Way South Chesapeake and Virginia Fishing Report, 5/25/2018:
This week we're excited to report that flounder have started becoming more active bayside, and have been concentrated around the CBBT as well as in the Virginia Beach area inlets. Most have continued to take chartreuse and white soft plastics and GULPs jigged near bottom. With each passing day, the bite has continued to pick up and we expect it to further improve, says Oceans East.
Cobia have also begun to make a showing in VA waters, and considering the reports we heard from North Carolina of huge schools heading northward (dating back to Monday and photo confirmed), should be in our area in significant numbers very soon - as in, this weekend could be hot. Black drum have also been making their presence known to anglers fishing the mouth of the Bay and around the CBBT with peeler crab, and their numbers have been steadily increasing. The Cape Charles area has also produced some big redfish for anglers soaking peeler crab and fresh bunker. Meanwhile surf fishing has been on fire, both for big blues (on cut mullet) and some black drum (on clams); see the Coastal report for more info.
Rockfish still haven't really taken off yet down the Bay, as the bite continues to be lackluster for trophy-sized fish. Up in the mouths of the Western Shore tributaries it's a better striper bite, mostly for fish in the mid 20 to low 30 inch range. Jiggers report decent catches on soft plastics and dark colors are doing better now, thanks to discoloration from all the rain, which is affecting virtually every river. The Windmill/Stingray point areas have been a good destination for jigging and trolling six-inch tandems and shad. Unfortunately, however, we just aren't hearing much (anything) about specks or reds up the Bay just yet.
We did have a reader report that croaker were still biting on bloodworms in the lower Rap near the Rt. 3 bridge, mostly smalls but some keeper sized, but we weren't able to get a second report for confirmation. At the James River pier, however, croaker are hot and heavy and anglers are catching all they can handle on bloodworm and squid bits. Catfish are mixed in the catch. Anglers hitting Buckroe are having some croaker action, however, unfortunately skates and rays are also interfering with the fish-catching.
Way South Chesapeake and Virginia Fishing Report, 5/18/2018:
Ocean’s East reports that Doodlebug rigs and cut mullet have produced some FAT Bluefish in the surf. They also told us that the presence of drum, both reds and blacks has increased in quantity lately. Using peeler crab the past week has been the ticket into getting hooked up with some big red drum, while anglers fishing clams have done better on blacks. (See the Coastal report for more on the surf bite). Meanwhile, Capt. Stan from Blind Date Charters says that plenty of red and black drum are also being caught on the shoals around Fisherman’s island. Hard shell and peeler crab is the ticket for reds, and peeler and surf clam are the best baits for blacks. Recent hot spots have also included Latimer and Nautilus Shoals. Blueline tilefish opened back up on May 1, and black seabass on the 15th, and the boats that have targeted them so far have reported good catches; Capt. Stan reminds everyone that now is the time to book your deep drop trips.
J&W says there has been a (slow) croaker bite on the bottom, for anglers using bloodworms and squid, plus the occasional sea mullet. Rockfish reports haven’t been anything to talk about, but as the fish finish their spawn and move back out into the ocean the fishing should start to light up. Bishop’s added that although tautog season is done for now, flounder are showing up in bigger and better numbers every day and have been located in the inlets of Virginia Beach, around the CBBT, and in the Norfolk area. They also said that many of these flounder are eating plastics like GULP in green or chartreuse. Also, using bloodworm or crab should get you some croaker, which have been reported at the James River fishing pier, off Buckroe, and Grandview.
Anglers fishing the upper Western Shore tributaries were still reporting some shad up until the rain hit, though the run overall has been a bit lackluster for many folks this spring and the deluge has flooded many areas in the past two days, so fishing is likely to be affected. Farther down the rivers some stripers are being caught, with a decent bite reported in the Rap near the route three bridge on soft plastic jigs. There have been a few bigger fish coming to trollers in the Deltaville area, but nothing like the bite one hopes for.
