Powhatan Lakes Any Good? 2024

stevoj8 reply :

Was looking into some new places to fish in the area, I live in Richmond Virginia and I just want a good place to fish at within a decent distance. I fish the swift creek reservoir every now and then and I do ok, but I want to catch some better fish for once. Has anybody been to the Powhatan lakes recently, how's the fishing there?

Kobalt reply :

Another forum newbie chiming in here, woo first posters! (Hopefully someone with some more posts to their name will also respond here...)

I am new to Richmond (relatively) and was wondering the same thing. I have heard positive things about Powhatan Lakes and Amelia Lake. Im wondering if its worth taking the kayak and rods down there and exploring.

flyfisher reply :

Both the powhatan lakes and amelia are worth checking out. Personally if i am going to Amelia i just drive a little further and hit either sandy, briery or bear creek lake myself as they seem to have better fish in them than Amelia but to be fair, i have only fished amelia a handful of times.

The two powhatan lakes are good and i have caught citation sized bass out of both of them

Another good option in the Richmond area is DIacund reservoir. It is a very large reservoir but it is electric only so very friendly to the kahyaking crowd. It can be pretty tricky to find the fish but once you do, you can have a day to remember. There is also one of the best set of lilly pad fields in the area at the far north west arm that is awesome but does require a good 4 mile paddle to get there but it is definitely worth the trip and there is some really good fishing along het way as well.

Kobalt reply :

Thanks for the info! I will put Powhatan Lakes and Bear Creek on my list of places to check out before Amelia.

Never heard of that other reservoir. Thanks for the heads up. Not sure about OP, but I live on the east side so that reservoir is 20 minutes closer to me. Im assuming the best place to put in is the official little park thats there?

Sam reply :

Diascund Reservior is off I-95 at the Toano exit.

http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/fishing/waterbodies/display.asp?id=41

Suggest everyone secure a copy of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries booklet, 2013 Freshwater Fishing in Virginia.

The publication lists many places to fish in the geographical Richmond area.

Please be sure to have your fishing license plus your needle nose pliers.

You can also put in at the free Dinwiddie ramp on Lake Chesdin or consider Seven Springs Marina in Chesterfield County. Lake Chesdin is a fun place to try your luck.

Hopewell Marina will put you on the Appomattox and you can either go up the Appomattox or hit the Historic James River. I would suggest heading up the Appomattox as you will have quiet water. Watch out for the water moccasins in the Appomattox.

Watch the weather, too.

Have fun.

Sam reply :

Steveo, how about introducing yourself if you have not already done so.

Kobalt reply :

I had heard about Lake Chesdin, probably from reading stuff on here. Didnt know about the marina letting you put in for free, so thats a great heads up (thats also only about 45 minutes from my place). I think I did some googling on Chesdin and there were mixed reactions as to how good people though it was, but I wont doubt you if you say its fun.

I think I grabbed a copy of that publication you are talking about last time I was at Walmart, but just the list of places there or on the VDGIF is overwhelming without any context.

My plan for tomorrow was to take the kayak out on one of the lakes or reservoirs around here. I went down to the James a few times recently (below the fall line), but without a proper anchor set up I found myself fighting the current all the time and that is exhausting. Hoping one of these lakes/reservoirs I can spend less time fighting currents and more time just fishing. I guess now I just have to decide where to go tomorrow, all these places sound like a blast.

Sam reply :

Kobalt, just put in on the Dinwiddie side and hit the bank towards uplake.

Fish all grass along the bank and go into the coves and creeks, too.

If the wind is not blowing you around you will have a great time.

Other places to consider:

Route 5 Bridge over the Chick River. Head into Gordon creek and fish back into the marsh area.

Chickhominy Lake - Put in at Ed. Allen's and fish all over the lake. Hti the cyprus trees and paddle down to the dam.

Rock-A-Hock Campgrounds - Down the road from Ed. Allen's and you will be on the Chick River. Lots of pads and grass and the dam area can produce from time to time.

Bear Creek - Off Route 60. Good for crappie and bluegills. Bass fishing can be strong.

Sandy River - Off 360. Great kayak lake. No gasoline motors allowed.

Lake Anna - Can get dangerous if the wind turns up the water. Select a marina and put in and go fishing.

On the Historic James River you can put in at these places:

Watkins Landing off 711, Huguenot Trail/Robious Road. Just be on the lookout for the Powhatan people without any teeth.

