Our Guides
Jim Hemby
I have been fishing for the last 50 years. My father started me off fishing every weekend since I was 5 years old fishing for Bass on the Potomac. In the 80's I got into BASS Tournaments and fished on average 20 to 25 tournaments a year till I moved to Lake Anna in 1989 to build and operate a marina down lake [Pleasants Landing] with my wife. Living on the water we fished together a lot for Bass until one day she hooked a 15 pound Striper on a jerkbait and that's when I got hooked on Striper Fishing. I was always addicted to fishing but the thrill of locating and fighting Stripers made me go crazy! After meeting and fishing with some friends who also were addicted [Anthony Hicks "Striperholic", Danny Ratcliff "Baitrunner" and Gene Hord "a guide who knew every Striper by name back then"], I knew guiding for stripers would be my destiny. I fished with artificial lures for 6 or 8 years until I realized what Gizzard Shad and Herring would do to a Striper. Now I always have a tank of bait on board along with my favorite lures. I guided as an associate guide for another service on the lake for a couple of years before starting Lake Anna Striper Guide Service. Throughout the years my customer base has grown to the point that I had to bring on another guide [John Chadduck] to help out . John and I team up daily on the water to locate the schools of Stripers for our clients.
My Fishing Techniques: When the fish are shallow I will pull 8 to 10 planner boards rigged with Gizzards and/or Herring along with a Bobber way behind the boat and a freeline. When the fish are in transition I will usually employ 15 rods at a time, usually 8 planner boards, 6 downlines and a bobber to cover all the water column depths running a spread of about 80 yards. Once the fish go deep I fish for them with 10 downline rods putting the baits right in their faces. For shallow fish we throw topwater plugs and swimbaits, and when they go deep we jig spoons and flukes.
My Boat:
I fish out of a 2007 22' Crest Super Fisherman Center Console Tri Toon. The boat is very spacious and comfortable with couches,
fishing chairs and a 9' Bimini Top to keep my clients cool in the summer and dry in the rain. There is plenty of room for 5 fisherman, and by far this is the best
platform configuration to fish live bait from. Some of the features rigged on the boat are:
- Yamaha 150 HP Four Stroke motor
- Minn Kota Auto Pilot trolling motor with copilot
- Lowrance X26 color HD Depthfinder and GPS on the dash [along with 2 additional Lowrance units]
- 3 built in Livewells to keep fish in
- 50 Gallon Bluewater Bait Tank
- 16 Driftmaster Rod Holders
- ...and many other features that enable us to fish is style!
Tackle: I fish with light tackle supplied by Pure Fishing. We use Ambassador 6500c's for reels, 7' and 7'10&quo; Berkley Lighting Rods, Berkley Big Game ,Vanish Fluorocarbon leader and Braid. I use Water Bugz Planner boards and use Eagle Claw Circle hooks for live bait.
John Chadduck
John also grew up fishing at an early age, fishing a millpond with his grandfather in Fredericksburg, VA until he was old enough to drive. He then Bass fished for 5 years until being bitten by the Striper bug. In 1987 he went to Smith Mountain Lake for a week and the first fish he caught was an 18 pound Striper . John has had "tunnel vision" ever since and like myself can't get enough Striper fishing. He learned on Smith Mountain to how to catch bait and ways to fish them and he also learned how to troll. He learned, from local guides there, different techniques as to when to Jig the deep trees for Stripers as well as when it is more productive to use live bait or troll artificial baits. In 2000 he started concentrating his efforts on Lake Anna and has learned to apply his fishing styles here to constantly catch Stripers. Although John is extremely versatile I believe his expertise lies in trolling. I have witnessed him trolling umbrella rigs, twin bucktails ,shad baits and crankbaits on downriggers, leadcore line and braided line and planner boards, 8 rods out at a time with all his clients up reeling fish in and not tangling a fish! Don't try that yourself folks, it' tough. He normally will troll in the summer months nearby where I am fishing . If I locate a school I will put live bait out and if they are quality fish I will call him over and while he is trolling when he locates a school he will return the favor, enabling both of us to keep our clients on fish. Of course there are times, when the fish are shallow, when he will resort to live bait fishing and certainly when his clients prefer to fish live bait he will do so.
John's Boat: John runs a 22' Pro Sport Deck Boat rigged with:
- 130 HP Honda
- Minn Kota Trolling Motor
- 40 gallon Ron Vest Bait tank
- Driftmaster Rod holders
- ...and several amenities for his clients' comfort!
John's Tackle: John's live bait tackle is the same as mine and he uses Penn 209 and 309 Reels and heaver rods for trolling.
There is absolutely no other guide or fisherman on the lake who can cover as much water as efficiently as I can with live bait or troller that can cover the the entire water column with artificial baits like John can with the experience and knowledge that we both possess for fishing for Striped Bass.
To view our catches, check out my Journal.