"Constructed in 1947, Airfield is an old lake with tannin-stained waters and abundant aquatic grasses as the water warms in summer," Boyce said. "The fish in Airfield tend to be larger when compared to other lakes in southeast Virginia, but are less abundant.

"Bluegills and pumpkinseeds are most abundant, but fliers are found there in good numbers as well. Fliers are very tolerant of low pH water and do very well in the tannin-stained water, but they don't usually get as large as bluegills. However, fliers to almost a pound have been collected in Airfield during our spring electrofishing samples. The pumpkinseeds do very well in Airfield, too."

Boyce said that timing is very important at the 105-acre Airfield. Come too early and you will not catch many sunfish, as they will be in the deeper portions. Venture forth too late and the submerged aquatic vegetation will make shoreline fishing difficult: Eurasian milfoil growth can be prolific in the summer months. Airfield is electric motor only, no gas motors are allowed. For more information, visit the VDGIF Web site at dgif.virginia.gov

LAKE ANNA CRAPPIE AND BLUEGILLS
Northern and central Virginia families should consider Lake Anna this spring and summer. Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) biologist John Odenkirk said that bluegills here are lightly pressured.

"Anglers who fish for bluegills are almost nonexistent," Odenkirk said. "I am sure there are some kids/families on lakefront docks that fish for bluegills, but they were not captured in our access point creel surveys. On the other hand, black crappie anglers compose a substantial portion of lake anglers, annually about 15 percent, but seasonally, for example, in March, up to about 50 percent.

"Bluegills, as is typical in a large reservoir with many competitors -- for example, white perch, yellow perch, gizzard shad, threadfin shad, blueback herring, redears and pumpkinseeds also live in Anna -- have poor size structure, and it is rare to see one 7 inches. Again, on the other hand, black crappie grow well and get quite large, up to citation size (15 inches or 2 pounds). We often see 10-to 12-inch black crappie in our surveys, which is a nice fish by anybody's standards."

In the spring, Odenkirk suggests that anglers look for black crappie in the upper arms of Anna. Target natural wood and beaver lodges near the main channel and fish mostly in the North Anna River arm around Christopher Run. Later in the spring and perhaps into even early summer, parents and their offspring should fish shallow vegetation, such as water willow beds that lie near 3 to 5 feet of water. Finally, after about mid-May, check out deeper spots along bridge piles and the ends of docks.

"If anglers do want to fish the lower lake, I would normally recommend the upper lake in almost any case, target the marked fish reefs constructed by (guide) C.C. McCotter and the VDGIF," Odenkirk continued. "The reefs hold excellent numbers of black crappie through the summer months in a portion of the lake with limited structure. Especially good spots, specifically reefs, are in the mouth of Hairfield Creek, and at Dike II and Boggs Point."

LAKE MOOMAW YELLOW PERCH
When Jerry Paitsel called me to go to Lake Moomaw with his wife, Linda, and friend Dave Ralston of Rockbridge County, the Alleghany County angler could have offered to take me fishing for the 2,530-acre impoundment's largemouths, smallmouths or trout. After all, many if not most of the lake's anglers consider those species to be the signature game fish there.

Instead, the professional trucker told me that our target species would be yellow perch: a fish that is not native to the area and that was not stocked when the lake came into existence over 25 years ago. However, this panfish did come to inhabit this northwest Virginia body of water, one thing is now obvious -- ringtails have become a major presence in Moomaw. The state record was even caught there, a 2-pound, 7-ounce giant that Tim Austin landed on March 20, 1999. What's more, yellow perch are a very kid-friendly fish, more than willing to bite a variety of live baits and lures.