Last fall Capt. Reese Stecher and I had about two hours to fish at Nags Head. Reese said he had found a hot spot, a honey hole that he didn’t know existed and he’s been doing charters for 20 years. Reese cranked up his motor and we sped back up into the sound after launching at Oregon Inlet. Reese described the spot as a slight drop-off in the sound bottom over a huge grass bed.
“Get ready,” he said as we passed over and immediately our rod tips went down. In about an hour and a half, we had limits of puppy drum and speckled trout and were still culling the specks. We lost a huge trout right at the boat minutes before we headed back in.
Reese e-mailed me this week and said he found the fish again in exactly the same spot.
I’d tell you where, but if I did I’d end up as crab bait. If you want to find out, you’ll just have to book a trip with Reese yourself and the fishing has just begin to heat up.
His recent party caught a beast of a trout and more keeper puppies over the weekend, then, on Wednesday, Reese and party had a limit of 10 keeper stripers over 20-inches by 8 am.
Funny, but when saltwater fish find a spot with plenty of bait they stay there. Contact Capt. Stecher at Beach Bum Fishing at www.beachbumfishing.com or (252) 449-0232 or (252) 202-1701 and head for Nags Head as soon as possible.
Elsewhere on the Outer Banks, surf fishing has been very good in nice, clear water. Anglers fishing from Kitty Hawk to Corolla have caught bluefish, Spanish mackerel and large pompano. A few cobia have been caught in Avon. Anglers in Hatteras are catching citation-sized sea mullet, spot and pompano on shrimp and sand fleas. Some large Spanish mackerel and bluefish are schooling just behind the bar. Anglers at The Point have hooked some false albacore and sharks.
Virginia Saltwater
Hurricane Florence has passed and Virginia anglers are back at it. The cobia and red drum have not disappointed. Fishermen are encountering schooling fish on the move. Sheepshead are plentiful around structure.
Anglers fishing the Virginia Beach Fishing Pier are catching sheephead, Spanish mackerel, a few spot, small trout and small black drum.
Trollers are still finding the Spanish mackerel biting up and down Virginia Beach and near the islands of the CBBT.
Ocean Pearl Charters had a good half-day trip. They hooked seven cobia and landed four ranging from 38” to 57”. They found the Spanish bite first thing and caught 13 keepers and a ton of throwbacks.
Freshwater
The Rivers
For the first time since Florence passed through, Virginia’s rivers should be fishable this weekend. The James and Shenandoah have been muddy and out of their banks. The bite this weekend should be very good.
The New River has been fishable, but few anglers are out and about. Smallmouth and muskies have been cooperating when they see a bait.
The Rappahannock is giving up some nice smallmouth above Fredericksburg. Largemouth are active below the 301 Bridge. Blue cats are looking for cut bait in the river channels. Stripers have been hard to find at Port Royal and the Tappahannock bridges.
Lake Anna
Bass are in a full fall pattern, feeding heavily in 4 to 12 feet of water. Stripers are being caught at The Splits, Jetts Island, Stubbs Bridge, Dike Three and Rose Valley. Crappie fishing is excellent.
Chickahominy River
Bass are hitting small crankbaits around wood cover, adjacent to lily pads. Cypress trees along on points are also holding bass. Live minnows are catching crappie, yellow perch and catfish. Stripers are being caught on crankbaits and topwater lures, particularly near Walker’s dam.
Chickahominy Lake
Chickahominy Lake mid-day water temperatures are in the high 70’s to low 80’s. The lake is high, about two inches over the dam. Fishing with Capt. Conway, Tom Porter had 24 bluegills, 1 shellcracker, 15 crappie and a bass.
Buggs Island
There is a lot of water in Kerr Reservoir at 305 feet, but it’s falling. Bass are feeding heavily back in the coves. Crappie anglers are filling their coolers, using small minnows over brush piles and around pilings. Schools of breaking stripers are being found between Buoy 16 and the Clarksville Bridge, and at the mouth of Bluestone Creek. A number of anglers this past week landed big catfish while trolling for stripers.
Smith Mountain
Bass are also back in the coves at Smith Mountain, ganging up on baitfish schools. Striper action is fair, but the crappie are biting well.
Lake Moomaw
Trout action is picking up, as anglers are taking trout to five pounds around the Fortney Boat Ramp. Crappie – and bass to five pounds – are also available. The brown trout should be beginning their spawn very soon.