In  shallow water, they rule. As predators, they take no prisoners. They attack with vengeance. They are speckled trout. The King of the Flats. And fishing for these silver, black and purple beauties is as good as it gets now on the Outer Banks at Oregon Inlet. Capt. Reese Stecher, a speckled trout specialists, is putting his clients on lots of fish, big ones at that. Reese often fishes with … [Read more...]

Catfish bite when it’s cold and when it’s hot. They are a very cooperative species, they’re good to eat and they ate hitting everything in sight right now at Lake Orange. Each year, the Game Department stocks this Department-owned lake with catchable size catfish – not fingerlings. The cats grow fat and sassy with all the shad and sunfish available and often reach sizes of 10 pounds or more. … [Read more...]

  Last week, Ronnie Williams fished in a Tuesday Night Tournament out of Sturgeon Creek at Lake Anna and put a bass weighing 11.03 on the scales. Naturally, he won the Big Fish Category. Eleven pounds is a serious size bass. The winning bag of 5 fish totaled 20.9 pounds. Stripers are also biting at Anna, but mostly in the wee morning hours and again at dusk. Night fishing is  also … [Read more...]

South River Fly Shop in Waynesboro says the South River has been very good, even for July, with a great Trico spinner fall on most mornings. Midges and small black caddis hatches have been pretty consistent. Tommy Lawhorne says the fishing has been slowing down by noon with all the heat.  He adds that the brookie streams in the Shenandoah National Park are getting too low for safe catch and … [Read more...]

  It was Nancy’s birthday weekend. “Take me to the beach,” she said. “Let’s go to Nag’s Head,” She didn’t have to ask me twice. I secured reservations for Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights and we broke camp from Charlottesville at 9AM Friday morning. Destination Nags Head. The Outer Banks of North Carolina ranks right at the top of our choices for a getaway. Occasionally, we … [Read more...]

Spanish Mackerel action along the Virginia coast is the best in memory. A large class of fish has shown up along the oceanfront and in tidal rips inside the bay. Captains are trolling small spoons like the 00 Drone or a 00 or 01 Clark behind a small planer. Taylor blues are swimming with the mackerel and together keep the anglers busy. Spanish mackerel average between 1- and 3-pounds, but the … [Read more...]

  We are now in the heart of bluegill season. Most of the fish are on the shore or close by, and they are hungry. If you have a fly rod and small popping bug, you can catch all you want. Maybe more than you want. One of the top bluegill lakes in Virginia is the Chickahominy Lake near Lanexa. It’s a relatively shallow lake, but it has ideal habitat for some of the prettiest bluegills and … [Read more...]

Saltwater angling along the mid-Atlantic coast is peaking. Lots of cobias are being sighted along the oceanfront and in the lower bay. The Virginia cobia season opened June 1st with a minimum size limit of 40 inches, a 1 fish per person limit and a 3 fish per vessel maximum. Of the 3 fish, only 1 can be over 50 inches. Cobia will hit just about anything you throw in front of them: live eels, spot, … [Read more...]

Red and black drum numbers are very good throughout the lower bay. Anglers have had a lot of success with reds on the shoals near Smith Island. Black drum are also feeding near the Eastern shore, both seaside and bayside. Another good location is near the islands of the CBBT. Large schools of Cobia have been cruising the surface along the oceanfront and in the lower bay. Anglers have been sight … [Read more...]

  The prime time for the croaker bite in the bay and up in to the tidal rivers is mid-May. But this year, it’s not happening, at least to any degree. The numbers just aren’t there – yet. Maybe soon. Elsewhere in Virginia waters, the black sea bass season reopened May 15th and runs through the 31st. The bite has been very good with several boats catching limits of jumbos. The Triangle … [Read more...]