Fishing Near Richmond, VA: Why More Anglers Are Making the Trip to Lake Anna

Richmond is surrounded by excellent fishing. Whether you prefer chasing river smallmouth, flipping shallow grass for largemouth, or targeting striped bass, you'll find quality fisheries within an hour or two of the city.

Every lake around Richmond fishes a little differently, and each has something unique to offer. While we spend most of our time guiding on Lake Anna, we've fished many of the waters Central Virginia anglers call home. Here's what makes each destination special—and why so many anglers eventually find themselves making the drive to Lake Anna.

James River

The James River is Richmond's backyard fishery and one of Virginia's most diverse waterways.

For bass anglers, it's known for outstanding smallmouth fishing in the upper river, where current, rock ledges, and shoals create ideal habitat. Downstream, the river produces quality largemouth bass and some of the biggest blue catfish in the country. During the spring, striped bass make their annual spawning run, giving anglers a chance to catch migratory fish without leaving Central Virginia.

If you enjoy reading current, fishing moving water, or spending a day in a kayak, the James is hard to beat.

Chickahominy River

If the James is about current, the Chickahominy is all about shallow cover.

Lily pads, cypress trees, grass beds, docks, and fallen timber make it one of Virginia's classic largemouth bass fisheries. It's the type of lake where frogs, flipping jigs, chatterbaits, and spinnerbaits shine, and it's easy to see why it has developed such a loyal following among bass anglers.

For anglers who love shallow-water fishing, the Chickahominy deserves every bit of its reputation.

Lake Chesdin

Lake Chesdin is often overlooked, but it shouldn't be.

Located just south of Richmond, Chesdin offers healthy largemouth bass populations, lighter fishing pressure than many larger lakes, and a fishery that continues to improve. Recent F1 largemouth bass stockings have generated excitement about the lake's future, and it remains one of the better options for anglers looking to stay close to Richmond.

If you enjoy traditional reservoir fishing around docks, points, and shoreline cover, Lake Chesdin is worth exploring.

Why Lake Anna Is Different

Lake Anna isn't just another bass lake.

It fishes differently because it was built differently.

Unlike many Virginia reservoirs that are dominated by threadfin shad or shallow cover, Lake Anna is a blueback herring fishery. Blueback herring spend much of their lives in open water, and the bass and striped bass follow them. Instead of living exclusively around the shoreline, fish often roam offshore structure, chasing bait across long points, humps, creek channels, bridge pilings, brush piles, and submerged timber.

That's why techniques like walking topwaters, swimbaits, spoons, underspins, and forward-facing sonar have become such important parts of fishing Lake Anna. It's an offshore fishery that rewards anglers who understand bait movement and seasonal migration patterns.

The second thing that makes Lake Anna unique is the North Anna Power Station.

The warm-water discharge creates a section of the lake that stays significantly warmer than most Virginia reservoirs during the winter. That warmer water keeps baitfish active and gives both bass and striped bass an opportunity to feed throughout the year. While many Virginia lakes slow dramatically once water temperatures fall, Lake Anna continues to produce quality fishing through every season.

Finally, there's the striped bass fishery.

Lake Anna receives annual striped bass stockings from the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, creating one of the premier inland striper fisheries in the Commonwealth. Combined with the lake's abundant blueback herring forage, those fish grow quickly and provide exciting action whether you're trolling, live bait fishing, or casting to surface-feeding schools.

When you combine a blueback herring forage base, a thermally influenced section of the lake, consistent striped bass stockings, and a healthy largemouth bass population, you get a fishery unlike anything else within easy driving distance of Richmond.

Looking Beyond Freshwater

If you're willing to drive a little farther, Virginia Beach opens the door to an entirely different experience. The Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean offer excellent opportunities for red drum, cobia, speckled trout, flounder, and a variety of offshore species depending on the season.

Saltwater fishing is absolutely worth experiencing, but for anglers looking to stay on freshwater while still targeting trophy-caliber bass and striped bass, Lake Anna remains one of the best options in Virginia.

The Best Fishing Near Richmond Depends on What You're Looking For

Richmond anglers are fortunate to have so many quality fisheries nearby.

The James River offers outstanding smallmouth fishing and world-class blue catfish.

The Chickahominy is one of Virginia's best shallow-water bass lakes. Lake Chesdin is a consistently productive reservoir that's only getting better.

But if your goal is to catch both largemouth bass and striped bass on a fishery that fishes twelve months a year, it's hard to find another lake in Virginia that compares to Lake Anna.

That's why so many anglers from Richmond make the one-hour drive. They aren't just fishing another lake—they're fishing a completely different type of fishery.

If you've never experienced chasing bass and stripers on a blueback herring lake, we'd love to show you what makes Lake Anna one of Virginia's true destination fisheries.