The Chesapeake Bay Rockfish season is now open and runs through June 15. The minimum size is 19 inches, with a maximum size of 24 inches. The Virginia coastal season opens May 16 and continues through December 31. The minimum size is 28 inches, with a maximum length of 31 inches. Rockfish have been biting well inside the rivers and creeks and along the oceanfront. Also in the Bay, there are … [Read more...]

Most all the fish have returned to the Chesapeake Bay – spot, croakers, whiting, blues, Spanish Macs, flounder, spadefish and especially sheepshead. Monster sheepshead are now patrolling the pilings of the Bridge Tunnel and are fond of sand fleas and chunks of blue crab. Citation fish over 11 pounds were weighed this week. Water temperatures are now sitting in the high 60s to low 70s throughout … [Read more...]

The big bull reds are just starting to move into Virginia waters. Schools of redfish are starting to move into the Chesapeake Bay. There was a report from a boat fishing south of Poquoson that caught several this week. The fish were cruising along grass flats in around five feet of water. The larger schools of drum have yet to arrive to the Bay, but that will change over the coming weeks. In May, … [Read more...]

The saltwater water temps have poked up into the 60s and things are starting to happen. The striped bass bite has been excellent in the industrial areas of the Elizabeth River. The fish are hanging out around bridges and larger docks near deeper channels. A kayak angler reported that he had an excellent week targeting stripers in the Norfolk area catching over three dozen fish. Most of the fish … [Read more...]

The Game Department (they now call themselves the Division of Wildlife Resources, but I still call them the Game Department) did a piece recently on catching blue catfish in Virginia’s tidal waters. In the article, they said that anglers should target blue catfish, first, because they are delicious to eat and, second, they are an invasive species and need their populations reduced. It is … [Read more...]

The cooler water temps have stirred the appetites of many fish in the Bay and tributaries. Some stud-sized flounder are coming from the humps and structure near the CBBT. Speckled trout fishing is beginning to boil in shallow waters and near grass beds. Puppy drum are right there with them. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel (CBBT) islands are productive for Tautog and Sheepshead near pilings and … [Read more...]

Spot are packing up their bags and beginning to head out to sea, but some nice fish are still biting on the piers and in the lower stretches of the tidal rivers. They happen to be an excellent bait for jumbo flounder and other gamefish (as seen above). Big flounder are patrolling the humps along the CBBT, and bluefish continue to be caught throughout the lower bay. The rockfish season is going … [Read more...]

My family spent a few days fishing out of Cape Charles last weekend and one thing I can say for sure – the whiting were biting. Whiting, called sea mullet in ocean waters, are strong fighters for their size and one of the better eating fish in the Bay. They are a mild, flaky fish and highly prized on the dinner table. We caught about 3 dozen last Saturday afternoon. They weren’t large – about … [Read more...]

When a blue water boat hoists up white flags with a blue fish it means that a blue marlin has been caught. Blue flags with a white fish indicate a white marlin. The upside-down flags show that a fish was caught and released and how many. Currently, boats coming back to Virginia Beach have lots of flags flapping in the breeze. The white marlin bite is red hot. This is prime time for billfish … [Read more...]

If you were fishing on the Carolina coast last week, odds are you were “drumming” up business, as in catching or trying to catch drum. John Savides of Afton wrestled in a slot size drum from the beaches of Topsail, and anglers on the Outer Banks were caching these powerful fish from piers, from the surf and from nearshore and sound side boats. The best bait was finger mullet, which was flying off … [Read more...]