Fall is a great time for fishing. The Bay water temperature has decreased to 68 degrees, which makes fish more active, especially King Mackerel. Some nice Kings were caught off Virginia Beach last week. They require good tackle and live baits are best. Kings are very strong and fast and will smoke your drag! They can weigh up to 50 pounds and offer a great challenge.
The rockfish season is in full swing opened and will last until December 31st. They are catching them near bridges, old piers, and docks. Fishing under lights at night has been an excellent option. The slot limit for the Bay and all Virginia tributaries is 20-31 inches and the bag limit is 1 fish per person.
A few red drum are still present in the bay and in the Sandridge surf and are eating cut bait or crabs. Speckled Trout are plentiful in local inlets and rivers. They love live shrimp, which are exiting the marshes and Bay tributaries now.
Spot are moving in large schools along Bay and oceanfront beaches. They will bite bloodworms, squid, or shrimp. The best place to catch flounder now is in the lower part of the bay and the ocean. Live spot are excellent baits for large flounder. Sheepshead continue to bite at the Bay Bridge Tunnel
Offshore, it’s Tilefish, Dolphin, Tuna and Swordfish. There are plenty of sea bass and a few trigger fish being caught at the Triangle wreck.
OBX
According to TW’s Tackle, the piers caught some nice Bluefish, Spot, Sea Mullet, and Trout this week. They’ve also been reporting Big Drum, Sharks, Puffers, and Pigfish. There are also reports of Sheepshead being caught at the Bonner Bridge Pier.
Puppy Drum, Trout, Sea Mullet, Spot, and Bluefish were caught in the surf. Cape Point has been a great spot for Drum and Bluefish. There have also been reports of Flounder in the surf and the sound. There are also nice Speckled Trout and Puppy Drum being caught in the sound.
The offshore boats that have sailed have boated caught Blackfins, Yellowfins, Dolphin, and Wahoo. The Hatteras fleet reports good catches of King Mackerel.