Editor's Note: Some of you have surely heard by now that Chuck Harrison, our Hampton, VA contributor, had a stroke last weekend. I first met Chuck 20 or 25 years ago when we both wrote for The Fisherman Magazine's Mid-Atlantic edition, and could tell right from the start that he was a quality person. Chuck is not only a fishing sharpie, he's a pastor, Director of the Peninsula Baptist Association, and an all-around super-cool guy. You can't help but smile when in Chuck's company. According to his latest Facebook post he was released from the hospital earlier this week and is currently recovering at home. Let's all do our best to send Chuck positive vibes, keep him in our thoughts, and pray for a speedy recovery. He is on Facebook so you can send him your best wishes there.
Way South Chesapeake and Virginia Fishing Report, 5/10/2018:
Ocean’s East gave us an exciting report that big red drum have come into the shoals of the eastern shore. Peeler crabs and live blue crab have been the primary baits, while if you're fishing clams, the black drum have also been biting. Apparently, a great number of these fish have been caught during the evening. Bluefish are also starting to make their presence known, including some very nice choppers in the 10 to 12 pound range being caught on trolled spoons and also in the surf on cut mullet fished on Doodlebug rigs.
Bishop’s told us tautog action has stayed consistent along the CBBT, catching them primarily on fiddler crab and clams. Sadly this bite will be over soon due to the closing of tog season, so if you want to catch a tog, take advantage of these few last days while you still can.
On the bright side, flounder are still showing up in better and better numbers every day and have taken up residence in the inlets of Virginia Beach, around the CBBT, and in the Norfolk area. Bucktails tipped with GULP (try a four-inch Jerk Shad or a five-inch Swimming Mullet in white, green, or pink) are proving effective. Croaker are also becoming a more common catch, for bottom fishermen using bloodworm or peeler crab for bait. Buckroe to Grandview is still being called best but we also heard of some caught near the cement ships.
Striper anglers are seeing a few keepers, but not very many. School-sized fish, however, are plentiful and all of the Western Shore tributaries from the Potomac down to the Elizabeth (at the HRBT) have been mentioned as decent for catch-and-release fishing. As more of the big cows make their way south this bite should pick up.
Way South Chesapeake and Virginia Fishing Report, 5/4/2018:
Oceanside, as reflected in more detail in our Coastal Report, fishing has finally began to pick up quite a bit - surf fishers are enjoying the first good week of fishing this season has produced. Skates, small blues, and undersized rockfish have been coming out of the surf, primarily on mullet chunks and sand flea. A couple small flounder have been in the mix, as well as a couple black drum on clam baits.
Ocean's East reports that a better flounder bite can be found in the inlets. There have also been scattered reports of bluefish and puppy drum caught on cut mullet in the inlets, and a few speckled trout striking soft plastics in green and pink. GULP Jerk Shad and twisters bounced along near bottom seems to do the best, for this species. Compared to last season the blues have been disappointingly small, but hopefully that will change soon.
Anglers fishing bloodworm bits and squid strips on bottom rigs inside the Bay are now encountering good numbers of croaker off Buckroe, Ocean View, and Grandview. However, for the most part they've been barely-keeper size. We've also heard the first reports of speckled trout from Poquoson, but not yet in any numbers to speak of. With a little luck that will change any day.
Since the Virginia trophy season opened up some anglers have turned their attention to hunting for big stripers, and some rock have stared to appear, but the numbers haven't been great. Considering the slow start in Maryland waters, it's likely that these fish will have a delayed appearance in Virginia waters but the northern bite has finally begun, so it shouldn't be much longer. A few trophies have been caught in the James and the mouth of the Rapp, plus some keeper fish have been boxed near the CBBT and just to its south. Our Hampton contributor Chuck Harrison checked in to let us know there were schoolie stripers hitting around the HRBT, but big fish have been tougher to find. There have also been reports of fish (released) above the 360 bridge in the Rappahannock, so as these fish migrate out during the next week or two the bite should only get better.
Speaking of the CBBT: tog are still on the feed there, and you have until May 16 to get in on the bite. The bulk of the fish haven't been huge but there are plenty of keepers in the mix striking green crab, peeler crab, and sand fleas. Flounder are also being caught around the islands, mostly by anglers jigging GULP on bucktails or slow-trolling minnow and squid.