As water temperatures rise, Virginia’s tautog bite is picking up. The water temperature is now up to 49.1 degrees at Thimbles Shoals. Ocean wrecks usually produce first, but now the bite has moved into the bay. Look for ‘togs anywhere there’s structure. Popular areas include the CBBT, Back River Reef, the Cell, Tower Reef, the Concrete Ships, Cape Henry Wreck, the Santore, the Winthrop, and the … [Read more...]

  By Capt. Alan Cain   2018 was a very rainy/bad weather year here in NC. We had over 102 inches of rain in Wilmington. It made for tough fishing and very dirty water most of the year. In 9 years of guiding and 14 years living here in Wilmington, this past year was the worst weather and most challenging fishing I have ever seen. Most everyone I have talked to agrees it was the … [Read more...]

  Virginia’s sea bass fishery is open. It’s a special one-month fishery, highly regulated and designed for data collection. A special, no-cost permit is required, reporting is mandatory, and you must tell VMRC when you are fishing so they have the opportunity to have a biologist meet you when you return. All this is due to efforts to collect data on this wintertime fishery that we … [Read more...]

By Capt. Steve Chaconas   If you don’t own any Silver Buddy lures, get some! They allow you to fish any depth with a lot of vibration for little movement. I use ½ ounce and ¾ ounce sizes. Silver is best for days with some sun and moderately clear water. Gold otherwise. Use 10-pound test Gamma Edge fluorocarbon on a Quantum Vapor casting reel. The rod is a medium action 7’ graphite rod, … [Read more...]

  It’s been an exceptional fall for catching stripers at Nags Head. Capt. Reese Stecher of Beach Bum Fishing has been hammering them back in the sound – nice size fish, too, Says Reese: “We have been catching limits of stripers every trip in November. A body of them has moved up into the sound. We have had caught them up to 28 inches there this month. We’re still catching stripers at … [Read more...]

  Urbanna is strategically located on Urbanna Creek, about a quarter mile from the Rappahannock River. Because the Rappahannock is relatively narrow, water flows are stronger and the river flushes easily. Of all the Virginia tidal rivers, the Rapp is the cleanest and purest and offers some of the best fishing in the state. Striped bass, in particular. Many stripers never leave the river. … [Read more...]

By Capt. Reese Stecher   It was a bloodbath last Thursday. We started with the trout and the trout lost. I gave up on netting. They were coming over the side faster than I could keep up with. It was the best day size-wise all week as we ended up with a dozen keepers. We then moved onto the rockfish. Some days they bite like crazy. Some days you can't get a bite. And some days you … [Read more...]

  Speckled trout action is picking up inside Lynnhaven Inlet, Rudee Inlet and in the Eastern Shore creeks. Anglers are catching a lot of undersize fish, but there are keepers mixed in. Leadheads with a twister tail, or Gulps are the most popular baits, but topwaters seem to be catching the larger fish. Puppy drum, some in the 20 to 28 inch class, are in the same areas as the specks. … [Read more...]

Surf fishermen reported plenty of bluefish from the north beaches down through Buxton. Some nice puppy drum were also beached. There were also reports of puppy drum at Pea Island. North of Oregon Inlet, trout are plentiful up and down the beaches. Black drum, bluefish and pompano were caught in the surf. At Coquina Beach, puppy drum and one large drum were caught. The ocean was rough on … [Read more...]