...

Bass – Able Lake

Articles on this site are out of date since some go back to 2006. Regulations and property ownership may have changed since publication. It is your responsibility to know and obey all regulations and not trespass on private property.

With a great sunny day upon us, the Basswife demanded to be taken fishing on a lake. Last week, I put her on the Rappahannock river and we had not done as well as she demands. With the pressure on, I decided to take the quick run down to Abel Lake to see if we could do any better than the last time.

To put the bottom line up front, we were totally skunked. We had a few takes at the southern end of the lake, but no hookups and certainly we did not touch a fish all day. So, it ended up being more of a scenic drive-  motoring down the long, narrow lake at 3.5 mph – the max my trolling motor would produce.

We tried a little bit of everything. Plastic worms, crawfish, grubs and I even put of popper on my 13 foot Tenkara rod to flip it at the shoreline. While I had some vicious strikes by the bluegills, nothing large enough to suck down the size two hook on the frog pattern I was using.

I was amazed at the number of other boats on the water. Given the size of the lake, the pressure rating remains “yellow”, but there were more people here than I had ever seen before.

Some high school kids were providing a high dive exhibition on the tall cliffs on the eastern side of the lake below the road. The lake is very deep in most places and I did not see anyone plunge to a horrible death. Their joyous screams and yells echoed down the steep valley created by the tall hills that form a narrow envelope to hold the water.

But, I am not complaining. Any day on the water is a good day.

Getting There: From I95, take exit 140 onto Rt 630 towards Stafford. Turn left on Ramoth Church Road followed by a left on Kellogg Mill Road. Stay on that road until you reach the lake. The launch area is on the west bank after you go across the bridge

Secrets Revealed? No. This is a very public location that is documented in on the Virginia VDGIF website.

Tell a friend about this article by clicking on this link

Date Fished: 6/5/2011

We fished the coves

Everyone was working the shoreline

Every cove had a boat

Even the upper lake was unproductive

Unless stated otherwise, this article was authored by Steve Moore

Disclaimer and Warning:  The contents of this site reflect the opinion of the author and you, the reader, must exercise care in the use and interpretation of this information.  Fishing is a dangerous sport.  You can slip and fall on rocks and sustain severe injury.  You can drown.  You can get hooks caught in your skin, face, eyes or other sensitive places.  All sorts of bad things can happen to you when to go into the woods to visit the places documented here.  Forests, streams and lakes are wild areas and any number of bad things can happen.  You must make your own judgment in terms of acceptable behavior and risk and not rely on anything posted here.  I disclaim all liability and responsibility for any actions you take as a result of reading the articles on this site.  If you do not agree with this, you should not read anything posted on this site.

Disclaimer and Warning:  The contents of this site reflect the opinion of the author and you, the reader, must exercise care in the use and interpretation of this information.  Fishing is a dangerous sport.  You can slip and fall on rocks and sustain severe injury.  You can drown.  You can get hooks caught in your skin, face, eyes or other sensitive places.  All sorts of bad things can happen to you when to go into the woods to visit the places documented here.  Forests, streams and lakes are wild areas and any number of bad things can happen.  You must make your own judgment in terms of acceptable behavior and risk and not rely on anything posted here.  I disclaim all liability and responsibility for any actions you take as a result of reading the articles on this site.  If you do not agree with this, you should not read anything posted on this site.

Scroll to Top