tidewater fishing report april 6 2018 This weekend we took a “Plan B” trip.

The weather wasn’t agreeing with our plans. For some risk management and long weekend fishing, we opted for a local reservoir and campground.

The Friday weather forecast was partly sunny, gusty winds, with a high of 70 degrees. The Saturday forecast called for cold, rain, and a wintery mix.

We headed out to Newport News Park instead of the Rivanna River as we originally planned.

Tidewater Virginia Fishing Report April 6 2018

You need a Plan B backup if you’re thinking is that Plan A might not work out so well. Check out my earlier Plan B posting.

Instead of frozen tents, snow, and hypothermia, we opted for a later day rain, wind chill, mediocre temperatures, and getting some quality fishing and campfire time.

A beautiful fishing day on Newport News reservoir.

A quick last minute stop by the local grocer for some big caveman steaks was in order. In my case, I asked the butcher for a nice thick ribeye. It really helps getting to know those folks when you want a specialty item.

Newport News campground was mostly empty, the reservoir as well.

At the boat ramp it was gusty winds, mostly sunny skies, chilly, and the water temperature was 58 degrees as measured with my Fishpond swift current thermometer, it’s accurate, and it works great. I have mine tied to a 10-foot length of paracord. Check out the current pricing of the Fishpond swift current thermometer and customer reviews here on Amazon.

The Fishpond fly fishing swift current thermometer isn’t just for fly fishing. But it works good for that also.

Newport News Reservoir Fishing Report

Scott caught a nice bass, about 18 inches just as we were trolling our canoe out towards the upper end of the reservoir.

There was a ton of submerged vegetation. My new favorite lure, the Berkley Flicker Shad wasn’t going to work well here. I tried a Bomber Square A chartreuse and black shallow diver to one rod, and a Berkley Power Bait camo worm to the other rod.

Scott nabbed another, a smaller bass on a Zoom white fluke.

I finally reeled in my first largemouth bass on the Bomber Square A chartreuse and black shallow diver, along with an acre of vegetation.

About this time, Scott figured out the bass were up in the shallows, up nesting on their beds.

We managed to reel in a total of 8 largemouth bass throughout the day. My largest was a 20 inch 4.75 pounder. Scott now has a digital scale so we can weigh these hawgs.

Dinner Time

When checking in, we were handed a detailed lengthy list of do’s and don’t. No fires until 4 p.m. No fires after midnight. Fines! Plan accordingly! Sigh, civilization …

No fires until after 4 p.m.

We got our fire going and burned it down to a nice bed of coals for some grilled caveman sized steaks.

Using my campfire grill grate, we slapped on our dinner menu. Before starting up the fire, I put my 1.65-pound ribeye in a zip-top bag along with my go-to campfire marinade for a nice long soak — with an occasional turn and gentle massage.

A 1.65 pound caveman ribeye steak cooked over an open fire. Doesn’t get much better than this.

The Only Campfire Marinade You’ll Ever Need

●  1 cup olive oil – use the good stuff
●  1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves, minimal stems please
●  3 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
●  1 teaspoon or more of red pepper flakes, get the good stuff, we use this
●  1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
●  1/2 to 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, get the good stuff, we use this
●  zest of one lemon, it comes free with the lemon
●  juice of one lemon

Tip: press and roll that lemon on your cutting board. You’ll get a lot more juice for the squeeze.

Tip: fresh spices are way better than those big-box store bottles and jars that have been sitting on those hot warehouse shelves for months on end.

Mix everything in a canning jar and give it a good shake.

Cooking Steaks Over A Campfire

These inexpensive heavy-duty camp grill grates are amazing and will last you several years of good use. They are good for those last minute camping trips, backyard fire pit cooking, or in your bug-out location. I have several; check out the latest heavy-duty camp grill Amazon customer reviews and price information here. Clean-up is easy enough using one of those steel wool soap pads.

I packed along my ThermoWorks ThermoPop instant read thermometer. After getting a nice sear on one side, I flipped my mastodon ribeye and moved it off to the side for a slow cook — monitoring the internal temperature for that perfect medium rare. Scott put his porterhouse on the grate for a good sear. Check out my ThermoPop instant read thermometer review here, you need one for any kind of grilling or fire pit cooking.

We managed to get gourmet quality meals off this campfire grill grate. Grilled asparagus with a simple melted butter sauce and perfectly grilled medium rare campfire steaks. Scott didn’t schmooze up to his local grocer for a good steak like I did. His preference is the porterhouse cut. I schmoozed and got the caveman ribeye cut.

Then we tossed more logs on the fire and listened to the nighttime critters and waited for the rain and the wintery mix.