Can you believe it’s September? Where did the summer go? September means back to school, back to work and back to catching flounder. Big flounder. Now is when the big fellas bite. A 9-pounder was weighed this week along with several in the 6-pound category. Live spot is the bait of choice for big flatfish. The end of cobia season is approaching but they are still in the bay and will hit … [Read more...]
Blues and Ribbons
Not blue ribbons, but bluefish and ribbonfish – plus lots of Spanish Macs. That’s what they’re catching off Virginia Beach and up into the Bay. The charter boats are loading up. Flounder catches have also been excellent along the coast and throughout the lower bay - around the CBBT pilons, near the rocks that cover the tunnels and around coastal reefs and wrecks. Brian Hostetter … [Read more...]
Great Bottom Fishing on the Eastern Shore
Angelin and Brent Ham from Greensboro (who happen to be my daughter and son-in-law) spent 6 glorious days dunking Fish Bites and squid at the mouth of Cape Charles on Virginia’s Eastern Shore and caught literally hundreds of fish. “No whoppers,” Angelin said, “but lots of fish.” Included in their catch were some very nice whiting and stud-sized croakers, plus flounder, sea bass, … [Read more...]
Wow! What a Flounder!
Summer is about over, but the fishing is just getting started. It’s flounder time in the Bay, big flounder time. The flatties are now fattening up on the countless schools of spot that are in the Bay waters. The flounder above was caught on the Paige II with Captain Craig Paige, one of the best flounder guides in Tidewater. The best action has come from the CBBT, the Cell, artificial reefs, and … [Read more...]
Pompano Hit Bay Waters
Pompano? In the Chesapeake Bay? No way! Yes, way. They have moved en masse near the CBBT islands, and some nice fish are being caught. Citations were claimed this week by Garland Anderson (3-1), Robert G. Whitten (3-9), Preston Cochran (3-7), Kaleb Underwood (2-8), Jack Limroth (3-3) and William Watts Blomdahl (2-4). That’s some serious eating right there. Pompano are … [Read more...]
Flags Are Flying
The flags are flying. Billfish flags, that is. When a charter lands and/or releases a blue or white marlin, a sailfish, a spearfish or swordfish, they proudly run a flag up the pole. We are now in prime time for catching billfish as well as Mahi, Wahoo, and tuna. They are out there, and they are biting. Inshore, outstanding cobia catches are reported throughout the lower bay. Some … [Read more...]
Red Drum Slaughter
Red drum are a highly protected species in Virginia. Recreational anglers are allowed to keep only three fish between 18 and 25 inches per day. The large drum – the breeding stock – are strictly off limits. To everybody but Omega Protein. A Fish Reduction Vessel from Omega “accidentally” netted large numbers of drum while they were seining for menhaden this week. When they saw the drum … [Read more...]
New River Update
By Bruce Ingram The New River below Claytor Lake Dam has traditionally been the state’s best waterway for smallmouth bass, and both good and bad news exists concerning smallmouths and other gamefish. Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) Fisheries Biologist John Copeland said smallmouth bass year class production has been poor in three of the last five years, driving adult bass … [Read more...]
Look What I Caught
It’s shaping up to be another terrific year for Spanish mackerel. One of the tastiest of all saltwater fish, there was a time when the “Macs” stayed strictly in ocean waters, mostly in the Carolinas, but they began slowly inching up into the Bay. Now, they are plentiful along the western shore of the bay and up into Maryland waters. Spanish mackerel fishing is just plain good. Drone … [Read more...]
Big Things in Small Packages (Fluvanna Ruritan)
It’s a small impoundment by normal standards. Only 50 acres. Fluvanna Ruritan Lake, however, is no stranger to large fish. It is estimated that there are over 300 largemouth bass in the lake that are 15-inches or more and quite a few over 20 inches. The little lake that could is located near Palmyra in Fluvanna County. It happens to be owned and operated by DWR, and as such, biologists are … [Read more...]
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