Angelin and Brent Ham from Greensboro (who happen to be my daughter and son-in-law) spent 6 glorious days dunking Fish Bites and squid at the mouth of Cape Charles on Virginia’s Eastern Shore and caught literally hundreds of fish.
“No whoppers,” Angelin said, “but lots of fish.”
Included in their catch were some very nice whiting and stud-sized croakers, plus flounder, sea bass, spot, lizard fish, sting rays, hog fish, grey trout, speckled trout, and puppy drum. The fish were found mostly at depths of about 14 to 17 feet.
Also in Virginia saltwater, a king mackerel run is underway off Virginia Beach. There are scads of ribbonfish offshore and the big Macs are taking advantage. They should run well into September. Spanish mackerel, bluefish and ribbonfish trolling remains productive. Spanish mackerel are still chasing trolled spoons off the Virginia Beach oceanfront.
Cobia wiare preparing to head south soon but offer outstanding top water action as they leave. Several boats reported cobia exceeding 50-pounds last week. The Virginia cobia season closes September 15th.
Big red drum are still roaming about the lower Bay and around the shoals of the barrier islands. It is time for reds to begin showing more around the artificial islands of the CBBT. Fresh cut bait and live bait work well for this area. A northerly blow in September will jump start some drum surf fishing action.
Flounder catches are improving along the coast and throughout the lower bay. Look for them around the CBBT pilons, near the rocks that cover the tunnels and around coastal reefs and wrecks. Many are caught around the jetties at Rudee and Little Creek.
Buoys and wrecks are holding triggerfish and spadefish.
Speckled trout, puppy drum, spot and croaker are inside the inlets. Trout are available along the Poquoson Flats and in bay-side creeks of the Eastern Shore.
Surf fisherman and those fishing off the Virginia Beach Fishing Pier are catching spot, croaker, sea mullet, ribbonfish, sand perch and flounder. Red drum, puppy drum, speckled trout and cobia are also a possibility. The spot are biting two at a time in the lowere Rappahannock but fish are still small.
Billfish release flags are showing up in mass at Rudee Inlet.
OBX
A few drum hitting in the 18″ range were caught in the surf along with some 30- to 40-inch throwbacks. Jennette’s Pier reported drum, king mackerel Spanish and blues. The water temp is currently at 73, a little cold for pompano. Nearshore boats were finding blues and Spanish. Trout and puppy drum continue to be players back in the sound. Offshore boats are still pulling in the fish with one captain having a good day on the wahoo. There are still plenty of tuna along with white marlin, blue marlin, and sailfish in the blue waters.
Freshwater
The James, New and Shenandoah rivers are in (knock on wood) perfect condition. Earlier week downpours added cool water, and the rivers are clearing going into the weekend. The topwater bite should be exciting for smallmouth.
In smaller lakes, like Lake Orange, water temperatures are cooling a bit and are now in the upper 70s. Bass at Lake Orange are feeding on baitfish with the upper end producing best. Crappie fishing has picked up a bit with small minnows the bait of choice. Catfishing remains strong throughout the lake with chicken liver baits. A few walleye have been caught down lake using harness rigs.
In the larger lakes, deep brush is producing good catches of both crappie and bass. Night fishing for catfish has produced some whoppers at Buggs Island.
