There should be no problem finding a species to target right now. Both inshore and offshore varieties are available. Inshore, cobia action continues to lure anglers to the lower Bay shoals. Chummers are scoring with a nicer class of fish using chunks of bunker, live eels, and live croaker fished on the bottom. The best locations for chummers lately are the seaside areas of Fisherman’s Island, the Nine foot shoal, and Latimer shoal. Sight-casters are lagging behind, mostly because of frequent cloudy and windy conditions. Pier anglers where thrilled this week when 3 big cobia hit baits off the Seagull Fishing Pier located at the 1st island. Red drum are also taking cut bunker in these same areas. Black drum are still circling the islands of the CBBT, with a smartly placed shad or buck tail the lure of choice.

Flounder action is hit and miss again this week, but anglers who put in their time are finding a few keepers. Most keepers are coming from drifting with strip baits and minnows. The Hampton Bar, buoy 36, Back River Reef, and the Thimble Shoal Channel, are proving the most action for drifters. Those dropping live bait and jigs on lower bay structures are also finding a few nice fish along the HRBT and the CBBT. Within Lynnhaven Inlet, Rudee Inlet, and Wachapreague, flounder enthusiasts are finding a few fish, but the action is generally slow.

The hunt for the king mackerel is on. Unfortunately, the kings are not cooperating. A few small kings ranging from 10 to 15 pounds are coming from the CB line of buoys near the entrance to the Bay. Spanish mackerel action has also slowed up. Captain Steve Wray, skipper of the Ocean Pearl out of Lynnhaven, reports that the best Spanish bite is occurring off the Virginia Beach ocean front, where the fish are hitting in 10 to 30-feet of water.

Some spadefish are schooling around near shore wrecks, the span of the CBBT, and the 3rd and 4th islands. Most of these fish are ranging to around 4-pounds. Plantation Light and the Cell are holding some larger fish, but getting them to bite is another story. Triggerfish are helping themselves to the clam offered to spades near the islands, which are fun to catch, and a good consolation prize.

Sheepshead action is good lately, with fish to14-pounds taking fiddler crabs dangled along the Bridge Tunnel complex. Noel Dennis of Carrollton, scored with a trophy 10-pound sheepsead while offering a fiddler crab at the CBBT. Decent tautog are also coming from the same areas, with fish tipping the scales at 9.5-pounds this week.

Plenty of medium-sized croaker and nice spot are scattered around the lower Bay. The lower Bay inlets, the Concrete Ships, and the small boat channel south of the first island are providing good numbers right now. Squid, shrimp, and Fishbites are all working well.

The folks at Ocean’s East 2 report that speckled trout made a modest showing within Lynnhaven, Rudee, and Little Creek Inlets lately. Most fish are just keeper sized, but a few 4-pounders are also in the mix. Puppy drum are going strong, with fish active in all the lower Bay shallows and Inlets, with the Elizabeth River, and Lynnhaven Inlet favorite hot spots this week. A few pups are pushing up to over 30-inches.

The folks at Chris’ Bait and Tackle report that other than a few sightings, the tarpon action is still basically non-existent. Tarpon experts are speculating that the Virginia tarpon run may not materialize this season if it does not jump-start within the next week or so.

Amberjack are a no-brainer at the South Tower, where anglers are finding good numbers of Continue Reading »

Virginia Marine Resources (VMRC) 2009 Saltwater  Fishing Tournament Leading Entries for the week of July 30,2009 .Click on the image for a larger view of the leaders.

Virginia Marine Resources Fishing Tournament 2009 Leading Entries as of June 3, 2009.
Click on the image for a larger view of the leaders

The inshore saltwater spring fishery is now in full gear. The final star of the show made its debut this week, the notorious red drum. Chris’s Bait and Tackle reports over a dozen bulls already released by surf anglers from the suds of Smith’s Island. This fishery is no where near what it will become, but with the recent north easterly wind and the upcoming full moon, a boost in the action is promising. Peeler crabs, blue crabs, and bunker fished on the Eastern Shore shoals and in the surf of the barrier islands will put you in the zone. These fish are fierce fighters, and can weigh in upwards of 50-pounds.

The red drum’s close cousin, the black drum, is also pushing its way into the usual haunts. These two species are usually caught in the same areas. A few blacks are coming from near buoy 13 and the seaside inlets along the Eastern Shore, while smaller fish are still coming from the surf. More large fish will begin taking bait soon, with the beginning of May always the best time for these gentle giants.

