Bluefin tuna made a good showing last week out of  Pirates Cove and Wanchese. Private boats caught several nice fish, the biggest tuna weighing in at 831pounds. And more good news on the saltwater front. An in-the-slot puppy drum was caught at ramp 55. There were some small black drum landed at the Jetties. In Nags Head, some stripers are still showing up in the sound. In Virginia waters, … [Read more...]

  A black sea bass is absolutely one of the best tasting fish that swims, and right now, hardy anglers venturing out in ocean waters are returning with limits. Dr. Ken Neill, III aboard the Healthy Grin filed this report: The Healthy Grin and crew did some wreck fishing February 9th. It was a beautiful calm day with an easy run in and out. We caught a 6-person limit of sea bass. … [Read more...]

The relatively mild winter has kept lots of stripers hanging around in the sounds behind Nags Head. Though the bite is slow, hardy anglers are catching fish in Mann’s Harbor and other parts of the sound.  Some very nice speckled trout are also showing. Surf fishing has been hit of miss – mostly miss with a few puppy drum beached in Hatteras. Offshore, the bluefin bite has been very good when … [Read more...]

From Mossy Creek Fly Fishing Mountain Brook Trout Streams Mountain streams like North River have been running strong for several weeks. All the western streams are running bank-full. Fishing conditions should be excellent this week. Dry River, North River, Ramsey’s Draft, Skidmore Fork, Fridley’s Gap, St. Mary’s  and the Shenandoah National Park Streams are running big but clear. Even in the … [Read more...]

  There are a few changes to the fishing regs for 2020. The Sportsman’s License, a combo license, has been reduced from $133 to $100. In addition, Lake Merriweather, a 450-acre impoundment owned by the Boy Scouts and located in Goshen, is now open to the public on a. seasonal basis. In addition to an appropriate fishing. License, a Public Access Lands for Sportsmen ()PALS) is also … [Read more...]

Stan Cobb with Greentop says there’s not a lot happening on the saltwater front. There are, however, still plenty of rockfish available inside the bay for catch and release fishing. The best action has been between buoys 38 and 42, about a 25 mile run up the bay from Lynnhaven Inlet. Loads of really big fish are being caught on live eels. Ocean anglers are catching plenty of tautogs on wrecks … [Read more...]

  There won’t be much happening on the fishing scene for a month or two, so rather than doing a lake-by-lake or river-by-river report, we’ll single out one of the better choices for some cold weather action. First up, the lower James River. I have always considered a catfish to be a summertime critter. Not so, for blue cats and not so on the lower James River in the Dutch Gap/Hopewell … [Read more...]

  Seals on the Outer Banks? You mean those whiskered critters that bark in circuses? On the Outer Banks? Yep, those seals. Seals, especially young seals, often layover on the Outer Banks during their winter travels. Several dozen have been spotted so far. “Outer Banks Today” offers these tips should you happen upon one.   First, give the seal a wide berth of 150 feet or … [Read more...]

  Freshwater fishing may be winding down for most species, but it’s heating up for one of Virginia’s biggest and most vicious warriors. Muskies. Twenty years ago, there was a modest population of muskies in the New River with scattered fish in other rivers. Recently, the James River has developed into a musky hotspot and the Shenandoah is coming on strong. Other rivers with the big … [Read more...]