Pompano? In the Chesapeake Bay? No way!
Yes, way.
They have moved en masse near the CBBT islands, and some nice fish are being caught. Citations were claimed this week by Garland Anderson (3-1), Robert G. Whitten (3-9), Preston Cochran (3-7), Kaleb Underwood (2-8), Jack Limroth (3-3) and William Watts Blomdahl (2-4). That’s some serious eating right there. Pompano are delicious.
The cobia bite is still red hot and large schools of red drum continue cruising the lower bay. Spadefish catches are good. Most spades are coming from around the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. Sheepshead are feeding on the pilings of the Tunnel.
Spanish mackerel and ribbon fish catches continue to keep the inshore guys busy. Captain Steve Wray and the Ocean Pearl crew got on them last week. It’s also time for some king mackerel to show up along the oceanfront.
Some nice flounder limits were caught this week. Jigged buck tails are producing, but drifting with live bait entices larger fish. The hot spots are along the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel and near the Cell. There are some keepers inside local inlets as well.
Gray trout should show in their usual holes over the next few of weeks. Look for larger fish deep near the islands of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel and along channel edges. Most grays will be in the four-to-eight pound range.
The backwaters of the Eastern Shore barrier islands are holding some tarpon.
Speckled trout are inside the inlets and on grass flats. We are getting closer to the yellow belly spot run. It usually occurs towards the end of August and into the first part of September. Spot love blood worms.
Offshore anglers are finding dolphin, wahoo, yellowfin tuna, blue marlin and white marlin and a few sailfish.
Deep dropping for tilefish has been productive. On a recent trip Captain David Wright and crew onboard the High Hopes caught 6 citation blueline tiles. They also picked up a nice yellowfin tuna and lost a white marlin.
OBX
Outer Banks Bait & Tackle reports some croaker, mullet, spot and some bluefish in the sudsy froth. The southwest winds continue to make the water cold, but a wind change is coming this weekend along with some rain. The piers really have nothing much to report, they have been slow. The nearshore boats had a good day with Spanish, blues, amberjacks, albacore, and moonfish. The offshore fleet is still doing well with yellowfin, blackfin, wahoo, mahi, and blue marlin.
Freshwater
At Lake Orange, Darrell Kennedy of Angler’s Landing (540.672.3997) says the water temperatures are in the mid 80s. The water is clear with bass chasing baitfish. Bass can be caught on top waters and hard baits. Crappie fishing has picked up for anglers using small minnows around the fishing pier and in deep brush in 10-15-feet of water. A few nice walleye were caught this week on harness rigs. The catfishing is strong with chicken livers being best.
Elsewhere, bass fishing is particularly good on the tidal rivers. The James and Chickahominy rivers have both an abundance of wood cover and vegetation available. The vegetation bite has been better lately. But all the tidal rivers are producing well, especially the Potomac River, where the aquatic grass has returned, and is thriving in many areas
