, and blade baits. Small to medium yellow perch were scattered or in loose aggregates on some deeper main lake flats and in channels and were hitting live minnows, small drop shot baits, and small jigs. Only an occasional bluegill or shellcracker was active along the deep edges of hydrilla flats, on mid-depth wood cover, or in channels and very lightly hitting live crickets and worms, small blade baits, and small plastics on drop shot rigs. Most bass and pickerel were on deeper flats and in channels in the main lake, but some bass, pickerel, and a few bowfin were along drop-offs in the major creeks and were hitting live minnows, spinnerbaits, swim baits, stick worms, crank baits, jerk baits, and jigs.
Fishing with Capt. Conway, Tom Porter had 15 crappie and 4 white perch.