In Virginia waters, striper fishing has been excellent inside the Rappahannock River. Stan Cobb at Greentop says that multiple presentations are working now. Stretch baits, umbrella rigs rigged with 4-6 inch baits, lipless crankbaits, and jigging bucktails are productive. The Whitestone Bridge area has been very good, as have areas for several miles upriver. Anglers fishing the Hampton area of the James River report good catches of keeper rockfish at the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel and the James River Bridge. Some nice fish have been coming from the Elizabeth River as well.
The Hampton area has been good for speckled trout and puppy drum, especially at Lynnhaven Inlet. Good speck fishing has been taking place in many areas close to the Rappahannock and inside the Rapp. Most of the tributaries and inlets south of the Rapp are holding good specks.
The tautog bite is strong as the hardy fish continue to feed through the cold weather. They are excellent table fare. Fresh cut crab is a preferred bait for the togs as are live fiddler crabs. The CBBT structure is an excellent place to target the togs.
Some sizable puppy drum are being caught from the Eastern Shore surf. There is also an excellent bite for black sea bass on offshore structures. The same structures are also holding quality flounder and triggerfish.
The offshore charters are doing well with yellowfin and blackfin tuna. Catches of wahoo are being made from time to time.
OBX
The stripers have turned on at the Outer Banks. Capt. Reese Stecher with Beach Bum Fishing is putting clients on pups, specks and stripers, and the rockfish are nice ones. In years past, the stripers caught back in the sounds were smallish, with many throwbacks. This fall, Capt. Stecher has been catching stripers up to 10 pounds back in the shallow water – and on light tackle for extra fun. If you are going down for Thanksgiving, fishing should be great.
In the surf, Hatteras Island reported sea mullet in the Buxton area. There were lots of sharks at The Point with some puppy drum in the mix. Ramp 55 produced good catches of puppy drum. The northern beaches had black drum, puppies and trout. Kitty Hawk was a hot spot.
There’s great action for the king mackerel out of Hatteras right now especially for those using live bait. The inshore boats are enjoying good catches of speckled trout, puppy drum, and rockfish. Nags Head pier anglers are reeling in specks, sea mullet, black drum, puffers and bluefish.
Freshwater
Rivers throughout Virginia have been too high to. fish, but water levels are dropping rapidly, which should make for some great smallmouth action on the upper James, the New and Shenandoah. Bait is in the move in most lakes and bass are going shallow in many cases to find the bait. Stripers at Anna are active near the bridges and at The Splits. Crappie are in tight schools, holding on bridges, deep water docks and near submerged brush.
Trout fishing is dynamite as stream conditions are now ideal
Go Fishing for a Virginia Trout Slam
Slams are good. In bridge, if you bid and make all but one trick, it’s a slam. Bid and take all 13 tricks and it’s a grand slam. In baseball, if you hit a homer with the bases loaded, it’s also a grand slam. Golfers seek their slams by winning the Masters, the U.S. Open, the British Open and the PGA. In tennis, win the championship of Australia, France, the United States and England’s Wimbledon in the same year and you have achieved the Grand Slam of Tennis..
Fishermen can also try for a slam – a Virginia Trout Slam. In order to earn the Virginia Trout Slam, you must catch at least one of each species of trout in a single day. The species are rainbow, brown and brook trout and there are a number of places to fish and land all three.
Virginia is blessed to have all three species available as both wild trout and stocked trout.
The only pure native trout in Virginia waters is the brook trout – native of the Appalachians. Rainbow trout are native of the western states and browns are imports from Europe. But all three species have become wild and naturally reproductive in many Virginia streams.
Qualifying and earning the award for a Virginia Trout Slam represents a new challenge for Virginia anglers. It might require a little extra time on the water with a fishing rod in hand, but how bad can that be?
Neil Lamm of Ruckersville didn’t have to go far to earn his Virginia Trout Slam. The Greene County native wielded a fly rod and picked up both a wild brown trout and a wild brookie on the Conway River which borders Madison and Greene, then hopped over to the South River, a put-and-take stream in Greene, where he completed his slam by landing a stocked rainbow.
One stream where it is possible to catch the Virginia Trout slam with a combination of both wild and stocked or holdover fish is the South River in Waynesboro. Though most trout are stocked, there has been some natural reproduction of all three species. The rich, pure waters of the South also carry over fish from year to year. The South River is stocked three times annually by the Virginia Wildlife Division and also receives supplement stockings form private concerns. The stream is full of trout, many exceeding 20-inches.
To receive recognition, after anglers complete their slam, they are encouraged to submit their catch to the DGIF Trophy Fish Program, via Go Outdoors VA. Log In, click on make a purchase, Click on Fishing, and choose Trout Slam Application. Once the form is processed, the angler will be mailed a Virginia Trout Slam sticker. Display it proudly.
Below is a list of trout waters within a short drive where anglers can ply their skills for the new award.
Augusta County:
South River Special Reg: Stocked Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout & Brook Trout
Paine Run: Wild Brook Trout
Bath County
Muddy Run: Wild Brook Trout & Rainbow Trout
Jackson River (HV / Spec Reg): Stocked Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout & Brook Trout
Highland County
Laurel Fork: Wild Brook Trout & Brown Trout
Crab Run: Wild Rainbow Trout
Madison County
Conway River: Wild Brook Trout & Brown Trout
Robinson River: Stocked Rainbow Trout & Brook Trout
Shenandoah County
Little Stony Creek: Wild Brook Trout
Stony Creek: Stocked Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout & Brook Trout
Rockbridge County
Buffalo Creek Special Reg: (Get Landowner Permit): Stocked Rainbow Trout & Brown Trout
Lexington Reservoir: Stocked Brook Trout