Lake Anna Fishing Guide: Bass, Stripers and Crappie

Rules: Virginia DWR (freshwater)

Lake Anna is a 9,600-acre impoundment in Louisa, Orange and Spotsylvania counties, owned by Dominion Power and completed in 1972 as cooling water for the North Anna Nuclear Power Station. Midway between Fredericksburg and Richmond, it is the closest big-lake fishery for much of central and northern Virginia, and Virginia’s Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) calls the largemouth bass fishery a top destination. It is also known for winter striper fishing and a crowded summer. This guide covers what DWR says the lake holds, the rules, how the access situation stands and when to go.

What the lake holds

Largemouth bass. DWR ranks Lake Anna among the top three Virginia lakes for citation largemouth and says it maintains very high catch rates and many fish in the 4 to 6 pound range, despite heavy pressure. A DWR survey index for fish 15 inches or larger hit a record in 2020. Because pressure is heavy, DWR advises patience and variety: bass hold in transition areas between habitats, around heavy cover and off points, and take plastic worms, jigs, spinnerbaits and crankbaits. Winter and summer nights are suggested for anglers who want to avoid the boat traffic. DWR notes that over 99 percent of bass caught at Anna are released, which is why the old protected slot was dropped in 2006.

Striped bass and hybrids. Both are stocked every year, and DWR said in 2019 it would stock at least 10 stripers and 10 hybrids per acre annually. Fish reach the 20-inch legal size in about 30 months, but older fish grow slowly because cool, well-oxygenated water is scarce in summer and early fall. A major winter fishery has developed, when stripers feed near the surface and can be caught on sassy shads, redfins and bucktails or on live gizzard shad and blueback herring, with DWR giving the nod to the herring if you can catch them.

Black crappie. Crappie are cyclical, but size is good. They move into shallows of 5 to 6 feet or less to spawn from mid-March to early April, and in late April and early May they have been seen in coves along water willow beds. Anglers fish brush piles, fish attractors, docks and bridge pilings with small jigs, spinners or flies.

Other fish. Channel catfish average 2 to 4 pounds and are popular in summer when other species slow down, using bottom rigs with live or cut bait. White perch are best in November. Bluegill are fair but suppressed, saugeye from a 2014 stocking can still turn up in late winter near Dike III, and DWR says there are no trout. Blue catfish have been documented in low numbers. Snakehead are not described on DWR’s Lake Anna page, so we are not saying whether the lake has them.

Rules

DWR lists largemouth bass at five a day with no length limit, striped and hybrid striped bass at four a day combined with a 20-inch minimum, crappie at 25 a day, channel catfish at 20 a day, walleye at five with an 18-inch minimum, sunfish at 50 and no limits on white perch. The rules snapshot above quotes the digest and the agency.

Access: the Route 522 ramp is closed

Without a free public ramp, boat anglers use private marinas, campgrounds and Lake Anna State Park, all of which DWR says offer launching. Fees apply at those sites. DWR removed the Dike III fishing platform in poor condition and its concrete path, but the site is still open for shoreline fishing. DWR’s listing shows no fishing pier or platform at the state’s Lake Anna site. DWR also lists artificial reef locations on the lake.

Timing

Winter is the hotspot for stripers and hybrids. Crappie spawn in the shallows from mid-March into early April. November is the best month for white perch. Summer brings heavy boat traffic, so fish early, late or at night, and summer catfish can be productive when other species slow.

Tackle that suits the lake

A medium spinning rod of 6 1/2 to 7 feet handles bass and crappie, with a fast tip for plastics and jigs. For winter stripers, a medium-heavy 7 to 8 foot rod with a reel that holds plenty of line works for plugs, bucktails and live bait. These are typical setups, not requirements, and a custom rod built for the lure weights you actually throw suits a lake where tactics change every season.

Check before you go

Lake Anna is owned by a power company, ramp status changes and many access points are private. Check DWR’s lake page and the marina you plan to use. Compare other lakes in the best-lakes roundup and see striped bass in Virginia, and use the rules guide for licensing.