The Cobia have arrived. Captain Ryan out of Manteo hit the jackpot as he was coming back to port and caught his limit of cobia.
Not only are the cobia hitting, keeper-sized puppy drum are thick in the Albemarle Sound. Capt. Reese Stecher (beachbum.fishing) says that the problem often when catching puppy drum is that they are either too big or too small, the slot being 18-27-inches. This spring, Reece says, almost every fish is a keeper. Next year, this class will likely be too big, so now is the time to book a combo cobia/drum trip.
In the surf, there was a good mullet bite on Wednesday and reports of some nice bluefish.
Wind has hampered offshore fishing, but the fleet had success Tuesday with a mixed bag of yellow and blackfin and dolphin. Limits of king mackerel were caught along with some tilefish.
In Virginia waters, both red and black drum are pouring into the bay. Flounder fishing is improving, but no word on the croakers so far.
Freshwater
Smallmouth bass are beginning to spawn on all our major rivers, and when smallmouth spawn, they bite. Barring heavy rain on Friday, the James, Shenandoah, New, Rappahannock and Potomac should all be in super shape for smallmouth anglers.
Landlocked Stripers are making their spawning runs. Buggs Island stripers are on the move upriver while Smith Mountain stripers are going through the motions and are trying to spawn. Anna stripers are biting near The Splits.
Crappie fishing is top-notch throughout the state with fish still close to shore. Bluegills are beginning to stir and will be fanning out beds in shallow water in the coming weeks.