reefs

September 25, 2020
Anglers in Tidewater Virginia, with multiple sportfish species and hotspots galore, have a cornucopia or conundrum of choices — depending on their point of view — every time they go fishing. Where to…
September 11, 2020
Fish relate to structure, hence the traditional use of artificial structures to create Chesapeake Bay fishing reefs and aggregate fish. Build it, and they will come — if physical, environmental, and…
July 16, 2020
Building marine structure with artificial reefs is an ongoing Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) initiative. Chapters in Virginia and Maryland have and continue to contribute to Bay restoration…
June 21, 2020
At 17.6 miles long, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, known as the CBBT, is the largest artificial reef structure in our region. The entire structure is fishable, though some spots more so than…
May 2, 2020
There has been research which suggests that a patch reef (one that is spread out across an area with many distinct small reefs), tends to be more biologically productive than a large single reef.…
March 31, 2020
“You can find a lot just by looking,” Yogi Berra, the master of understatement, once said. Such sentiment is often true – although not so much for York Spit Reef. A grid drawing on the Virginia…
February 20, 2020
Among all the artificial reef sites in the Chesapeake Bay, The Cell is unique. The reef site incorporates the remains of a former Navy degaussing station, features a range of reef materials, has…
January 31, 2020
Anyone who enjoys Chesapeake Bay fishing and saltwater fishing throughout the Mid-Atlantic region will want to know about the man-made fishing reefs in the Bay and along the coast. Many have been…
January 9, 2020
Mobjack Bay Reef, an elongated site tucked away inside the Bay, is one of the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) artificial reefs. Located about 2.75 miles southwest of New Point Comfort,…
December 12, 2019
Anyone who loves Chesapeake Bay fishing should know about Cherrystone Reef, which is charted between depth contour lines and where bottom variations are prominent, even though it's not as famous as…
October 7, 2019
Inspired by a fishing trip to the Northern Neck Fish Haven (detailed in Pipe Dream: Reef Building with Nested Pipes), a popular chumming destination where we succeeded in pulling a school of stripers…
July 8, 2019
Opening day of rockfish season, I’m dusting off my old work boots and grabbing a pair of chore gloves. Not to catch that trophy fish, but to meet a group of dedicated volunteers who in rural southern…
June 9, 2019
Drifting behind the stern of American Mariner during a charter, we watched a school of bay anchovies chased by Spanish mackerel scatter along the surface. Off to our left below the surface were the…
February 28, 2019
Those little nondescript obstruction circles on nautical charts tell us something is there, but many of the marked obstructions are small and not much of a fishing destination. However, sometimes…
February 2, 2019
Before reading on, you may want to check out this new video of reef building in action, shot on the Morning Star this February: Imagine: despite the best bottom paint money can buy, if you leave a…
January 16, 2019
If you want to score on true doormat flounder next summer, the best places to head are often the wrecks and reefs between 15 and 25 miles out off the coast. But fishing these deepwater spots for…
November 27, 2017
After World War II, surplus diesel engines and even boats were cheap as Uncle Sam looked to reduce inventory. Post-1950 stern-towed gear impacts to ocean seafloor habitats must have been the greatest…
April 8, 2017
Reefs attract fish, period, and more of them mean more fish, so we were happy to hear today that the Ocean City Reef Foundation hauled a load of 6.8 tons of block to one of their reef building sites…