Live shrimp are plentiful now along the Virginia Coast. Every fish that swims will eat a shrimp, but speckled trout love them. Fishermen call the live shrimp “Trout Candy.”
As water temps cool, trout and puppy drum are moving well into the creeks and marshes – looking for shrimp.
After the high winds and storms passed early this week, fishing picked right up. Some impressive flounder are being brough to the scales, many pushing 10-pounds. Lynnhaven Inlet and the CBBT are hot spots.
Red drum are working their way south, but are still being caught within Bay waters. Sandridge is teeming with big drum where surf fishermen are also catching blues, spot, and sea mullet.
Sheepshead are actively biting on crabs fished near pylons.
The cobia are still biting within the Bay, but the catch season ended on Sept. 15.
Boats working the oceanfront are still finding Spanish mackerel, bluefish, ribbonfish, and an occasional king mackerel.
The Virginia Beach Fishing Pier is producing including spot, drum, croakers, and sea mullet. Spot are plentiful in the lower Rapp and in the Hampton Roads area.
Ocean head boats are finding sea bass, triggerfish, spadefish, amberjacks, and flounder.
When conditions are favorable, blue water trollers are enjoying the late season billfish activity, and the Wahoo bite is anticipated to intensify in the coming weeks. For deep-droppers, tilefish remain a sought-after catch.
OBX
Jennette’s Pier was the place to be on Wednesday morning with lots of blues and keeper flounder hauled in. Young Braeden Schumacher, age 8, of Johnstown, Pa. landed a 30-inch puppy drum on his first visit to Jennette’s. Dirty water slowed the bite for surf fishermen, but cut bait is attracting bluefish and red drum.
Blue water boats have been largely confined to quarters.
Freshwater
Bass are moving shallow, and they are aggressive. Top water baits have been effective on all the major lakes. Lipless crankbaits have been drawing strikes from stripers at Lake Anna. Crappie have moved shallow at Anna and are being caught in good numbers near boat docks. At Buggs Island, crappie are still deep.
Trout streams that were nearly bone dry, now have plenty of water and fall stocking will begin soon.