The weather has been a hindrance on many days, but Virginia’s saltwater anglers remain focused on an excellent striper season. A number of 40 to 60-pounders have hit the scales. Most of these large fish are coming from the eastern side of the Bay, Plantation Light to Cape Charles, where boats are drifting and slow trolling with eels. School-sized rockfish are also available for anglers casting along bridge pilings and the artificial islands of the CBBT. Find diving birds and you usually find the fish close by. Some larger stripers are also in our rivers.
The speckled trout bite has slowed, but it is good to see a comeback after the widespread kill following the hard freeze of last winter. The average speck caught is around 22-inches, but a few gator-sized fish stretching from 27 to 30-inches are showing up.
Tautog numbers are picking up on the lower Bay and on coastal structures. Jumbo sea bass are available on many ocean wrecks along with scattered catches of triggerfish. Sea bass become off limits at the end of the year, the open recreational seabass season is February 1 through February 28 and May 15 through December 31. Some big bluefish could also still make a showing near these same structures. This is the time of year boats are on the lookout for bluefin tuna rolling in some of these same areas. A lot of giant bluefins have hit the docks to our south, in Morehead City, NC.
When boats can get out, deep droppers should find tilefish around the Norfolk Canyon. Big sea bass and bluefish are a good bycatch, as these fish often compete in the same areas. Those targeting swordfish off Virginia Beach have been rewarded with some nice fish recently.
Outer Banks
The stretch from Kitty Hawk to Nags Head has been slow, with mainly sea mullet and bluefish reported. Anglers using soft plastics and fishing the little bridge in Manteo are catching speckled trout and stripers. Soundside anglers are reporting striped bass being caught around bridge pilings. Oregon Inlet has produced a few speckled trout and stripers.
Surf fishing on the Hatteras beaches has been more productive. Large sea mullet, puffers and sheepshead are feeding on shrimp. A good number of bluefish are being caught on cut bait. Large speckled trout have been in the deeper holes along the beach. Flounder have been caught around Ramp 43. Puppy drum are scattered from Buxton to Frisco. A few citation red drum are at the point, but action has slowed down lately.
Offshore charters have had a rough time with the weather, but when they get out, they are finding lots of false albacore, blackfin tuna, a few yellowfins, some bigeye tuna and a few wahoo.
Freshwater
With water temps plunging, three bodies of fresh water will continue to produce for those willing to brave the cold – Lake Anna, the Chickahominy Lake and the Chickahominy River.
Currently, walleye are hitting live shad on rocky points at Lake Anna’s Dike 3. Stripers are also busting bait at this same location. Bass are stacking up on main points. Small plastics fished deep and slow will get results. Crappie are really deep, but find them and they’ll bite.
The Chickahominy Lake is traditionally a great cold-water lake. Water temps are currently in the mid 40-s. Pickerel, stripers, crappie, yellow perch, blue catfish and bass bite well throughout the winter. The top bait, by far, is a live shiner.
The Chickahominy River is a top choice for catfishermen in cold weather. Cut shad works, as do chicken livers and nightcrawlers. Yellow perch are now staggered along the drops of main channels and will go for small shiners.
