Dr. Ken Neill, IIII
Fish up to 65.4 pounds have been weighed in so far. There have been others pushing the 60-pound mark and many over 30 pounds are being caught. The large fish are primarily being caught by anglers fishing using live eels for bait. There has been good action on 20-something inch fish under working birds. These fish are being caught by casting, trolling, and jigging.
While the big rockfish are generating most of the excitement, probably the most consistent fishery is tautog. Tautog are actively feeding at the CBBT and on other structures in the bay and close to the coast. Wrecks a little further out, like those in the Triangle Wrecks area, are holding sea bass, bluefish, and flounder. Some wrecks are loaded with triggerfish.
Offshore, most boats have been bottom fishing for tilefish and grouper. The dog sharks have not yet moved in, making this a more pleasant endeavor. There have been reports of bluefin tuna sightings in places like the Fingers, but no reports of catches yet. They are catching some big bluefin out of Morehead. Other tuna made a good showing this past week. Boats trolling in the Norfolk Canyon area caught bigeye, yellowfin, and longfin tuna. There were dolphin caught also and a few billfish encounters. Marlin were caught in the Canyon over Thanksgiving weekend, pretty amazing.
Nags Head
TW’s Report:
Wednesday was a great day on the Outer Banks with the sun shining and very little wind. There are a few small Trout biting in the surf. Across the Bridge there are Trout on the Frisco beach and some Sea Mullet, Flounder 0n the Hatteras Beaches. All in all, it’s slow. Jennette’s Pier is not catching this morning. There is still excellent fishimng for stripers in the sound, with some larger fish being caught. The winds are SE at 5 and the water temp is 54 degrees.
Oregon Inlet
Good afternoon from Oregon Inlet Fishing Center reported one off-shore charter on Wednesday with a catch of Black Fin Tuna. Captain Aaron Kelly had a productive all-day sound trip with good striper action and had a few keepers.
Hatteras Surf
Red dRum reported on Wednesday:
Kevin McCabe lost a 25-lb. plus Striper at Ramp 43. There was also a 3-lb. flounder caught at ramp 43. Plus lots of Bluefish , a few Sea Mullet and Skates. The Jetties had Speckle Trout, Puppy Drum, and Sea Mullets. We had a beautiful day here and tomorrow will be the same. We have plenty of Gulp and Jig Heads so if you need some stop by and we can help you.
On Tuesday, Red drum noted that with the cold front passing, the fishing has picked back up. The Jetties had some keeper Speckle Trout. Tyler caught a 19-incher and Barry Jr. had a 2-1 speckle. The anglers used darker colors due to the still murky water. Ramp 43 had a couple of keeper Puppy Drum and Ramp 55 south did well today. There were some keeper Flounder, Black Drum, Sea Mullet, Blow toads, Sharks and Skates. The Sea Mullet were caught on shrimp.
Freshwater Overview
The rivers are full and quite fishable, but cold. Few are out and about. Lake fishing is also slow, but the striper bite is happening at Buggs, Anna and other larger impoundments. Trout streams all have fish and very little pressure
The Potomac River
Early Winter Fishing
Fish are moving into winter areas. Slow down and lighten up. It will be spinning gear for the next 5 months.
Water temperature is going to be in the upper 40s into the low 50s this week. Dry and sunny. Highs around the mid-60s by the weekend. Cool mornings but gradually warming for an upper 40s start by Friday.
Lighter 6 and 8 pound test GAMMA Edge fluorocarbon is perfect for long casts and deeper presentations on spinning gear. During the warmest part of the day, cast Lucky Craft Pointer 78 suspending jerk baits near warmed surfaces and fairly clear water, close to discharge plants. Pause to trigger strikes.
Otherwise target areas near deeper water. Winter holes are in bays, out of the current and further from the main river. Use Mizmo 4-inch grubs on 1/4-ounce jig heads. Chartreuse when sunny or smoke on cloudy days. Slowly crawl along the bottom. Let baits fall slowly down drops. Also try Mann’s 3-inch avocado Stingray.
Where flats drop off, try split shot or drop shot rigs. Slowly drag and pause. Carolina rigs work too, just downsize to a ½-ounce weight. Attractants like Jack’s Juice with soft plastics is a good idea.
Time for Silver Buddy blade baits on 10-pound test Edge. Rods with backbone and 1/3 flex allow fish to run without pulling hooks out. Cast to shallow edges and make short burps to work down drops in short increments. Once a depth is found during the day, work that area. Use electronics to observe baitfish in the area being fished.
Capt. Steve Chaconas is a guide on the Potomac River. info@nationalbass.com
Chickahominy Lake
Capt. Art Conway of Conway’s River Rat Guide Service (804-746-2475) out of Ed Allen’s Boats and Bait reported that Chickahominy Lake mid-day water temperatures were in the low to mid 40’s in the main lake on Wednesday. The lake level was a few inches above the top of the dam. The water was medium brown and very slightly cloudy in the central lower lake.
Blue cats and a few bullheads were in channels and winter holes and were hitting live minnows and cut bait. Moderate numbers of crappie were in loose schools in the main lake on deeper flats, channel edges, and channels, usually at depths of 7 to 15 feet, sometimes suspended, and frequently in the neighborhood of wood cover. Active crappie were hitting live minnows, Wright Bait Co. curlytail jigs, small tubes, Kalin crappie scrubs, small swim baits, jigging spoons, and blade baits. Some small to medium yellow perch were scattered on deeper main lake flats and were hitting live minnows, small jerk baits, spoons, and small jigs. Most bluegills and shellcrackers have moved to the deep edges of hydrilla flats, to mid-depth wood cover or into channels and when active fish were hitting live crickets and worms, small blade baits, tubes, and jigs. Most bass and pickerel were on deeper flats and in channels in the main lake and were hitting live minnows, spinnerbaits, swim baits, stick worms, crank baits, jerk baits, and jigs.
Fishing with Capt. Conway, Capt. Bill Buck and Malcolm Turnbull had 6 crappie, 3 white perch, 1 yellow perch, 2 blue cats and 1 bass.
Trout Stocking
Alleghany Co.: Clifton Forge Reservoir (12/7)
Augusta Co.: Mills Creek (12/08); Upper Sherando Lake (12/08)
Bath Co.: Bullpasture River (12/09)
Fauquier Co.: Thompson WMA Pond (12/09)
Henrico Co.: Dorey Park Lake (12/09)
Highland Co.: Bullpasture River (12/09)
Richmond (City): Shield Lake (12/09)
Washington Co.: Beartree Lake (12/09)