Drum fishing, large and small, is smoking hot in the Bay. The reds are hitting cut bait in deep holes and are lurking near piers. The Elizabeth River has been a hotspot. Cobia continue to bite. Some anglers are chumming, and some are sight casting, but there are plenty of fish. There is some great sheepshead fishing now near most any structure. Spanish Macs are scattered from the Virginia Beach Coast and well up into the Bay. Successful parties are spotting the feeding gulls and trolling with Clark Spoons. Bluefish and ribbonfish are being caught alongside the Spanish. Sea bass season has reopened, and fish are plentiful off deep wrecks and structure. Pier jockeys are pulling in spot, mackerel, and blues. Puppies and trout are biting at Lynnhaven, Mobjack, the Piankatank, and tributaries of the Rapp and James.
OBX
On Wednesday, OBX anglers were catching bluefish, kingfish, mullet, croaker, lots of spot and a few drum.
The shark frenzy continued as well. The piers had Spanish and bluefish. The nearshore crews had ribbons, Spanish, bluefish, and drum. The offshore fleet stayed in at the docks with high seas.
Freshwater
A typical freshwater report – bass are deep, crappie deeper and stripers are also hugging the bottom. Some aggressive gar fish are bending rods on the James and Chick rivers. Bass’n is good on the tidal rivers near grass, especially on an outgoing tide. The upper Jam es is giving up some decent smallmouth on topwater baits. Big catfish are prowling the shores on the larger lakes at dusk.