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,

The primary driving force on the fishing scene lately is the relentless weather. The fish seem ready and willing, but anglers are having a tough time reaching them. Therefore, many are resorting to an inshore fishing itinerary. And with the ongoing speckled trout run, not many are complaining. The fish are active in the shallows of the southern section of the lower Bay and rivers, as well as in the surf line. Surf anglers are pulling keeper fish from the wash near the Sandbridge pier on grubs and cut bait. Most of the larger fish are coming from the Elizabeth River and Rudee Inlet, but Lynnhaven is also giving up some respectable fish lately. Richard Stell of Virginia Beach lucked out when he hooked a hefty six-pound, 11-ounce speck fishing in the Broad Bay section of Lynnhaven, while Randy Price of Norfolk scored with a nice seven-pound, 13-ounce bruiser from the Elizabeth River on a Mirrolure. There are several fishing methods used for targeting speckled trout, and all techniques are producing lately. But many are finding especially good luck with trolling this week. Puppy drum are still active in these same areas, but the action slowed up this week. Surf anglers are reporting some quality fish coming from the surf along Cape Henry, and down to Sandbridge.

If a decent weather window presents, there is warm water within range, but few boats will make the run. There is a chance for yellowfin tuna, longfin tuna, and bluefin tuna. Swordfish are also a good possibility for those venturing to the deep for an overnight trip.
Until next week, good luck fishing!

Julie
Dr. Julie Ball
IGFA Representative,

Virginia’s Eastern Shore Fishing Report
Covering Inshore and Offshore Fishing out of Wachapreague, Chincoteague and Assateague
by Kevin of Lyn B Sportfishing - TidalFish.com Correspondent
Kevin must be into some good fishing right now. Kevin of Lyn B Sportfishing, a 34ft custom sport fisherman Captained by Bill Bowen. They offer inshore, wreck and offshore fishing adventures. Fishing from the Wachapreague, Wachapreague . Call 757-787-1074 to book a trip.

Luckily we have some reports from the Virginia Saltwater Review covering this region.
Chincoteague – No report this week.
Wachapreague - At Captain Zeds, there was a nice run of small flounder in the area before the poor weather set in. The Bull’s Head area (at day markers 133 through 137), Green Channel, and the Hummock were all productive for flounder. A few sporadic striped bass and grey trout have been reported as well.

Virginia’s Middle Bay Fishing Report
by Jerry Thrash From Patriot Charters and Queens Creek Outfitters
Jerry writes: “This was another speckled trout week.  We weighed FIVE  citation-sized fish, all caught in the Ware/East River area. These fish are staying late.  One angler, Keith Nuttall, had a whopping 7 lbs, 12 oz Speck and a 38” 20 lbs Striper, both in shallow waters and both on a Mirrolure.   Water temps were about 56 degrees. Tautog are biting on structure and hard bottom. Striper anglers fishing for school-sized fish are having success casting bucktails and other lures from shorelines at narrow creek channels and working docks and structures.  Best fishing is at first light and just before dark. Schooling stripers varying in size from 16-24” have been common this past week on moving tides at the Hole-in the Wall, Windmill Bar and in Fleets Bay above the bar.  Activity dies with the tide.  A few scattered big fish in the 40” range have been caught but these fish are isolated, not in schools yet.  Chilly nights expected this week should bring great striper fishing in the next week or so with big fish to come by Thanksgiving. Storm-type lures fished on bottom bouncing rigs, small umbrella rigs and spoons fished deep and up high are working as are bucktails with grubs or shad.

CITATIONS:
SPECKLED TROUT
25.25″, 5 lbs, 4 oz caught  11/14  in the Ware River by Mark M. Ottarson of Bohannon on a Mirrolure.
26″, 6 lbs, 1 oz caught  11/14  in the Ware River by Lee R. Alto of Gloucester on a Mirrolure.
28.5″, 7 lbs, 12 oz caught  11/13  in the Ware River , by Keith Nuttall of Gloucester on a Mirrolure.“