My father in law was in town to visit for Christmas, and deer hunting and duck hunting had been extremely slow. So, I decided it was time for a fishing trip to keep the juices flowing. It had been a long time since I had fished with Chris McCotter at Lake Anna (McCotter's Lake Anna Guide Service  https://www.facebook.com/McCottersLakeAnnaGuideService/  ) so I shot him a quick e-mail hoping he had a half day to get us out on the water for a striped bass.
Turns out that Chris was more than willing to take us, plus my father, out on the lake and educate me on some winter fishing. We arrived at 7 AM at High Point Marina as Chris was backing his Grizzly boat into the cold waters of Lake Anna. After taking care of business in the marina, we headed to the boat to reacquaint ourselves with Chris.
If you have never fished with Chris McCotter you are missing out. This is particularly true if you want to learn about Lake Anna. McCotter also runs Woods and Waters magazine (https://www.facebook.com/Woods-Waters-Magazine-324686819747/)   which is read statewide and covers the gauntlet of the outdoors with informative articles, tips and destinations for outdoorsmen and women. Chris also knows Anna like the back of his hand.
Within fifteen minutes or so of running uplake to a location Chris thought we might see some striped bass, we were casting swimbaits to feeding stripers. It was not long before my father hung one and brought it boatside for Chris to net. Not long after that I was able to catch my first hybrid (a striped bass/white bass cross) and put him in the livewell.
Chris moved us around to try to to stay on top of the fish and we kept pecking at them throughout the morning adding another three fish to the livewell and then returning one that was just shy of ending up on the supper table.
Once the striper bite died off some, Chris took the time to tutor me on the side imaging of his Hummingbird sonar unit. I was amazed at the clarity of the unit as I watched the screen show boulders, fish, shadows of fish, pier pilings and even rocks! Chris was very patient with my rapid fire questions about the unit and its abilities and it was obvious he was well tuned to how to squeeze all the info out of the sonar that he could to put clients on fish.
We caught up on the past 15 years (Man I waited too long to get back out and fish with him!) and discussed everything from bird hunting, dog training, duck hunting and even kids. The weather started to warm up and since the striper were no longer in a feeding frenzy, Chris took us over to a dock he knew that held crappie. We picked at them for a bit with my father in law catching most of them. Since they were not ready for the pan, we decided to call it a day, get some photos and make plans for a trip in the future. Chris was kind enough to get some photos with my camera for us (ALL PHOTOS BY CHRIS McCOTTER) and I appreciate him doing so. I don't get to appear in many photos with my father, let alone  my father and father in law.
I plan on booking Chris for a summer bite for the striper and hybrids.

I can tell you the fish were soooo good tonight that I was not able to get any photos of the filets after they were cooked. They kept disappearing from the plate before I could get my camera. I cooked some with Old Bay, some with Creole and some with Blackened Cajun spice from Kenny's. Not one piece was left!
Thanks Chris for your professionalism, kindness and a great day out on the lake. What a great change of pace it was to catch fish instead of pull the trigger on meat!

