Virginia’s striper fishing is picking up. Keeper fish are coming from our rivers where anglers are jigging structure on the Elizabeth, James, Rappahannock, and York Rivers. Night fishing along the CBBT is heating up as well. Try drifting eels or trolling tandem rigs, Mann’s stretch 20′s, daisy chains or casting twister tails near bridge pilings. The striper fishing will continue to get better with each passing cold front. The water temperature at Cape Charles was 58.5 F. early this week
Some nice tautogs are feeding around the islands of the CBBT. This will continue to improve as the water drops into the low 50’s. Fresh crabs are the bait of choice.
Lynnhaven Inlet has been the hot spot for speckled trout and puppy drum lately.
The ocean wrecks off Virginia Beach are holding flounder, sea bass, triggerfish and chopper blues.
Outer Banks
Just when you thought the fishing couldn’t get better, Capt. Reese Stecher says it did.
“The Ingram boys from Richmond clobbered the stripers this morning,” Reese said. “We had 8 fat keepers up to 25 inches on the boat before 8 o’clock. It was the best bite so far this season. We left them biting at 10:30. They should be here for at least a few more weeks”
Reese and his parties are catching puppy drum and specks as well, fishing near the Inlet for pups and back in the sound for stripers.
“We have been catching the drum on cut bait and the Stripers on artificials,” he noted. For some great fishing, contact Beach Bum Fishing at
www.beachbumfishing.com or call (252) 449-0232 or (252) 202-1701.
Also, OBX surf anglers are finding speckled trout, bluefish, puppy drum, black drum, and spot action. Those targeting trout have landed lots of keeper-sized fish on cut shrimp. A mix of cut mullet and shrimp has worked well for all the other species.
In the sounds, the speckled trout and red drum bites remain steady. Live shrimp under float rigs, as well as live finger mullet on Carolina rigs, have gotten the job done.
The striper fishing has also picked up in the sound. Anglers have easily landed limits. Fishing the bridges on the west side of Manteo is your best chance. Speckled trout fishing in the sound has been excellent also.
The near shore OBX bite remains steady; there are plenty of kings around. Bluefish and false albacore are schooled up close to the beach. Tossing metal jigs to busting fish has produced plenty of action.
Offshore, the tuna bite has improved, with plenty of yellowfin and blackfin being landed. A few dolphin, wahoo and sailfish have also been in the mix.
Hatteras
It was a chilly day on Monday, but that did not stop the fish from biting. There were plenty of Black Drum and Puppy Drum landed up and down the beaches. A lot of Speckle Trout, too, but many were small ones. There was also some nice Sea Mullet fishing on Monday. Big Drum will show up with the wind out of the south.
At Hatteras Harbor, a few boats were out fishing offshore on Monday and returned with a mix of both Blackfin and Yellowfin Tuna. A few Wahoo and Albacore rounded off the day. The Inshore guys were checking out their duck blinds and getting ready for the season.
Freshwater
Overview
The rivers are in good shape, but few are fishing with the ducks flying and bucks chasing does. The water temps have dropped, making slower tactics necessary. Those braving the elements are reporting some nice smallmouth and muskies
Trout Streams
The trout streams are near perfect, with plenty of cold – and getting colder – water. The best bets are the Jackson River below Gathright and the South River in Waynesboro. Bundle up and give them a try.
The Big Lakes
Anna, Buggs Island and Smith Mountain are all fishing well for stripers now, as the shad schools begin balling up, making it easy for the fish to eat the bait and for anglers to find the fish. There are also some excellent opportunities for bass anglers to cast to schooling fish. Crappie are biting well at Buggs, but are moving to deeper water at Anna and Smith Mountain.
Potomac River Report
Says Capt. Chaconas, “Stock up on Silver Buddy blade baits now. Fish are still willing to chase slow moving baits creating a lot of vibration.”
Hard cover and milfoil are targets. Fish are moving toward areas close to deeper water. Flat sided, tight wiggle crankbaits like the Lucky Craft KJ Flat can create a lot of vibration with very little movement. Throw on 10-pound test Gamma Edge on a soft cranking rod. Keep the rod tip low to the water and slowly crank, pausing frequently. Bump cover, snap and pause. Work suspending Pointer 78 Lucky Craft jerkbaits on 10-pound Edge, allowing baits to rest with slight twitches. Cast close to wood and grass patches.
Slower presentations with drop shot, split shot and shaky head can be used as a change up.
Using Silver Buddy blade baits on drops is the best way to locate and find the mood of fish. Using a medium heavy graphite cranking rod with 12-pound test Edge on a fast Quantum Smoke casting reel. Short burps down drops and a fast reel can catch up to fish for solid hooksets.
Contact Capt. Steve Chaconas at 703-380-7119 or go to