My family spent a few days fishing out of Cape Charles last weekend and one thing I can say for sure – the whiting were biting. Whiting, called sea mullet in ocean waters, are strong fighters for their size and one of the better eating fish in the Bay. They are a mild, flaky fish and highly prized on the dinner table.
We caught about 3 dozen last Saturday afternoon. They weren’t large – about 9- to 11-inches – but they were hungry and took our shrimp and squid baits as soon as they hit the bottom
Elsewhere in the Bay, the cobia have basically left the building, but it has been a great season. The red drum continue to impress with large schools prowling the lower bay and off Sandbridge. Sheepshead are also biting around the CBBT and other structures. Cooling water temps are stimulating the tautog bite and flounder fishing is now at its peak. The spot bite is on big time in deeper water with hard bottoms. Bluefish are slashing baitfish across the lower bay and up into the tributaries. Speckled trout are turning on as the water cools and puppy drum are available right beside the trout.
In the Virginia surf, it’s drum blues and sea mullet.
Offshore boats are hooking up with sailfish, blackfin tuna, and Wahoo. On the ocean wrecks, sea bass, triggerfish, and flounder are coming over the rails.
OBX
It’s been rough weather on the Outer Banks with strong currents and choppy seas. The blue water fleet has been tied to the docks, but big drum up to 50-inches have been wrestled in from the surf. The southern beaches produced black drum, spot, croaker, mullet, and a few trout. On Monday morning, the piers had mullet and Spanish. Calmer water and cooler weather should stimulate the early fall bite significantly.
Freshwater
In freshwater, the crappie bite is on fire. Anna and Buggs have been hotspots as of late. Smallmouth are also becoming more active though the water is still low on the Upper James. The trout stocking trucks will soon resume their routes – but all those streams are now low and clear.
