Way South Fishing Reports
Way South Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, April 24 Update:
The inshore bite is heating up big time near Virginia Beach. There was a report from an angler who had an impressive trip to Rudee Inlet this week. Before the sun came up, they found several striped bass and hickory shad along nearshore cover. Their largest striper was just under 21 inches, and their biggest hickory was 22 inches. At sunrise, they pushed onto a shallow flat where flounder were willing to bite Gulp! Shrimp baits in new penny color. Hooking four and landing two. Later in the morning, they caught a 25-inch red drum closer to the inlet. On their way back to the ramp, some big bluefish were cruising around the surface, and they got one chopper to bite. This is the first report of bluefish in the Way South region we have heard this spring, but it looks like these fish are starting to arrive. The bite has been hot in the surf in North Carolina, so get ready for the action to pick up here.
Tautog are abundant around the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, and several anglers checked in after successful trips this week. Based on these reports, there are a lot of small fish around, but keepers are in the mix too. One boat reported catching half a dozen keeper fish, which included one over 19 inches. The tog are concentrated around the rock islands at the CBBT and the surrounding bridge pilings. Fiddler crabs, and other varieties of crab baits are usually what it takes to get them biting. Tautog season is open until May 15th, so get out over the next few weeks if you want to take some home for dinner.
Schools of bull red drum are starting to move into the Chesapeake Bay. There was a report from a boat fishing south of Poquoson that caught several big red drum this week. The fish were cruising along grass flats in around five feet of water. The larger schools of drum have still yet to arrive to the Bay, but that will change over the coming weeks. In May, we should see an influx of bull reds and some cobia to areas throughout the Way South region. Puppy drum will also be active in the various tidal tributaries, including the local inlets, rivers, and islands.
If you are looking for a more relaxed style of fishing that is easily accessible from shore, then bottom fishing is a great option right now. There are several public piers in this region that can offer good fishing opportunities. Anglers at these piers reported that croaker arrived in full force this week. They are still on the smaller side, but slightly better than last year. Bottom rigs tipped with shrimp, squid, or bloodworms have been working well. Some kingfish and skate have also been in the mix. Croaker fishing in the Bay has been a shell of what it once was, but over the past few years there have been tons of small fish. We just need some of these younger year classes to mature, and we could be looking at the return of a very fun fishery. This year will offer some interesting insight into their population trend if we start to see bigger fish.
Way South Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, April 17 Update:
Black drum have moved into the Bay, and Oceans East Bait and Tackle is reporting that some big fish have been caught around the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. The high rise on the east side of the bridge is a good location to catch drum this time of year as there are some shoal areas. Anglers should beware that the current can be very strong here. If you want to fish more protected areas, you can also catch drum around the rock islands at the bridge tunnel. Some boats have also been running out of the Bay and fishing close to the surf around Fisherman’s Island. Fresh peeler crab and sand fleas have been working well.
The other main bite happening at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel is tautog. Water temperatures have warmed into the upper 50s and low 60s, and the warmer it gets, the more tautog will move into the Bay this spring. There are plenty of undersized fish and some keepers around the islands of the CBBT. There was a report from a boat this week that had eight keepers and several throwbacks. These fish prefer crab baits, so chunks of blue crab or fiddler crabs will work best. The fiddler crabs can be found on marsh banks throughout the Way South region. A reader who recently launched near Fisherman’s Island said that the fiddlers were plentiful along the marsh banks as they were heading out. Further off the coast outside of Virginia Beach, there has been an excellent bite for big tautog. One boat had nearly a three-man limit, including a fish over 14 pounds.
The striped bass bite has been good in the industrial areas of the Elizabeth River. The fish are hanging out around bridges and larger docks near deeper channels. A kayak angler reported that he had an excellent week targeting stripers in the Norfolk area this week, catching over three dozen fish. Most of the fish were 20 to 30-inches, but a few were even over the 40-inch mark. They also caught five red drum ranging from 28 to 32 inches. Water temperatures on the west side of the Way South region are well into the 60s, so the shallow water bite should be good for our inshore favorites such as speckled trout, red drum, and striped bass. The flounder action in the coastal bays has been very good with the stretch of warmer weather this month, so there’s a good chance these fish are also showing up in the Bay and tidal tributaries.