With the recent wind and muddy water, flounder pounders are struggling to find fish, with protected areas offering the best opportunity. Long Bay Pointe Bait and Tackle reports that some keepers up to around 23-inches are coming from within Lynnhaven Inlet. The Oyster area and Ship Shoal Inlet on the Eastern Shore are providing limits of keepers, while drifters at buoy 36A were also hooking a few flatties before the recent cold front. According to The Virginia Beach Fishing Center, surf anglers and boaters trolling off the beach are pulling in good numbers of Taylor bluefish.

The bayside shallows and lower bay inlets are producing Continue Reading »

North Carolina commercial seafood landings rose by 13 percent in 2008, bolstered by the best hard blue crab harvest since 2003. The increase ends a previous five-year decline for the state’s seafood industry.

Of the 71.2 million pounds of seafood sold to dealers last year, nearly half, or 32.9 million pounds, were hard blue crabs, according to the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries’ Trip Ticket Program. Hard crabs also contributed $25 million to the $87 million total dockside value of seafood in 2008, a $4 million increase from the 2007 total.

“Although crab pot trips were down from last year, the winter crab trawl fishery was very good, contributing to the increased landings of hard blue crabs compared to 2007,” said Alan Bianchi, the state Division of Marine Fisheries’ Commercial Statistics program manager.

The 57 percent increase in blue crab harvest contributed to a 34 percent increase in overall shellfish landings, which also saw steady shrimp catches. The shrimp harvest declined by 1 percent, but the landings were still 64 percent higher than the previous five-year average.

“In the shrimp fishery, the high fuel prices during the fall likely led to the decline in the number of shrimp and skimmer trawl trips in 2008,” Bianchi said.

Oyster harvest increased by Continue Reading »

We received the below report and picture from Kevin Crum who runs the Striped Bass World Championship Tournament each year in Virginia’s tidal waters. We thought we would pass it along, it’s one kick butt Red Drum, way to go Zach!
(you can click on the picture for a larger version)

“My 12 year old son Zach Crum (Chesapeake, VA) caught his first trophy Red Drum on Sunday. He caught a 46” Red Drum from the surf of Virginia’s eastern shore on hard crab. Zach and I have been surf fishing together since he was 5 years old and has seen the “big guys” have some exceptional fishing, so he had paid his dues. It was an exciting day for him and a proud day for me. Fortunately, we were able to capture the whole thing with some high quality photos I thought I would share.”

Hot off the press tonight: The 2009 flounder regulations have been set. There will not be a closed season this year. The bag limit is 5 fish per angler with a minimum length of 19 inches. Good Flounder fishing this year in Virginia tidal waters!

When anglers can find fishable weather, they are heading for the oceanfront in pursuit of the prized striped bass. But this week, anglers are working hard for their catches, with many boats returning to the dock empty-handed. Boats are running as far as 30 miles north along the Eastern Shore, and as far south as Carolina looking for anything indicating rockfish activity. It seems the larger schools of the bigger fish are remaining out of reach over the three-mile limit, which is frustrating boaters watching beehives of birds working six miles or further offshore. The water temperatures dropped quickly over the last few weeks, but anglers are hoping the few scattered warmer days lately will encourage more striper activity within range. Smaller, school-sized stripers are still taking lures for anglers casting around the pilings and all four artificial islands of the CBBT for catch-and-release action.

Tautog are becoming more intriguing to inshore anglers, but the bite in the Bay is off and on lately. Moving to a little deeper water is the key, with the mid-range and deep water wrecks becoming a better choice. Structures ranging from the Chesapeake Light Tower, and on out to deep water wrecks are good places to try. Running to the more southern wrecks can also produce better results. Bill Knapp of Virginia Beach and his crew had a good tog day when they braved choppy seas to an offshore wreck this past weekend. The trio caught their limit of nice keeper tautog, with Bill taking the catch of the day with a hefty 10-pound, 14-ounce fish he caught on blue crab.

With the slow-down of the inshore rockfish bite, anglers are beginning to concentrate more on deep water species. Good numbers of big seabass are inhabiting the deeper wrecks, along with some chopper bluefish. The nearby Canyon and its edges are a good place to look for deepwater bottom dwellers such as tilefish, grouper, and blackbellied rosefish. The Jil Carrie, running out of Long Bay Pointe Marina had a good day of deep dropping recently, with a mixed bag of blueline tilefish, blackbellied rosefish, wreckfish, barrelfish, and nice seabass up to just over 6-pounds. Dogfish are also making a showing in these deep water areas, making catches more challenging. Switching to metal jigs can often help overcome this problem.

Until next week, good luck fishing!
Julie
Dr. Julie Ball
IGFA Representative,