In several fishing regions, Virginia crappie fishing can be incredibly productive and offers new anglers a great opportunity to build confidence in their ability to catch a good number of fish. By following tips to enjoy Virginia crappie fishing at excellent lakes, you can start off with a wonderful amount of good-sized specimens that will make you want to come back for more.



Lake Cohoon is a prized Virginia crappie fishing lake in the tidewater region. Part of the Portsmouth city water supply, this 510-acre lake is a great place to find plenty of good-sized specimens, ranging from eight to eleven inches, with records showing crappie of up to sixteen inches in length. Check out the "S" curves in the upper part of the lake where there are a number of fallen trees providing a natural covered habitat for crappie. The water is also slightly stained, giving crappie an advantage, since they don't particularly care for clear waters in most circumstances. Cypress trees and other vegetation add to the natural cover that attracts and breeds large quantities of crappie.

In the southern Piedmont region, you'll find adequate Virginia crappie fishing at Smith Mountain Lake. While you may not catch a large number of fish, the ones you grab will be quite sizeable. There is no heavy pressure on this lake, so there is never a lack of good sized, mature crappie due to over harvesting. Because it is a large impoundment, the food that allows for the crappie to gain such size is the typical shad and alewives, as well as small sunfish and minnows. One problem with Smith is its lack of heavy cover as a natural habitat for the crappie. However, they can find what they need along the shoreline in the summer months.

If you are in the southern mountain region of Virginia, crappie fishing is excellent at North Fork Pound Lake. Built in 1966, it consists of 154 acres with a 13-mile shoreline that provides abundant structure and coverage for crappie seclusion. The VDGIF has stocked the lake well with eight-inch crappie that continue to spawn in the cover provided by hinge-cut trees and other vegetation. You might also take note of the 7,580-acre South Holston Lake, 1,600 acres of which is still maintained under the rights of Virginia, despite that it has become a project of the Tennessee Valley Authority. Here, you'll get a chance to fish for both white and black crappie, though the latter are the more prominent in South Holston. Some samples of large black crappie have shown sizes up to fifteen inches in length, and three-pounders are certainly not unheard of.