Way South Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, April 10 Update:
Black drum are returning to the Chesapeake Bay for their annual spawning run. Boats heading out of Cape Charles are making the run to the mouth of the Bay where they are finding black drum near the surf. These fish can be caught in the surf along the coastal beaches, but are also found at several locations in the Bay. Reef sites and the bridge pilings at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel are other locations that have historically produced bites for these fish in the spring. As water temperatures continue to warm, we should see the return of the large schools of red drum. Reports along the outer banks of North Carolina have been very good, especially near Ocracoke and Hatteras. The big push of fish is still a few weeks away, but they are slowly making their way up the coast.
The action in the Virginia Beach and Norfolk inlets has been slow to pick up this spring. Part of that is likely due to the up and down weather over the past few weeks. Another reason is likely the effect of the cold stun event from this past winter, where many overwintering red drum and speckled trout died due to the prolonged cold temperatures. The good news is that this latest cold front will likely be the last that brings us temperatures near freezing. There is a significant warm up in the forecast for next week, so if that holds true, water temperatures will rise quickly and the shallow water bite should pick up.
Croaker are starting to show up in the Bay as well, but most of them are on the smaller side. Anglers fishing near Ocean View and the mouth of the James River have reported a slow croaker bite over the past week. We used to see a great run of big croaker in the Bay during the spring, but it has been many years since the big fish have been around. Most of the croaker in recent years are smaller than nine inches, but last year showed us some glimpses of larger fish. More croaker should move into the Bay over the coming weeks along with spot. The most popular way to fish for these fish is to use bottom rigs tipped with bloodworm or peeler crab. Fishbites also work very well, and you don’t have to rebait your hook after every cast.
Way South Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, April 3 Update:
Ocean water temperatures are on the cooler side, but water temperatures in the tidal tributaries, especially on the western shore, are heating up rapidly with the warm temperatures this week. The creeks and rivers now have water temps in the 50s, and some may even have water temperatures in the 60s. This has caused the puppy drum to get more active in the tributaries. We had a report from an angler fishing Rudee inlet who caught a few schoolie striped bass and one red drum, but said the bite was still slow, likely due to water temperatures in the low 50s. Warmer waters in Lynnhaven Inlet and the Elizabeth River are leading to more active fish. Puppy drum can be found cruising the shallow mud flats feeding on baitfish such as mullet. Striped bass are being caught in areas with current and structure such as bridges and deeper docks. These bites should continue to improve as warmer weather takes over.
Big news came out of Virginia this week as the Virginia Marine Resources Commission closed down recreational speckled trout harvesting from April first through June 30th. This decision is in response to the cold stun event earlier this year that makes two consecutive years in a row with significant speckled trout die-offs in Virginia. Catch and release fishing is still permitted, but if you want to take a fish home for dinner, you will have to target other species. Speckled trout harvest is still allowed in Maryland waters of the Chesapeake Bay, but we will have to wait and see how many fish push up the Bay.
The black drum have finally made an appearance on the Eastern Shore of Virginia as the first few reports of fish caught in the surf came in this week. That means there are likely some moving into the Chesapeake Bay. These fish can be caught around the bridge tunnel and at various reef sites all the way up to the Tangier Sound, and occasionally even farther north. Sand fleas work very well in the surf, but in the Bay, many anglers choose to use fresh chunks of blue crab on fish finder rigs. Along with the drum moving into the Bay, tautog have also arrived at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. They can be caught around the rock islands and bridge pilings. Fiddler crabs, sand fleas, and blue crab also work very well for these fish. Dropper rigs with octopus hooks or bottom sweeper jigs are the two most common rigs for targeting tautog in this zone. A reader checked in with us after a successful trip fishing for tog last weekend at the CBBT. They caught seven keepers and a few throwbacks.