Just west of the Huguenot Bridge on the southside of the river. Big kayak launching site. Head to Bosher's Dam and do some great smallmouth fishing in the area to the left of the dam.

Robious Park on the street going past James River High School off Robious Road, Route 711. New ramp and the high school kids use it for their rowing practice and meets.

The local rivers can be a major problem if you get caught in a storm or there is heavy wind or current. Always check the tides before fishing a river. Here is the site. All you Virginia guys add this site to your Favoites and check it out when you are planning a fishing adventure on a river:

http://www.saltwatertides.com/dynamic.dir/virginiasites.html

Now you have some places where kyakers are welcome so fish them and as usual, let us know how you do.

stevoj8 reply :

Sorry bout not introducing myself earlier, im a newbie to this forum just like kobalt, Ive lived in Richmond my while life but Ive never heard of the powhatan lakes until recently, somehow. But now I cant wait to get down there and throw in a line! Hopefully Ill br able to make it down there tomorrow morning and try it out, thanks for the info!

Sam reply :

Are you north or south of the Historic James River?

If on southside you have a lot of options as noted above.

If on northside then drive over the Historic James River's Huguenot Road Bridge and put in at Flat Rock and fish up to, around and then back from Bosher's dam. Take Cool Spring Road and go right when it dead ends. Stay right and go straight to the river. Park is on your right. Will probably be many kayakers and those trying to learn the sport.

flyfisher reply :

Not sure which diascund reservoir Sam is referring to but the one in New Kent it is NOT off I-95 but off 64/rt60.

http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/fishing/waterbodies/display.asp?id=41&section=maps

Also, Sandy does allow motors under 10hp and under as does briery creek.

stevoj8 reply :

I live on the North side of the river towards the goochland side of town, never been much for fishing in the James but Ill be sure to try it out some time. Anybody have recent reports on Lake Anna or the Swift Creek Reservoir per chance?

Kobalt reply :

This thread seems to have meandered around a good deal, so I dont feel too bad going "off topic"...

I went out to Chesdin today. Diascund is the same distance away so I basically flipped a coin. When I got to Chesdin (Dinwiddie side) I headed left out of the ramp and hugged the shore and fished every branch and arm of the river I came across. I went about a mile down following the shore, to where houses start becoming prevalent. Unfortunately, I got nothing all day. Spotted a couple nice looking bass (relatively low turbidity) but had no luck snaggen em. I threw mostly a senko and a Baby Boo jig. Im really new to soft plastics though, so it was probably mostly my own shortcomings that left me empty handed. Switched to a KVD Sexy Frog and an old trusty spinner bait for the last couple hours but still had no luck. There is grass every where on the shore, not too much structure, wasnt quite sure where to look for the bass. Disappointed to come back empty handed, but for not knowing the lake at all and not having any skill with soft plastics, it was kind of expected. Still a good 5 hours on the water though. Maybe next weekend I cant get to Disacund.

Tartan reply :

VGIF was doing their surveys this week and last of most of the lakes around the Richmond area...

its weird cause I saw the same pair of dudes at 3 different lakes on three different days doing electro and trapping. was quite amusing...

They obviously didn't recognize me... those Electrofishing boats they had down on Swift Creek lake (Pocahontas) was absolutely nuts!

needless to say the fishing that day was tick poor.

i'm going to Powhatan lakes tomorrow with my wife to give a try....VERY excited reading about the rebuild and the Christmas trees under the docks haha

Tartan reply :

On 6/2/2013 at 9:36 AM, Kobalt said:

This thread seems to have meandered around a good deal, so I dont feel too bad going "off topic"...

Maybe next weekend I cant get to Disacund.

I've never been on a bass boat so if your ever in the mood for some company I'm happy to tag along i'd pay gas and what not to make sure I wasn't entirely hippying my way to big bass.

Kobalt reply :

Well that works, I'll blame the lack of fish on the VGDIF haha

Tartan, what's the news with powhatan lake? How was it and what's the story about the new structure?

I actually have never been on a bass boat either haha, wish I knew someone in town with one. I go out on my kayak, I do have a second one though, although it's only 9 feet long and doesn't track too great...

