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Lake Anna Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

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

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Flow
34 cfs
Air / High
65 / 65 F
Wind
NE 8 mph

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

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 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.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Lake Anna offers the kind of conditions this water was made for. The nearest gauge is running 34 cfs, falling. Today brings clear skies, wind NE around 8 mph, steady pressure near 1026 hPa and a high of 65. Water sits around 74 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:46 AM-11:46 AM and 10:14 PM-12:14 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Striped bassExcellent

Use electronics to find shad schools in open water, and watch for birds working over bait.

Largemouth bassGood

The main feeding season after the spawn: work moving baits along weed edges, points and wood, and follow up with a soft plastic where a fish swirls.

Catfish (blue, channel)Good

Spawning season from late May into summer: Iowa DNR suggests drifting bait under a float along riprap and snags where males guard nests in cavities.

CrappieFair

Early in this band crappie are spawning in protected coves; afterward they move to docks, brush piles and standing timber near deeper water.

Tomorrow: Similar at 62 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

Virginia requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $23.00 for residents. What a Virginia licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing largemouth bass here? Check the size and bag limits with DWR before you keep anything. The season dates for Virginia, read off the agency, are on the Virginia seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings from NORTH ANNA RIVER NEAR PARTLOW, VA.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 01670400.

36414534 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 36 years of October 23

At 34 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 01670400 (NORTH ANNA RIVER NEAR PARTLOW, VA) is at the 8th percentile for the date: much below normal. In half of the 36 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 50 cfs; the highest was 1,540 cfs and the lowest 10 cfs.

p10 37median 50p90 228

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 01670400; today’s reading is the latest instantaneous value. Classes follow the ones the USGS used on its WaterWatch maps (retired at the end of 2025): below 10th, much below normal; 10th–24th, below; 25th–75th, normal; 76th–90th, above; over 90th, much above.

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp65 F
High / Low65 / 40 F
WindNE 8-10 mph
Pressure1025.8 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain9% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:27 / 18:22
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~74 F est.

Bite planner

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

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Lake Anna this week

The best day on Lake Anna this week looks like Saturday Oct 24, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Saturday, Oct 24 β€” good at 4/5, steady pressure, neither help nor hindrance.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
9:46 AM-11:46 AM and 10:14 PM-12:14 AM
Minor period
4:07 AM-5:07 AM
Sun
07:27 to 18:22
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Partly cloudy, 8 mph
Rain chance
0%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

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: the spring pre-spawn and the fall feed

A warm-water sunfish of lakes, reservoirs, ponds and slow river backwaters that holds tight to cover: weeds, logs, rock ledges and docks. In Texas, TPWD surveys rank it "by far" the freshwater fish anglers most want to catch. The main feeding season after the spawn: work moving baits along weed edges, points and wood, and follow up with a soft plastic where a fish swirls.

Striped bass illustration

Striped bass

Best: spring and fall inland; on the coast, during the seasonal migrations

The largest of the temperate basses, a sea-run fish of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts that now also lives in reservoirs across much of the country after hatchery stocking. Inland, it follows schools of shad and herring through open water. Use electronics to find shad schools in open water, and watch for birds working over bait.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Year-round, best at dusk and after dark

Three big catfish share most of the country's rivers and reservoirs: the channel catfish, the most widespread; the blue catfish, the largest; and the flathead, which hunts live fish. All feed mostly on or near the bottom. Spawning season from late May into summer: Iowa DNR suggests drifting bait under a float along riprap and snags where males guard nests in cavities.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: the spring spawn; summer around docks, brush and the thermocline

Two slab-sided panfish, the white crappie and the black crappie, that gather around submerged timber, brush piles, docks and bridge pilings in lakes, reservoirs and slow river backwaters. Texas Parks and Wildlife counts crappie as the state's most popular panfish. Early in this band crappie are spawning in protected coves; afterward they move to docks, brush piles and standing timber near deeper water.

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 74 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~74 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, Oct 22

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Largemouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 70 F, wind to 9 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 68 F, wind to 8 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 73 F, wind to 9 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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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: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

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

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 01670400 β€” NORTH ANNA RIVER NEAR PARTLOW, VA
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 18:15 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 38.0612, -77.8345 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written guide was drafted with AI assistance. Unlike our newer pages, it does not yet list the official pages its facts were checked against: that audit is under way, and anything it cannot verify will be taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.