Pair of Jacks

Woohoo…you are making me jealous!!! This sound crazy but her in central Virginia, The upper Pamunkey (where we live) and South Anna branches of Lake Anna are frozen over so our typical winter striper fishing is on hold till ice out…even the sea gulls and Herons are confused.  
 

keep on keeping on!!!

LOU colleagues—the problem of recreational boaters running down fishing boats has become a serious issue all over the country.  Several boating organizations have noted this crazy trend.

 I live on Lake Anna In central Virginia and I stopped counting the times a jets skier, wakeboard, or go faster boat has put me and my boating companions in jeopardy.  These people have more boat than brain.  I have started running with a head mounting camera running full time.  I have provide both the local sheriffs and Virginia DWR video reports of unsafe boating incidents.  The local sheriff water patrol is overburden trying to patrol the lake but is sympathetic to the issue and does cite violators.  Virginia DWR actually sends warning citations to the boat owner if they can accurately identify the registration numbers.  I have become very adept at using the camera and get HD video of the registration numbers.  In one instance the boat was brand new and was displaying any numbers so I later found his home dock and provided DWR with the video of the incident and later the dock where the boat was stored.  The boat was very unique in color and design…big wake boat.  Turns out both the Sheriff and DWR had multiple complaints about this particular boat and ultimately caught the guy in the act.  They seized the boat and charged him with a series of felonies.   He later pleaded out and was permanently suspended from operating any powered watercraft in Virginia.  
 

My recommendation is to have a designated camera watch person who can quickly use a smart phone or other video device to document such incidents rather that think about throwing a water bottle or any object that only compounds the situation.  Take the time to contact appropriate authorities and make a report.  If serious enough use the VHF radio.  
 

keep on keeping on!!!

Pair of Jacks

I am surprised by the comments wrt other boats doing the dirty deeds of trying to cover your course and hookups.  If they are charter boats I would have a dockside chat for sure.  If not I would put the boat pix up on social media with a storyline of his bogarting tactics.  Courtesy and ethics are what separates the pros from the morons…I would never risk landing a fish with out a net.

Sherman—Many thanks for the tips.  
 

Respectfully

Pair of Jacks

Greetings and Happy New Year to all!!  

My name Scott and my youngest son and I own a 2019 Tracker Laker Guide V16 with a 4 -Stroke 25 hp Mercury OB.  Our boat name is Pair of Jacks.  We have a Lowrance Elite 9 Ti2 with the muti-mode transducer including side-scan.  We are from Virginia  (Lake Anna), but I was born and raised in Millport NY about 10 miles south of Watkins Glen NY.

 I grew up trout fishing Catherine Creek and the big 3 Finger Lakes:  Cayuga, Seneca, and Keuka.  I left NYS in 1973 upon joining the USAF.  My one previous Lake Ontario fishing experience was back in the 1960s with my dad at Selkirk Shores State Park.  My dad later introduced me to walleye fishing in Canada back in 1968. We since made annual trips to northern Ontario until 2019 when COVID closed the border.  
 

After 2 and now going on 3 years in 2022,  we have had to cancel our Canadian trip.  So we decided at my brother’s recommendation to try Henderson Bay for some early spring walleye.  Our target dates are May 14-21, 2022.  We are experienced boaters having fished Lake Erie’s Western Basin while stationed in Ohio, Lake St Claire and Lake Huron(Thunder Bay) and numerous inland walleye lakes and rivers while stationed in Michigan; to the Chesapeake Bay and now Lake Anna while stationed/retired in Virginia.  Our Virginia fishing is focused on both wild and land-locked (stocked) striped bass as walleye fishing in Virginia is very spotty.  See attached photos  

In any case any important tips for fishing Henderson Bay in May 2022 would be welcomed.  Pair of Jacks is configured for trolling but we occasionally cast and jig depending on the conditions and where the fish are located.  I researched the web and found a few dated posts and YouTube videos on fishing Henderson Bay, but several questions remain unanswered….Safety is paramount so the first question is how rough does Henderson Bay itself get?  Second, are there walleye actually in Henderson Bay or are they out in the big water?  
 

Next is trolling questions…for walleye we troll between 1.5 and 2.0 mph using Daiwa SG17 and SG27 LCA reels on 7 to 8 ft medium action rods specifically matched to our reels.  We do set planer boards occasionally, but typically we stick to one rod per fisherman.   We use these same rod/reel combos for stripers and hybrids (striped bass x white bass) which can run up to 40” and 25~30 lbs as well as for walleyes.  Our reels are loaded with 10 and 15 lbs Trilene mono in clear and green respectively.  Our terminal tackle ranges from crawler harnesses with bottom bouncers to every model/color of Rapala and Cordell Redfins.  I still have a huge selection of Erie Dearie spinners,  but frankly they haven’t really produced a fish other than on Lake Erie.  I do have a nice selection of old Dare Devils and Johnson Silver Minnow spoons from my Finger Lakes trolling days that produced real strong Northern Pike strikes up in Canada.  We also have a big inventory of Live Target swim baits in 4 and 5 inch Shad models we use for stripers. We also have a few medium size Alabama rigs that are also popular striper baits….again Shad colors but can be configured with local dominant bait fish replica as needed.

We don’t expect anyone to give up their honey hole secrets, but general local knowledge hints would be much appreciated.

Thank you in advance for your assistance.

Respectfully 

Pair of Jacks