Sam reply :

On 6/2/2013 at 2:44 AM, flyfisher said:

Not sure which diascund reservoir Sam is referring to but the one in New Kent it is NOT off I-95 but off 64/rt60.

http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/fishing/waterbodies/display.asp?id=41&section=maps

Also, Sandy does allow motors under 10hp and under as does briery creek.Y

Yikes! Yes. It is off I-64, not I-95.

Thanks for the correction.

Am fighting a cold and am not on top of my game.

And yes, Sandy does allow 9.9s. I have a big motor so all I think about is no motor on Sandy.

flyfisher reply :

On 6/3/2013 at 5:13 AM, Sam said:

Yikes! Yes. It is off I-64, not I-95.

Thanks for the correction.

Am fighting a cold and am not on top of my game.

And yes, Sandy does allow 9.9s. I have a big motor so all I think about is no motor on Sandy.

I was a little shocked as you seem to be the guru for all central VA fishing spots

And who needs a big motor when you have arms that paddle :D

Wayne P. reply :

There is another lake no one has mentioned, Nottoway Lake. It is closer to Richmond than Sandy River Res. or Briery Creek Lake. It is the smallest that allows up to a 10 HP gas outboard.

Some standing timber and dollar pads.

Tartan reply :

Powhatan lakes were kinda dead, maybe i'm just a really bad fisherman on lakes that i don't know but jeez wife and i spent 4 and a half hours here with nothing. folks next to us pulled out a 10inch catfish on a pepperoni and a 1/0 hook. that catfish brought 12 dollars worth of a lures with him....it made me kinda sad...

The fish looked like a tackle box.

it had a Strike King Pro Model Crank bait stuck in its mouth and a Rat-L-Trap just jammed in its side near his fins and about 15 feet of line wrapped around him in all sorts of colours with split-shot weights all over the lines.

really made me sad.. but we fixed him up and made sure he wasn't bleeding and he swam off a very happy catfishy.

all 4 of us where saying that why our lures weren't working, the bass are talking to one another when one of our lures buzz by.

"oh just ignore it its only Rattlin' Ray the Catfish he'll go away in a minute"

activity under the docks was pretty awesome to see...though none of those sunfish/crappie/perch wanted to bite.

Sam reply :

Cold front.

We had a cold front move through with rain on Sunday.

Fish shut down the day after a cold front.

Next time you go out to Powhatan Lakes check the weather and make sure the air temperature is stable for two days before and the day of your fishing adventure. If the temperature drops on the day you go fishign you may want to fish for catfish and bluegills as the bass are not going to be that productive.

Kobalt reply :

Tartan that is crazy to hear about that catfish, sorry to hear you didnt catch anything either.

Sam, thanks for the heads up about the cold front, thats really good to know. Sometimes it seems like their are too many variables in bass fishing: current weather, previous weather, sky conditions, temperature, time of day, time of year, body of water, structure/cover, fishing pressure, water turbidity and quality, top water lures, bottom water lures, lure size, lure color, lure noise, line weight, technique, etc etc. And even if you get everything perfect, this fish still might just be in a bad mood! Haha

flyfisher reply :

On 6/3/2013 at 10:22 PM, Wayne P. said:

There is another lake no one has mentioned, Nottoway Lake. It is closer to Richmond than Sandy River Res. or Briery Creek Lake. It is the smallest that allows up to a 10 HP gas outboard.

Some standing timber and dollar pads.

I always wondered about that lake....guess i will be checking it out soon

Tartan reply :

i fished it on sunday morning/afternoon. before the front moved through sunday afternoon

would they know they cold front is coming?

Sam reply :

Barometric pressure.

The bass know.

Mother Nature has blessed the fish with that instinct.

Some say it is their inner bladder that is affected. Others say it is the change in water pressure. And still others say it is the cloud cover and drop in temperatures.

Take your pick.

The bass just know.

Aluma-Bass reply :

Went out to Powhatan Lakes for couple hours yesterday evening with my daughter. As expected, when we arrived water was several feet high and chocolate milk muddy. Didn't seem to bother the fish any, our best 5 was easily over 14lbs bf we ran out of daylight!

with the flooded bushes due to all the rain, can anyone guess what they were feeding up on?

Dintlow reply :

Nice fish. What did you use to catch them?

Aluma-Bass reply :

Most were caught off topwater

Dintlow reply :

Did these come out of the upper or lower lake? Were the fish in deeper water?

WdyCrankbait reply :

Got this one today on the upper lake near the top of the lake.

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