“Lake Anna - Is it really the Dead Sea?”
(15 Questions with Lake Anna's very own, Dave Fauntleroy)

by Peter Herbst
(Who is Pete Herbst & what else has he written?)

Dave Fauntleroy
davefauntleroy@hotmail.com

How often do we as Virginia Anglers curse at Lake Anna? “The dead sea”, “no fish Anna”, and “one fish Anna” are often mumbled in club and region meetings when the talk of a tournament on Anna comes up.

This month I ask 15 pointed questions and explore the mysteries of Lake Anna with Dave Fauntleroy. Any one who has ever fished Anna no doubt knows Dave and I would be willing to bet Dave knows your name too. Dave has been a professional guide on Anna for 11 years and has worked at Anna Point Marina for 13 years.

Dave remembers the very first time he saw Lake Anna as a wide eyed 10 year old riding over the lake on the route 208 bridge with his family. As a child Dave comments, “I was overwhelmed by what looked like an ocean beneath me. I have early memories of catching fish from a 12 foot jon boat with my dad to the present.” Dave feels Lake Anna is truly a special body of water and now some 30 years later he cruises Anna in boats somewhat faster than that jon boat he use to fish in.

In our conversation, Dave is quick to point out that, “Lake Anna is the destination of top anglers from up and down the Atlantic sea board and is a stern test for the serious tournament angler.” Most anglers that are familiar with Anna know the lake has matured and has gone through many changes. Dave also likes to talk about the challenges of Anna and the “Big fish” mystique. He states, “This older body of water offers a challenge that tests the most skilled and savvy anglers in ways that other bodies of water do not.” Dave has often heard seasoned tournament anglers that fish numerous bodies of water agree on one thing, "if you can catch fish on Lake Anna you can catch fish anywhere". Dave knows that anglers who are serious about their fishing and compete hard in tournaments are giving Lake Anna the ultimate compliment.

Many anglers come to Anna with the goal of catching a bass over 8 pounds on a artificial bait from a large body of water and Dave likes to say, “Lake Anna offers this possibility on any given cast at any given time.” No doubt, catching a big fish is the true excitement and allure of Anna as the trophy bass of a lifetime is only a cast away. Dave has seen the excitement numerous times of die-hard tournament anglers to the weekend casual angler when an angler catches that trophy fish.

As Lake Anna turns thirty this year, Dave hopes everyone is thankful and appreciates the fact we have a 13,000 acre impoundment in our central Virginia region.

Virginia has suffered a major drought in late 2001. What affect do you think the current low water level will have on Anna this year?
I sure hope we get rain! But if we don’t, I would probably fish deeper structure and target the same general areas but back off and fish deeper water. We’re just not sure what the low water will do to this year’s spawning season.

We’re all hoping for rain and a good spawn. In recent years what type of Bass spawns have you seen?
Each year we continue to see obvious evidence of successful spawns. Every year we continue to see small bass further confirming successful spawns.

Do you think fishing during the spawn has hurt the fishing?
Not really but I do think the legal slot limit has helped bring the fishery back. The 12” to 15” fish I feel are the primary breeding fish are now legally protected. A greater emphasis was placed on a legally enforced catch and release of these primary breeding size fish.

Besides the spring time pressure it seems boat traffic is always a problem on Anna. How can anglers effectively deal with the heavy boat traffic that plagues the lake at certain times of year?
Key on protected no-wake areas such as major creeks like the back of Sturgeon creek, Contrary creek or Freshwater creek. Also I believe individuals need to explore the upper reaches of North Anna and Pamunkey rivers.

Anna offers many areas to explore and lots of diversity in terms of structure, cover and water clarity. Where do you like to fish on Anna?
I like to fish the stained water and particularly rock piles, shoreline cover and especially the grass beds.

Grass beds, what grass beds? I thought there was not any hydrilla left in the lake?
I'm referring to the shoreline willow grass. I dream of 1993 and 1994 when hydrilla was at it’s peak. Those areas made for more predictable fishing and certain grass beds were fish holding magnets. The loss has definitely made the fishing tougher and spread the fish out to other types of cover.

Almost 10 years now without the big grass beds, what else has changed in the last 10 years? Are you seeing more or less fish caught? More or less big fish?
With more tournaments and more pressure the weights have gone done. This year the weights on the weekly Tuesday & Friday night tournaments were down as a whole. (documented data from Anna Point’s records). Less fish are being caught but the number of big fish being caught has remained the same with three fish over 7 pounds caught in 2001 in the Tuesday night tournaments alone. Several fish have been brought in to the scales at Anna Point that have gone over 8 pounds in 2001.

O.K. I knew we would get to stories of big fish. Tell me if someone wanted to catch a big fish, what is the best time of year to visit the lake?
February, March and early April during the pre-spawn and spawn patterns.

If someone wanted to catch a big fish, what is the best part of the lake (down lake, mid-lake, Pamunkey, N. Anna) to fish?
It varies but the mid-lake and the upper North Anna are my favorite parts of the lake during this time of the year.

What is the biggest fish you've seen caught on Anna?
I saw the second largest officially documented fish caught on Anna. It was in December of 1990 and the fish weighted 12 pounds 6 ounces and was caught by Kenny Thompson.

What is the largest five fish weight you’ve seen on Anna?
Two clients and I had 5 fish that weighed 27 pounds 11 ounces and it was in March of 1997.

Besides big fish what if someone wanted to catch a limit of fish, what is the best time of year to visit the lake?
Pre-spawn patterns are usually also the best time of the year to catch numbers of fish. Late May & June also give up lots of fish in the post-spawn pattern.

What techniques do you feel consistently produce the best catches?
Spinnerbaits around shallow cover and Jerkbaits during the pre-spawn around main lakes points.

It is clear tournament results produce fewer fish than our state's other bodies of water (e.g., Potomac, Kerr). What is the one thing fishermen can do to improve their overall catches?
Keep it simple and stick to your basic baits. Use jerk baits in the pre-spawn, carolina rigs in late March & April, Spinner baits in April. During these times try to target shallow, aggressive fish.

What are the biggest mistakes anglers make in pursuing Anna's fish?
Anglers forget to focus on the proven patterns and they also forget to keep it simple.

Dave looks for good fishing as Anna celebrates it’s 30th birthday and look for those occasional blockbuster days and those days where it is feast or famine.

As numerous clubs embark on Lake Anna for their individual smaller events and the Virginia Federation begins a new year of tournaments, Dave looks forward to those great catches and yes there will be those that do not fare as well on any given day. Is it really the dead sea? Not really it is just a tough place to fish and this is true at the top levels of competitive bass fishing on any body of water. You can hear the excitement in Dave's voice when he says, "It is the thrill and the excitement of having that banner day on Anna when that limit is anchored by a Lake Anna HAWG that an angler savors. When that happens and you have club and region bragging rights on a tough lake like Anna this is what makes it all worthwhile."

To contact Dave, please call him at 540.840.6772 or e-mail him at davefauntleroy@hotmail.com. To contact Anna Point Marina, call 540.895.5900