Way South Fishing Reports
Way South Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, November 12 Update:
The lower Chesapeake is offering a nice variety of late-fall opportunities, with speckled trout numbers improving in the tidal tributaries and more keeper-sized fish beginning to show. Tautog are also moving onto rocky structure around the mouth of the Bay, providing opportunities at the CBBT, Cape Charles, and surrounding reefs. Nighttime fly fishing and light-tackle anglers are finding a mixed bag of inshore species, including rockfish, speckled trout, and bluefish.
An angler reported a productive evening of fly-fishing in an unspecified tributary, landing a mixed bag that included silver perch, bluefish, a striped bass, and three speckled trout. Fishing from seven until midnight, they used an eight-weight fly rod paired with a small Clouser minnow to fool the variety of inshore species. Small baitfish imitations are a good choice when targeting multiple species, particularly around marsh edges, creek mouths, and areas where bait is moving after dark. Night fishing for striped bass has been productive for anglers fishing around the Elizabeth River and lower James River. There were several reports of slot-sized fish being caught around bridge structure and marsh edges where building lights illuminated the water.
Speckled trout fishing is slowly improving throughout the Way South region as more keeper-sized fish are moving into the tidal tributaries. The majority of the catch is still made up of undersized fish, with many anglers having to sort through plenty of small specks to find one barely over the 14-inch minimum. The lower James, Elizabeth River, Rudee Inlet, Lynnhaven Inlet, and Mobjack Bay tributaries are all worth exploring, with Poquoson River and the nearby marsh creeks also offering opportunities. Focus on shallow grass beds, oyster bars, creek mouths, marsh edges, and channel drop-offs, particularly where moving water funnels baitfish. Three- to five-inch paddletails, soft plastic shrimp imitations, and suspending twitchbaits are all good choices, while popping corks paired with baitfish imitations can be especially effective over grass. Topwater plugs are also worth trying during low-light periods for anglers hoping to weed out smaller fish and connect with a better-quality trout. The improving number of keepers is encouraging, but expect plenty of short fish mixed into the action.
Tautog fishing is picking up around the lower Chesapeake Bay, with cooling water temperatures bringing fish onto rocky structure, bridge pilings, and artificial reefs. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel remains one of the best places to target them, particularly around the rock islands and concrete structure surrounding the tunnel crossings. Farther north, York Spit Light, the rock piles and reef structure near Cape Charles, and bridge structure at the mouth of the James River. The Kiptopeke concrete ships are another well-known destination for anglers looking to tangle with tog. Green crabs, fiddler crabs, and blue crab pieces are the preferred baits, fished on bottom sweeper jigs or traditional two-hook dropper rigs. Keep baits tight to the structure and use stout tackle with heavier leaders to turn fish away from the rocks before they can break you off. The bite is often best when current is manageable enough to keep offerings close to the bottom, and anglers may need to experiment with different pieces of structure to locate concentrations of fish.
Way South Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, November 6 Update:
Speckled trout action is improving as water temperatures fall, with opportunities around the lower Chesapeake tributaries, Rudee Inlet, and oceanfront. Tautog are also becoming more active around bridges and artificial reefs, while a few impressive bull red drum are still making their way out of the Bay.
The speckled trout bite has picked up as the water temperatures are cooling off. The bulk of the fish are still too small to keep, but we have seen some keepers caught from the Elizabeth River, Rudee Inlet, and also along the oceanfront in the surf. Fresh shrimp on bottom rigs has worked well for anglers fishing the mouth of Rudee Inlet, but casting paddletails and other soft plastics around grass beds, creek channels, and docks has also worked well in other tributaries. Specks have been in a range of depths, anywhere from three feet of water to as deep as 15 feet of water. We saw a report from an angler who had an excellent day fishing on the southern James River this past week. They started their day fishing structure and caught several tautog around 14” and some seatrout around 15”. Their big tautog was a keeper coming in at 22”. Then they stumbled across a school of red drum and caught several up to 20”, including a tagged 18” fish. On their way back to the ramp, they took some casts to nearshore structure and caught a few striped bass up to 17”. A day like that is what makes the Way South region of the Bay so special, there’s tons of diversity.
The tautog bite has picked up around the various bridges in the Way South region. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel pilings and rock islands are hotspots for tautog this time of year. Anglers have been catching a lot of undersized fish, but there are some keepers in the mix too. Sand fleas and assorted crab baits (peeler, white leggers, etc) fished as close as possible to the structure has them biting. These fish can also be caught at artificial reef sites, the Kiptopeke concrete ships, and other hard bottom structures scattered throughout this region.
There are still some bull red drum hanging out up the Bay since the fall has been warmer than average so far. Schools of these fish are still migrating out of the Bay, and some anglers have been able to catch them on their way out. We had a reader check in who caught his personal best redfish just outside the shipping channel off Kiptopeke this week. The fish measured 52” and was caught on fresh cut spot dropped down to bottom. Most of these fish will be gone by Thanksgiving, so there are still a few weeks to catch them as they migrate south.
Anglers in the area might want to check out a couple of free new online directories created by a Virginia Beach angler named Nicholas. He’s built one for bait and tackle shops and another for public boat ramps, for Hampton Roads boaters and anglers.
Bonus intel: There's a new premium access subscribers only video to check out: Secrets of Lenny's Tacklebox.
