Boating & Fishing

Boating

Recreation on RA Lakes

Reston's four man-made lakes (Lake Anne, Lake Thoreau, Lake Audubon and Lake Newport) provide members abundant recreation opportunities. While swimming and ice skating are not permitted, fishing, boating, wildlife watching and lakeside picnicking are all available to RA members and their guests.

Boat Permits

Two types of boat permit are available for Reston Association members— a permanently moored boat permit for deck boats and pontoon boats moored to the shoreline year-round and a hand-carried General Access boat permit for boats removed from the lake after use.

All hand carried boats that are used on RA Lakes require a General Lake Access Permit that corresponds to the current boat owner. A General Access permit is free for RA members and unavailable to non-members. Please contact Member Services or Watershed Department to submit the application form to obtain the red permit. Hand carried boats are kayaks, canoes, pedal boats, sailboards, inflatable boats, windsurfers and stand-up paddleboards. Please download the Boat Guide for further questions about hand carried boats.

Each year Reston Association conducts an extensive monitoring program of all permanently moored pontoon and deck boats on Reston’s lakes. During that process, our staff checks for the current mooring permit to be visible on boats. We also check the condition and size of boats to ensure that they meet the requirements outlined in RA’s rules and regulations. Download the Reston Association Boat Guide and learn about rules, regulations, and yearly fees associated with boats in Reston.

Members interested in becoming the owner of a permanently moored boat should review the Boat Guide and contact Reston Association to confirm the boat they are obtaining meets association standards. RA staff will also confirm with the boat owner the size category associated with the boat. Boat owners must complete a Permanent Mooring Permit Application to register a new boat and be be appropriately billed for the boat permit fee. Payment for the permanent mooring fees are paid annually starting April 1. For questions associated with boat registrations and renewals, please contact Ben Rhoades at 703-435-6535 or by email at watershed@reston.org. The permit application form can be downloaded here.

Lake Anne Summer Boat Rentals

We invite you to take advantage of this great way to view Lake Anne from a different viewpoint. Bring your friends or family and enjoy the beauty of this great treasure in Reston. Enjoy a journey across Lake Anne in a pedal boat ($20), single or tandem kayak($20) and stand up paddleboard($20). Rentals are sold onsite at Washington Plaza on the boat dock by a RA staff member. No reservations are taken or required, they are rented on a first come first serve basis for one hour increments and paid by cash only. For more information, please contact RAboatrentals@reston.org.

Hours of Operation (September)

Friday: 3 p.m. - 7 p.m.*

Saturday & Sunday: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.*

*Last rental 1 hr. before closing

Labor Day: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Closed for the Season Sept 24, 2023.

Policies

Renters (groups) must have a parent or guardian, 18 years of age or older to complete a waiver.

Passengers 16-17 years old may operate and ride boats without an 18-year-old aboard.

Passengers under 16 must have a boat operator who is 18 or older.

All passengers must wear a lifejacket (provided at dock).

Animals are not permitted in boats.

Passengers must stay in boats; swimming is not permitted in any Reston Association lakes.

Canoe & Kayak Rental Space

Reston Association offers secure fenced outdoor racks for canoe and kayak storage. Access available 24hrs, 7 days a week. Annual prices listed below for 2021.

Member: $126.50
Non-member: $156.40

Stand Up Paddle Boarding (SUP)

Stand Up Paddle Boarding (SUP) is the fastest growing water sport in America for several great reasons. It’s a low impact full body workout that’s easy to learn, as well as a great outdoor activity that stimulates the mind and body. With a gentle learning curve, you’ll be able to advance your paddling technique and skills much faster than with most sports, all while having fun exploring some of Reston Association's amazing lakes.

Our instructional methodology offers a step-by-step approach to aid in your skill development. One of the best ways to learn is in our group SUP lessons, where you, friends, or family will receive personal instruction on land and on the water. During our lessons, you’ll learn how to stand on your board, hold your paddle, and utilize different paddling techniques for propulsion and steering. Regardless of age, weight, or experience, everyone will begin to feel more comfortable and gain confidence by using their legs and core muscles to maintain stability on the water. . For more information, contact RABoatRentals@reston.org.

Canoe & Kayak Rental Space

Reston Association offers secure fenced outdoor racks for canoe and kayak storage. Access available 24hrs, 7 days a week. Annual prices listed below for 2023. Please contact CSFstaff@reston.org for availability.

