If you like variety, now is the time to hop aboard a charter boat and dunk some bait off Virginia’s coast. Reefs and wrecks offshore are loaded with black sea bass, triggerfish, blues, and some big flounder. Venture deeper, and tilefish are waiting in the depths for the patient angler. Captain Jake Hiles (above) reported seeing bluefin tuna busting the surface multiple times while fishing … [Read more...]

The speckled trout bite is on fire in the lower Chesapeake and tributaries. Cool water has the fish on the move to take advantage of stranded baitfish and sluggish shrimp. Hot spots include Lynnhaven Inlet, Rudee Inlet, the Fort Monroe stretch of the James River, and the Elizabeth Rive. Puppy drum are biting alongside the trout in the same areas. Rockfish are showing up in rivers and creeks, … [Read more...]

Red drum, that is. There was a nice run of the Reds on Virginia’s Southern Beaches this week. Many anglers had luck after dark. Captain Craig Page and guests aboard the Paige II also landed some impressive red drum near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel proving that the fall fishery is still strong. Captain Todd Beck of Knot Wish’n Charters reported 62-degree water and a strong speckled trout … [Read more...]

Our trout streams are suffering right now from lack of rain. Generally, a decent hurricane refreshes our mountain streams in September and October, but that has not happened this year. John Savides of Afton fished the Jackson River last weekend, and despite low water, found one pool holding a 26-inch rainbow which John brought to net. The fish are there, they just need more water. The state has … [Read more...]

As the water temperatures decrease in the Chesapeake Bay, the speckled trout bite is on the increase. Currently, the sleek, speckled warriors are the Fish du Jour in the bay and tributaries. Some anglers are using live shrimp to entice the trout while other go with GULP baits under popping corks. Fishing shallow water banks with grass and structure on a falling tide produces the best … [Read more...]

Everybody let’s rock! Rock, as in catching rockfish – stripers, that is, and the season is here. As of today, October 4, anglers are allowed to keep one rockfish per day between 19- and 31-inches. This means that those 40-pound plus fish – the big females with lots of quality eggs – will be off limits but those school sized stripers are in play. There seem to be lots and lots of 18- to 24-inch … [Read more...]

Lake Orange will hold its annual Youth Fishing Day this Saturday, September 27 from 10 to 2 pm. It’s a free event for those between 2 and 16 and there will be lots of fun and prizes in store. This will be the last week that Angler’s Landing will be open for the year, but the fishing is wide open. Says Darryl Kennedy, “The water temperature is in the low 70s bass and crappie heading to the shallows … [Read more...]

They are not everywhere, but in certain spots the screech of cicadas is piercing the treetops and smallmouth bass are quick to notice, moving in along the banks, hoping for a big fat bug to fall near them. That’s why “bugs”, popping bugs, are doing a number on the river bronze backs. According to Alex McCrickard of the Division of Wildlife Resources, the annual cicadas in Virginia excite fly … [Read more...]

On the Virginia saltwater scene, there has been a strong nearshore run of False Albacore, also known as Little Tunnies. These fish are fierce fighters for their size and are a prized catch on a fly rod. Boats patrolling the oceanfront are also running into blues and Spanish mackerel. In the mix are some whopper red drum and cobia, but no king mackerel were reported.   In the Chesapeake … [Read more...]

Rough weather early this week put a damper on saltwater fishing, but mild weather starting Wednesday has improved the catches. Particularly, Spanish Mackerel. I remember about 30 years ago when Spanish Mackerel first began to enter the Bay. Previously they stayed offshore but gradually worked their way as far as Stingray Point. Currently, they are prolific both off the coast at Virginia Beach … [Read more...]