NWTF has been a leader, not only in conservation, but also in exposing people to the joys of the outdoors and our tradition of hunting and shooting. The Women In The Outdoors program is one of the ways that NWTF has been successful. The Virginia coordinator for this group is Julie Abel. Miss Julie, as the younger women refer to her, has encouraged my daughter, KD, to start utilizing the young ladies in the King George Outdoor Club and form a Young Women In The Outdoors group.
KD held her first event December 2nd which was an informal fun shoot. She invited 12 young ladies over to learn how to shoot pistol and shotgun. We have a very rudimentary range that will allow basic shooting on our property and it served its purpose.
KD put up Shoot N C targets provided by Howard Communications and Birchwood Casey. These targets were used for their ease of seeing where shots were going. Each young lady was given personal one on one instruction on safety and shooting stance, hold of the handgun and then minor corrections and tuning up of the shooting was done by Mark Fike, Mr. Randall (one of our dad's to a young lady). Mr. Randall was an expert shot and once was on the Army pistol team. We also had some great assistance from Mrs. Cupka whose daughter Sam was attention. Mrs. Cupka is a former police officer and was great helping the young ladies get their shooting stance and maintaining safety first and foremost.
After the girls were hitting their targets with regularity, (and that did not take long for them to do), KD put up "bad guy targets" and the girls went to work taking out the bad guy. We have heard that some of the girls now have their target displayed on their walls at home!
The shotgun shooting was next and some instruction was again given before bright orange clays were hurled skyward. The girls were all able to give the shooting a try until they were satisfied they had shot enough. The day was cold and some venison soup was on tap to warm up moms and daughters. NWTF was the sponsor for this event and it went off without a hitch. Some mental notes were made to improvements/adjustments that will be taken care of for next time and the girls were encouraged to come back again when the weather is better for more events.
If you are interested in participating in the Young Women In The Outdoors, please contact KD at [email protected]

Winter Outdoors
Mark Fike
Deer hunting   
As I type this, there is still a few weeks of deer season left. However, some hunters have lost interest until the final week citing fewer deer to be had and tougher conditions. There are a few tricks to put the odds in a late season deer hunter’s favor. First, don’t get up at the crack of dawn and freeze yourself out of your stand. Go later, stay a bit longer and if the woods are dry, sit tight and don’t walk around so much. The deer have patterned most hunters and understand what crunching leaves and slamming truck doors mean. They also know most hunters leave the woods before lunch. Go out around 9 and stick it out for the last few hours. Guys leaving the woods before lunch move deer around and maybe to you.
Go hunting on bad weather days. Few hunters are out on those days. Windy days are my favorite to hunt in late season. On those days I stalk and I do it very slowly. Deer may be bedded or they may be looking for food to warm up. Look for them on southern facing slopes late morning. Walk slowly and watch for ears flickering, horizontal back lines and odd shapes. Walk only when the wind covers your noise and walk crosswind or into the wind. Rainy days are the same. Hunting during a light rain is a bit tough but the deer cannot hear you very well. Use that to your advantage.
Rabbit and squirrel hunting
King George and the surrounding areas have plenty of rabbits and squirrels. I love to hear the sound of a pack of beagles rousting a rabbit. Find a friend that has dogs and enjoy working the dogs some. New rabbit hunters need to understand that the rabbits are almost always well out in front of the dogs. Sometimes you see a rabbit dash from cover 200 yards in front of a dog! Keep the shotguns handy, wear orange and stay within sight of your buddies while hunting so you are safe. Some light loads of #6s do the job well and a 20 gauge will be sufficient. Take the kids too. Talking is OK until the dogs strike and start moving the rabbit back to you. Then quiet down and watch for movement but never shoot until you are SURE it is a rabbit. Talk about some fine eating! The backstraps of a rabbit are scrumptious.
Squirrels are feeding primarily on leftover nuts and are scrounging on the forest floor now. A .22 rifle is better than a shotgun because you have more range, but please be mindful of using a backstop when shooting. Find a good oak or hickory lot and go sit among the trees for a half hour. The squirrels will start appearing when they think the coast is clear. Squirrel stew is a great way to warm up after some winter time outdoors! Use a crock pot to tenderize the meat right off the bones and then put that in your favorite version of vegetable soup. Add some of your favorite spices (mine is Creole seasoning) and then let it simmer slowly for a few hours. Add a side of fresh baked cornbread. YUM!
Fishing
I would be remiss not to mention that on warm stretches of weather the pond fishing for bass and crappie can be spectacular. Last winter we had three days of warm weather and I hit a pond and used beetle spins and knocked out five bass over 2 pounds in an hour off steep points near shallow water. We picked up a few crappie that were nice size too! Give fishing a try under those conditions and take home some fresh fish to break up the venison routine.