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Lake Anna Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

The two-sided lake: public-side stripers and crappie, warm-side winter bass, an hour from Richmond.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Flow
34 cfs
Air / High
96 / 96 F
Wind
NW 5 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 01670400, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
4
September 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

2/5Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Lake Anna serves up more heat: the productive hours are the dim ones. The river is running 34 cfs, dropping and clearing. Today brings clear skies, wind NW around 5 mph, rising pressure near 1012 hPa and a high of 96. Water sits around 84 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: plan around them and beat the heat.

The plan, species by species

Striped bassGood

Deep and early: live bait on downlines over the river channel at first light, or downriggers along thermocline depth.

Catfish (blue, channel)Good

Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

Largemouth bassFair

Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

CrappieSlow

Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

Tomorrow: Cooler at 87 F with a rain chance. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings from NORTH ANNA RIVER NEAR PARTLOW, VA.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 01670400.

38455334 cfs08/0508/1508/2509/04

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp96 F
High / Low96 / 73 F
WindNW 5-12 mph
Pressure1011.7 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 21%
Sunrise / Sunset06:43 / 19:36
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~84 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Rain, 96/73 F, wind 21 mph, rain 21%

Fair or better. A 21 mph breeze puts a working chop on the banks it hits: fish the wind-blown side.

Species guide

The species that matter on Lake Anna: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: spring and fall

The headline act on most American reservoirs. Relates to cover: docks, brush, grass edges and points. Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

Striped bass illustration

Striped bass

Best: spring and fall

The reservoir heavyweight. Follows shad and herring schools in open water year-round. Deep and early: live bait on downlines over the river channel at first light, or downriggers along thermocline depth.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Good year-round

The most reliable bite on most southern waters. Blues run big; channels fill the cooler. Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: Nov-Mar

Brush piles, bridge pilings and standing timber. The fish fry favorite. Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

When to come: the Lake Anna calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Largemouth bass
Striped bass
Catfish (blue, channel)
Crappie
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 84 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~84 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Lake Anna today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Striped bass led the card at good. High of 90 F, wind to 5 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 96 F, wind to 14 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Striped bass led the card at good. High of 95 F, wind to 5 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used to send you this water's report each week. No spam, ever.

Before you go

License

Virginia requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Striper: 20-inch minimum, 2/day. Standard black bass rules. Confirm with VDWR.

Access

Anna Point, Sturgeon Creek, Dike 3 and state park ramps.

About this water

13,000 acres on the North Anna River, Louisa/Spotsylvania/Orange counties, VA. Dominion, impounded 1972.

Fishing Lake Anna: the full guide

Warm water advantage

Anna's nuclear plant splits it in two: the public side fishes classic Virginia (stripers over points, crappie on brush, largemouth in the creeks) while the private warm side stays 10 degrees hotter: which is why the public-side dam area and warm-water discharge zones produce Virginia's best cold-month bass fishing. Spring crappie here is a family institution.

Working both sides

The public side fishes classic Virginia: stripers over the channel, crappie on brush, largemouth on docks and grass. The warm side (private, but reachable by boat) changes winter entirely: bass stay active at the discharge zones when the main lake reads 45F. February bags here win midwinter tournaments.

Striper spreads and birds

Anna's stripers school hard October-April: gulls mark them mid-lake, boards and bucktails convert. Summer pushes them to the dam basin's oxygen band: a tighter, deeper game. The uplake grass (hydrilla returning) adds a bass dimension the lake lacked for years.

Common questions

Can you fish Lake Anna's warm side?

By boat yes (the water is public; the shoreline private): winter bass fishing at the discharge is the draw. Respect the security zones marked near the plant.

The warm side advantage

Anna's private 'hot side' (the nuclear plant's cooling lagoons) stays 10-15 degrees warmer, but the public side inherits the benefit: the discharge region's plume keeps the mid-lake warm enough for year-round growth and a legendary winter bite near Dike 3. December bass fishing here matches April elsewhere: bladed jigs on the warm-water grass lines while the rest of Virginia scrapes ice.

Is fishing good at Lake Anna right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Nearby waters

Rappahannock River25 miJames River38 miOccoquan Reservoir53 miChickahominy Lake62 miShenandoah River63 miPotomac River85 mi
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