Hurricane Lee was on the radar of many anglers, but it did not affect the local fishing conditions, except for some big swells. In fact, fishing was good. Red drum are now leaving the Bay and heading to the ocean, where they can be seen in large schools on the surface, but they are still biting. Surf fishing for them should be extremely good in the coming weeks.
The lower bay and the oceanfront are hotspots to troll for Spanish Mackerel, aalong with some King Mackerel and Albacore. Cobia are also starting to move out of the Bay, and they can be caught along the oceanfront until September 15th, when the season closes.
The CBBT structures and the local reefs are holding sheepshead and trigger fish.
Flounder fishing is getting better, especially for those who use live spot as bait. Some of the biggest flounder of the year are caught in September. Spot fishing is also picking up, with some nice yellow belly spot showing up. Speckled trout and puppy drum are active in the creeks and inlets of the Bay, and they can be caught on a variety of lures and baits.
Offshore wrecks are producing a mixed bag of black sea bass, triggerfish, spadefish, amberjacks, and flounder.
The Virginia Beach Fishing Pier is producing spot, pompano, drum, small croaker and few roundheads.
Offshore, blue water crews are having a blast with billfish action. White Marlin numbers are increasing, and Blue Marlin are also being caught. Dolphin, Tuna and Wahoo and Tilefish are also in the mix, making for some exciting trips.
OBX
TW’s reports that sound side fishing continues to be awesome for those who can access nice honey holes from their boats. They are finding big Drum as well as plenty of Puppy Drum. Sheepshead, Speckled Trout, and Flounder continue to be caught as well.
The water temperatures in the ocean have stayed nice and warm, which typically leads to perfect conditions for surf fishing. Bluefish, Puppy Drum, Sea Mullet, and Pompano are being reeled in along the beaches.
Pier fishing has been steady the last few days. If you’re planning on fishing the pier, you’ll likely catch Blues, Sea Mullet, Spot, Spanish, Ribbonfish and even some Pompano.
The offshore boats have been coming back with lots of Dolphin. They are also catching good numbers of billfish.