Article by VMRC - Saltwater Review
Chincoteague
According to Donna at Captain Bob’s, flounder are still biting in Chincoteague. The Queen’s Sound (on both sides of the bridge), the Four Mouths (along the embankments), and Cockle Creek (around the holes) have really been producing. Silversides and a mixture of gulp and jumbo minnows are producing the best results. The Assateague Channel continues to produce in front of Tom’s Cove, and there have even been reports of keeper flounder from the pier. Snapper bluefish have also arrived in the area, and the surf continues to be hot with striped bass and black drum.
Wachapreague
Staff at Wachapreague Marina reported the flounder fishing has been very good for the past week. A citation-sized thresher shark, 550 pounds, was caught last week.
Cape Charles
Mark, with Chris’ Bait and Tackle, reports there have been a few black drum being caught around Buoy 13 and red drum in the surf at Fishermen’s Island and Smith’s Island. A few sheepshead are being caught by those around the Bay Bridge Tunnel. Small croaker are being caught just north of Kiptopeake, and a few decent-sized flounder are showing up around the Cell and Buoy 42.
Lower Bay/Bridge Tunnel
Staff at Cobb’s Marina reports that there have been rumors of flounder and cobia being caught, but no one had weighed any as of yet.
At Salt Pond’s Marina there were a few reports of flounder being caught.
Kathy, with Wallace’s Bait and Tackle and Back River Outfitters, reported that citation-sized red drum and cobia had been brought to the dock. There were also reports of legal-sized flounder, croaker, Spanish mackerel, and speckled trout.
Staff at the York River Fishing Center reported a 5-pound, 7-ounce speckled trout from the North River and a 66-pound, 8-ounce cobia from Poquoson Flats. Anglers are also catching plenty of croaker and a couple of flounder at the Gloucester Point Pier, as well as speckled trout in the Severn River.
Dr. Julie Ball, IGFA International Representative for Virginia Beach, contributed the following:
With good weather and cooperative fish, the Memorial Day weekend ushered in the summer fishing season without a hitch. Since the first cobia were boated over three weeks ago, the action has only heated up. Nice fish are taking baits from sight casters, as well as cut bait and live bait presented by chummers. And it looks like things will only get better, as Carolina anglers are boasting of astounding numbers of fish still heading this way. Catches are coming from all over the lower bay, with some of the best action coming from off the Grandview area, the 9-foot Shoals, and the Middle Grounds. Several big fish are coming from top water efforts, where nice fish were hooked around the CBBT and while cruising off the Virginia Beach ocean front this week.
With the recent full moon cycle, red drum are providing plenty of action. Boats are releasing dozens of bulls from the 9-foot Shoals and the seaside of Fisherman’s Island and Nautilus Shoals near Buoy 10. Peelers and blue crabs are working best. Large schools of reds are also cruising at the surface near the CBBT.
A few big black drum are still taking clams near Buoys 13 and 16 off the Eastern Shore, but the majority of the schools have already moved to the islands of the CBBT. Several black drum are taking lures intended for rockfish around the islands of the Bridge Tunnel.
Spadefish are appearing on the Chesapeake Light Tower, inshore wrecks, and many lower bay structures, with a few fish already boated. Water temperatures need to inch up a few more degrees for the action to really take off. The best is yet to come with the spadefish.
Flounder pounders continue to sift through many shorts to get their limits, but a few big fish are rounding out catches. Most flatfish are coming from drifting strip baits near the islands of the Bay Bridge Tunnel, near Buoys 36A, 40, and 42, and the Cell area. Some of these fish are exceeding 5 pounds. A few larger fish are also taking jigs around the pilings of the Bridge Tunnel near the 3rd and 4th islands. According to the folks at Long Bay Pointe Bait and Tackle, scattered keeper flounder and taylor blues are still available within the local inlets, where flatfish as large as 26 inches are taking drifted baits within Lynnhaven Inlet this week.
Reports of a few speckled trout and puppy drum are still coming from within Rudee Inlet, and specks are faring well from within Mobjack Bay. Small-to medium-sized croaker are an easy target as decent hauls come from all over the lower bay, with squid and Fish Bites working well. The best catches are coming from off Willoughby, near the HRBT, the small boat channel south of the 1st island of the CBBT and near the 2nd island of the CBBT. Small sea mullet are also available in these same areas.
Striped bass are still taking live bait presented over the tubes as well as lures thrown near the rocks of the artificial islands of the Bridge Tunnel. Most fish are ranging to around 28 inches, but a few rockfish are pushing to 42 inches. Sheepshead are also around, but they will make a better showing along the CBBT as the water continues to warm.
For those venturing a little further offshore, keeper-sized sea bass ranging around 3 to 4 pounds are biting on a few wrecks and structures. Even further out, deep dropping varieties are also still a good choice. For those fishing on the bottom near the Norfolk Canyon, blueline tilefish, with a smattering of grouper, wreckfish, golden tilefish, and blackbellied rosefish are available.
Virginia Beach
According to staff at the Virginia Beach Fishing Center, there has been plenty of action in the inlets for flounder, bluefish, speckled trout, and puppy drum. Inshore, cobia and sea bass have been biting, and offshore there were reports of bluefin tuna and dolphin.
Outer Banks, NC
Offshore fishing out of Oregon Inlet continues to be hot with dolphin headlining the trollers working further offshore. Yellowfin tuna are also being caught. Deep droppers continue to have success with tilefish. Closer to shore, the cobia bite has been fantastic although they should move to the north soon. Black sea bass can be found on the wrecks along with vermillion snappers. Surf and pier fishing continue to have croakers, spot, sea mullet, bluefish, red drum, and a few pompano. Cobia are still biting during the nighttime hours.
People plying the waters of the inlet and sound continue to have the best success with flounder along the edges of shoals and near the marsh islands on high tide. Speckled trout and red drum fishing seems to be streaky with the old saying “you should have been here yesterday” applying when you get skunked.
South of Oregon Inlet, the spot, pompano, sea mullet, and bluefish have been caught from Ramps 49 to 55. Larger bluefish have been caught behind the motels and flounders by the jetties. Spanish mackerel and cobia were caught earlier in the week but went missing in action for the last few days.
Offshore fishing out of Cape Hatteras had the anglers chasing mostly dolphin and yellowfin tuna with the bill bite sporadic. Closer to shore, Spanish mackerel and bluefish were keeping trollers happy. The cobia seem to be moving further north. Flounder were biting in the morning and grey trout in the afternoon.