Member: $126.50
Non-member: $156.40

Fishing in Reston

Reston's four lakes are available for fishing. Many species of fish may be caught including largemouth bass, channel catfish, crappie, bluegill, sunfish and others. Here are a few simple reminders to help make your fishing experience pleasant:

Public docks for fishing include the Lake Anne Village Center dock, the dock on Lake Newport dam, and the dock by the Lake Thoreau pool at Sunrise Valley Drive.
There are no public docks on Lake Audubon; however, there is a rocky fishing point that was built down the path from the Lake Audubon boat ramp parking lot.
Anglers 16 years and older must have a Virginia fishing license.
Residents may fish from RA-owned property, which includes the dams on each lake.
Much of the shoreline around each lake is private. Please respect the "No Trespassing" and "Private Property" areas indicated by signs.
Anglers are required to release the Triploid Grass Carp, should they be caught. We stock these fish in our lakes to help with aquatic plant management. They are sterile and do not reproduce.
Anglers are encouraged to remove all common koi (goldfish) that are caught in the lake. Koi negatively impact the ecosystems of our lake.
Please contact RA if any snakeheads are caught in our lakes. Snakeheads are an invasive non-native species in Virginia’s waterbodies; however, we have yet to identify snakeheads in our lakes.
Please help keep Reston’s lakes and watersheds clean by not littering. Our lakes and streams eventually connect with the Potomac River, Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Monofilament line recycling stations can be found on Lake Thoreau.
Reston Association lakes are storm water facilities, therefore, daily consumption of fish from the lakes is not recommended. Following recommendations by the Virginia Department of Health, people should consume two meals per month or less of fish caught in these lakes.

Fisheries Management Goal

Each of the four lakes has an established fish population that has reached the carrying capacity for the water body. Our goal is to improve the largemouth bass population and populations of other desirable species in the lake. Improvements are to be made in the growth rates, sizes, numbers and reproductive potential of each species.

Fishing Guidelines

Based on the 2019 Department of Game & Inland Fisheries fish survey and RA’s aquatic consultants, the following fishing guidelines have been established for RA’s lakes:

Lakes Audubon, Anne and Thoreau

All fish over 12" must be immediately released
Bass: Anglers may keep up to 5 bass less than 12" per day. All bass 12” or larger must be released.
Black Crappie may be harvested at a limit of 5 fish per day.

Lake Newport
Catch and release all fish.

2019 Fish Population Survey

In May of 2019, Reston Association worked with Virginia’s Department of Game & Inland Fisheries (DGIF) to conduct a Fish Population Survey of Lakes Audubon, Thoreau and Anne. They utilized a boat that temporarily stuns fish so they can be netted, identified, weighed and measured and returned to the lake. Because this survey was conducted as a community service, an official report was not provided. However, they did provide the following guidance:

All three lakes sampled were predator heavy. Lake Audubon and Lake Thoreau were rated as excellent fisheries given their location and size. Lake Anne was less productive than Thoreau and Audubon.

Lake Audubon
Audubon was the best: best predator/prey ratio, best bass indices and best bluegill/redear indices (for size structure and abundance). The fish DGIF caught on Lake Audubon consisted of 214 bass per hour (very high), 155 bluegill per hour, and 68 redear. These numbers are inverted. There should be many more prey items than predators. DGIF saw 9 bass over 15" (those considered "preferred" - a national metric). There was a bass bottleneck between 9 to 12", meaning bass that size were too plentiful. All Black Crappie should be harvested. They only contribute to this bottleneck. The Redear Sunfish population in the lake is among the best (if not the best) the DGIF fisheries biologist had ever seen. They caught redear up to 12" and citations well over one pound in Lake Audubon during the survey. This is a benefit of predator heavy (as is having high angler catch rates albeit mostly smaller bass). DGIF also saw small numbers of Green Sunfish, Yellow Bullhead and American Eel in Lake Audubon.

Lake Thoreau
Similar to Audubon, but not quite as good. Still good bluegill and redear, but not fantastic. The fish DGIF caught on Lake Thoreau consisted of 158 largemouth bass per hour, 70 bluegill per hour and redear 43 per hour (both less, but commensurate with reduction in bass). Only 4 bass over 15" were caught during the survey at Lake Thoreau. It was DGIF’s opinion that Lake Thoreau is a good fishery to be sure, but the bass bottleneck was more pronounced, when compared with Lake Audubon, with lower indices in size structure.

Anne
Lake Anne was less productive and had different results than Lake Audubon and Lake Thoreau. The fish DGIF caught on Lake Anne consisted of: a bass catch rate of 124/hour with both sunfish combined for only 68/hour. Only one bass over 15" was caught during the survey on Lake Anne. One common carp was caught during the survey. Also many koi were caught, which DGIF removed from the lake.

For a video on the fish survey, click here.