Article by Julie Ball
The Virginia spring saltwater fishery continues to escalate, with catches improving most everywhere. Anglers are happily taking advantage of any weather opportunities to investigate this trend.
As expected, the emerging drum scene is still the biggest news, motivating anglers to gather crabs, bunker and clams, and head for the Eastern Shore coastlines with the chances of hooking into a trophy red. Big red drum continue to provide some decent action among the breakers and sloughs near Smith and Fisherman’s Islands, while the best catches are happening among the breakers and in the wash right off the beach, well within Fisherman’s Island Inlet where skinny water sightcasters are scoring with multiple fish per outing. Expect this action to improve as more fish arrive.
Boats also took advantage of the influx of huge schools of bulls off the oceanfront last week, sightcasting to the schools as they pass into the Chesapeake Bay.
Larger black drum are also becoming more active along the Eastern Shore seaside inlets and on the Latimer Shoal and the Cabbage Patch areas for anglers using both chowder clams and sea clams.
The first confirmed catches of cobia occurred last week. Captain Chris O’Brien, with “Hydrologic Sportfishing” out of Norfolk, put his crew on these newly arriving stealthy fish while searching for drum last week. Cobia hunters in North Carolina continue to report good catches of fish pushing to over 70-pounds as they intercept schools heading north.
Flounder action is still picking up, but there is room for improvement in the lower Chesapeake Bay. Folks caught fish at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (CBBT) last week, but most of the action is still coming from the more protected areas. Both Rudee and Lynnhaven Inlets are still giving up decent hauls of flatfish, with many flatties exceeding 22-inches last week.
On the Eastern Shore, the flounder action out of Oyster is still good, with strips of squid and Gulp! artificial baits working best in the Sand Shoal Inlet lately.
Snapper and chopper-sized bluefish are invading the lower Bay inlets and the CBBT area, with many fish measuring to over 20 and 30-inches recently.
Striped bass are biting in the Bay, with scattered catches of rockfish to over 36-inches coming from the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel (HRBT) and the islands of the CBBT. Be sure to review the regulations for these fish before you go.
Croaker continue to give surf and pier anglers a run for their money as small to medium-size hardheads take squid and bloodworm offerings off the oceanfront, Ocean View, Willoughby and Buckroe areas. Some decent size sea mullet are also in the mix. A few gray trout are also still lurking around the HRBT, but remember you can only keep one fish per person.
Anglers working Rudee Inlet and the Lynnhaven River and basin areas are scoring with some speckled trout for catch-and-release action, along with some nice puppy drum, croaker and big gray trout. Speckled trout experts report that speck fishing on the Elizabeth River showed promise last week, although most days are pretty inconsistent right now. Mobjack Bay has also been productive lately, with responsive trout hitting topwater lures. School-size striped bass are also biting in these same locations.
With sea bass season now open, expect runs to deeper water off Virginia, with jumbo sea bass available on both offshore and nearshore structures.
Spadefish should begin showing around the islands and pilings of the CBBT and the Chesapeake Light Tower, but the water needs to warm up more before the fish will respond. Sheepshead will also begin showing in numbers soon around the CBBT.
The offshore trolling scene should heat up soon off Virginia. In Carolina waters, the offshore fleet is still enjoying plenty of good action for gaffer mahi, wahoo and yellowfin tuna. A few billfish, with some big blue marlin in the mix, are beginning to make things interesting as they enter trolling spreads. Hopefully, this trend will continue to move north to Virginia waters.
Dr. Julie Ball is the I.G.F.A. representative for Virginia Beach, VA. For information, go to www.drjball.com.
