Just a few years ago, they shut down the speckled trout fishing entirely in Virginia because a late freeze had decimated populations. But what a comeback! Not only are there now plenty of speckled trout in the bay and our tidal rivers, they are big. Really big. Like the 6-1 beauty above caught by Bob Caudle.
The trout are being caught in a number of locations – inside Lynnhaven Inlet, Rudee Inlet, Little Creek Inlet, on the Poquoson Flats, in most creeks along the bay side of the Eastern Shore and in the York and Elizabeth rivers. Live shrimp is the best bait if you can find them, but a 4-inch sea shad, various Mirr-o-lures or suspending jerk baits will also work.
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel pilings are holding striped bass. School-sized rock are being found in good numbers throughout the lower bay, especially at night around any bridges and piers with lights.
Some sizable puppy drum are being caught in the inlets and rivers as well as in the ocean surf. The tautog bite is good right now. Fresh cut crab or fiddler crabs will be your best bait. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel islands are an excellent place to target the togs.
There’s an excellent black sea bass bite on offshore structures now. The same structures are holding some quality flounder, black drum and triggerfish.
The offshore OBX charters are doing well with the yellowfin and blackfin tuna right now. Catches of wahoo are in the mix as well.
Virginia Deep-droppers can expect good catches of sea bass, tilefish and some snowy grouper. And there are good numbers of swordfish available. There’s some red-hot, live bait king mackerel fishing out of Hatteras Inlet.
OBX
Puppy drum, trout, and black drum are being caught along the beaches. Shrimp and mullet with Fish Bytes are still the baits of choice – and they are working! The sounds continues to produce trout, puppy drum and stripers. Pretty weather has allowed lots of deep-sea runs by the Oregon Inlet Fishing Fleet. Boats are returning with limits of yellowfin, bigeye and wahoo.
Freshwater
Stan Cobb at Greentop notes that several bass tournaments took place over the weekend in various places, but the best action took place on the tidal James where 20-plus pounds took first place and 18 pounds took second. There were several limits of 17 pounds brought to the scales as well. Crankbaits were thrown by many as were spinnerbaits, jigs, and chatterbaits.
At a weekend tournament over at Chickahominy Lake, 14-plus pounds won the day, which is a little down compared to average weights this time of year. Look for the Chick River to produce big weights in the coming weeks as the cooler water and shorter days trigger heavy feeding.
The tidal Rappahannock has been producing good catches of crappie, bass, and catfish. When the water is clear, the smallmouth bite is worth the effort.
The Lake Anna winter series started this past weekend with nice weather, but the weights were surprisingly low. Just 13 pounds took top honors among the field of anglers. Crankbaits were reported to be the ticket in the upper sections of the lake. Grass and rocks are usually a deadly combination for bass this time of year. Fishing shallow is still very much an option. The upper sections have been getting better for the stripers also. Cloudy, overcast days usually produce better for those searching the flats with swim baits. The smaller 4-inch baits work well.
The mid-to-upper sections of Lake Anna have been better for crappie. Bridges, brush piles, and docks are all producing. The crappie at Kerr Lake continue to bite well also. The same structures/cover is working well at Kerr. Kerr has floating docks to deal with as the water levels can fluctuate greatly due to flood control and power generation.
The upper James has returned to normal levels. So, targeting smallmouth is an excellent option there. This is a bite that can stay good all winter. Drifting large minnows under a slip float is a good way to learn the good areas. However, casting lures such as crankbaits is usually a faster way to cover water efficiently.
Trout fishing is now supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Levels are perfect in the mountain streams, full enough to disperse the trout and make for more sporting fishing opportunities. The North River below Elkhorn is a good choice – recently “loaded up” with nice rainbows.
