Even though it’s getting colder, there is still some very good fishing to be had in Virginia’s saltwater.
November brings some of the best striped bass action of the year. Big migratory fish are beginning to surge into the lower Chesapeake Bay, holding along channel edges, river mouths, and especially around the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. Successful anglers are casting or trolling spoons, bucktails, plastic eels, swimming plugs, surface plugs, or fishing peeler crab, cut bait, and live menhaden around structure.
Speckled trout continue to offer great action, especially in shallow marshes, grassy flats, tidal creeks, and lower Bay shorelines. The four standout spots this time of year are Lynnhaven Inlet, Rudee Inlet, Little Creek Inlet and the Elizabeth River. Mirror-lure plugs, soft plastics, bucktails, peeler crab, and live mullet or shrimp all work well.
Tautog fishing hits full stride in November, and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel islands are the best places to target them. The rocks, rubble, and pilings around the islands are loaded with tog this time of year, and they readily take blue crabs, fiddler crabs, green crabs, mole crabs, clams, and whelk.
Croakers are nearing the end of their season, but still offer steady action on warmer days, especially in sandy-bottom areas of the Bay and nearshore waters. Bottom rigs tipped with peeler crab, bloodworms, squid, shrimp, or small pieces of cut bait are productive.
Flounder remain available through the end of November as they stage near inlets, estuary mouths, and deeper transitions ahead of their offshore migration. Live minnows, frozen minnows, small live fish, squid strips, bluefish or flounder belly strips, minnow-and-strip combos, and bucktails worked slowly along the bottom are all effective choices.
Large bluefish are still feeding aggressively in the Bay, inlets, surf, and nearshore ocean waters. Metal lures, spoons, tube eels, surface plugs, and fresh-cut bait such as menhaden, mullet, herring, or spot all draw hard strikes from choppers pushing bait against rips and bars.
Gray trout remain available through the end of the month both in the Bay and offshore zones near the Eastern Shore.
Offshore, November is an excellent month for black sea bass, triggerfish and bluefish on reefs and wrecks. Black seabass stack tightly over deep structure in 80 to 150 feet of water, hitting squid strips, clam, cut fish, and small jigs or bucktails tipped with bait.
Offshore anglers are gearing up for bluefin tuna season off Virginia. The recreational Atlantic bluefin season opens January 1 under federal HMS rules, giving anglers access to the winter run of school- and large-school-class fish. Commercial fishermen can resume targeting bluefin when the General Category reopens on December 1. Both seasons are federally managed by NOAA with quotas, size limits, and reporting requirements updated as the season progresses, but each year the opener marks the start of one of the most exciting offshore opportunities on the Virginia coast.
OBX
Julie Smith and party had n amazing outing on a fish9ing expedition to Okracoke Island. Said Julie, “During our trip we caught 10 slot drum, two 30-inch drum, 9 citation drum from 42-48 inches, citation pompano, nd landed one 5.5 foot shark. We also caught several big bluefish and one black drum.”
Wow!
From Jennette’s Pier there have been some nice sea mullet and some big blues hauled over the rails.
The offshore fleet is hammering blackfin tuna when the weather allows.
Freshwater
Striper fishing is about to take off in Virginia lakes. 53 degrees is the magic number that triggers that bite. The upper James is low and clear, but the smallmouth bass are on the feed. Navigation can be a problem.
Crappie are biting well at Anna in the upper sections. Ditto for Buggs Island.
