Way South Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, May 1 Update:
The Virginia coast is lighting up with the arrival of multiple spring and early-summer species, as big bluefish and increasing numbers of red drum headline the surf bite, with even more bull reds expected to push in over the coming weeks. Bottom fishing remains productive with steady croaker and kingfish action, while tautog are providing consistent opportunities around structure both inshore and offshore, including some true jumbos. Meanwhile, the first sheepshead of the season are starting to show, signaling the continued transition into a diverse and action-packed fishery across the region.
Big bluefish are making their return to our waters. The chopper blues were encountered by anglers fishing at the mouth of Rudee Inlet, and several locations along the beaches this week. One angler fishing at Sandbridge reported catching several fish between 24 and 30 inches. The seaweed was thick, but throwing out chunks of finger mullet still got fish to bite. These fish should start to move into the Chesapeake Bay and the tributaries in the Norfolk area. Red drum catches are also increasing in the surf, and several fish in the 30-inch range were caught this week along the oceanfront. Puppy drum and bull red drum numbers should steadily increase throughout the month of May. Some schools of bull reds have already been around for a few weeks now, but we should see a large push of migratory fish over the next few weeks. When they first arrive, they are often encountered in the shallows over grass flats, near Fisherman’s Island, and around the islands of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.
Croaker and kingfish have been abundant for anglers bottom fishing in this region. The croaker bite has been good at the mouth of the James River, but the larger fish are only around nine inches. That is not to say that larger fish aren’t around, but the theme for croaker for many years now has been that there are a lot around, but they are mostly small. Kingfish, also known as roundhead, are also showing up. An angler fishing near the Lesner Bridge boxed several nice sized kingfish earlier in the week.
Tautog fishing has been good at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. While there are plenty of fish to catch, a lot of the fish are sub-legal sized. The tog can also be found at various reef sites, the concrete Kiptopeke ships, and the mouth of Rudee Inlet. Ocean’s East Bait and Tackle reported that there are some jumbo tautog at offshore reef sites. A few of their anglers checked in after catching six fish over 10 pounds, with the largest fish weighing over 18 pounds. Sheepshead should be moving inshore, and we had our first report of the season come in this week. A kayak angler fishing the Lesner Bridge caught a few sheepshead using fiddler crabs, but they said the bites were very subtle. Look for more to arrive at the bridge tunnel and other area bridges this month.