If you are a kite flyer, this has been a great spring. If you like to fish, not so much. But as the winds finally begin to calm, fishing is starting to take off. Big tautogs are all over the CBBT and blue crabs (their favorite meal) are now available in bait shops and fish markets The speckled trout have made appearances in various inlets, including Rudee Inlet, Little Creek Inlet near … [Read more...]

One of the first signs of spring – fishing-wise – is the arrival of the big black drum, and they have arrived. Anglers are starting to find black drum along the Eastern Shore. Long Bay Pointe Bait & Tackle  registered their first black drum citation on March 30th. The 52-inch citation (shown above) was caught and released near Fisherman’s Island by Jonathan Hughes. Look for them to show up … [Read more...]

The Giant Bluefin Tuna continue to crush baits and baitfish (like 15-pound bluefish) in the blue water off the Outer Banks. The vast schools of yellowfins are due to arrive any day. Inshore, the trout and striper bites remain strong. The northern beaches are giving up dogfish (these are good to eat, by the way), skates (not good to eat), blow toads (very, very good to eat) and black drum … [Read more...]

  They always show up first at Chincoteague and Wachapreague, and this year is no exception. Some nice flounder have been caught on the Eastern Shore and the tasty flatfish will soon enter Bay waters. Trout and puppy drum have been active in both Rudee and Lynnhaven inlets and tautogs are stealing baits along the CBBT and other structures. The first black drum of the year were caught … [Read more...]

  Angler’s Landing, the marina and bait shop at Lake Orange, is open again for business. Just in time for the crappie and yellow perch bite, Angler’s Landing rents jon boats and sells bait and supplies for one of the most productive lakes in Virginia. Owned and managed by the DWR, Orange gives up trophy bass in addition to channel cats, redear sunfish, walleye, saugeye, bass, crappie, … [Read more...]

It was our anniversary and we decided on a Caribbean Cruise. We would fly from Charlottesville to Miami, then hop aboard the Norwegian Joy and head for the western coast of Mexico, but our flight left at O-Dark Thirty on a Saturday morning. My wife, Nancy, insists on being early to the airport whenever we fly. When I say early, I mean really, really early. We got to the airport on Tuesday to give … [Read more...]

On the OBX, fishing has not slowed with the late winter weather. Lawrence Benner can vouch for that as he weighed in a 29-inch plus speckled trout that tipped the TW’s Tackle scales at 7.12 pounds. Wow! Striper s and drum continue to bite in the Carolina sounds. Offshore, lots of giant bluefins are being caught and released, along with yellowfins, and blackfins.   Virginia March … [Read more...]

The Chesapeake Bay water is cold at about 48 degrees, but offshore boats are finding big sea bass, tautog, and even flounder. BTW, you can catch Black Sea Bass in February if you have a permit. . Visit the VMRC website for more info. Some anglers are taking advantage of the recent warm spell, and are catching trout, puppy drum and stripers in the warmer rivers. Stripers, of course, must be … [Read more...]

The inshore trout bite has been pretty “speck’tacular”, says TW’s Tackle in Nags Head. Lots of trout - and nice fish at that - are smashing baits back in the sounds along with stripers and puppy drum. As the water begins to warm, it’s about 50 now, there should be no lull in the action if you’re heading that way. Boats nudging up to the Bonner Bridge at Oregon Inlet are finding some black drum and … [Read more...]

We still have a few more weeks before things start to happen on the fishing scene. In the meantime, there are Sport Shows to whet out outdoor appetites. One of the best is the Western Virginia Sport Show in Fishersville on Feb. 23-25. It’s hard to believe, but this will be the 36th Annual Show. Wow, I remember going to the first one at the Augusta Expo. They always have lots of fun and … [Read more...]