Article by Julie Ball
The first tropical event of the season is now past us, making the ‘last hurrah’ for the summer season a huge flop. But before the storm, the fishing scene was still on a roll. A few things could change once Tropical Storm Hermine leaves his mark.
Cobia were out of control as the season came to a close last week in local waters, with many big fish making the end of the season a memorable one. Boats sported multiple catches, with many of the fish pushing to over 60-pounds. The cobia will continue their early fall patterns as they prepare to leave the area, which still offers opportunities for catch-and-release enthusiasts. Sight casters will likely shift more interest to the schools of big red drum still roaming the lower Bay shoals and along the oceanfront.
Flounder will take a hit inshore after the storm until the dirty water clears. Flatfish will begin to assemble along channel edges, shoals and around the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel as they prepare to exit the Bay. Drifters can find luck along Cape Henry, the Baltimore Channel and near Buoy 36A. The best flounder action continues to come from the inshore and offshore wrecks, where some nicer fish are available if you can find the right structure. Fresh strip bait and live bait are working well lately.
Big triggerfish and some nice sea bass are also hitting on many of these same wrecks, with squid getting the nod as the top bait. Anglers are also encountering schools of bailer-sized dolphin while wreckfishing or trolling in these areas, especially between the Chesapeake Light Tower and the Triangle Wrecks.
Sheepshead are still going strong as anglers enticed big fish from the pilings and all four tubes of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel last week. This action will resume once anglers can reach them after the water settles, but the bite will begin winding down for the season soon.
King mackerel action has been good this season, with more smokers boated last week off the oceanfront. September and October are historically good months for kings, so this trend could continue to improve. Spanish mackerel and some false albacore and small bluefish are still providing action within the Bay.
Backwater anglers are finding good numbers of speckled trout and puppy drum in lower Bay shallows, especially in the Lynnhaven and Rudee Inlets, the Poquoson flats and Hungars Creek. One angler reported a good outing, with nine specks in the 3-pound class range while fishing in Hungars creek with live bait last week.
Decent sized spot are around and the action will likely heat up with the blow last weekend, especially off Little Creek, Willoughby, Buckroe and the lower Bay inlets.
Croaker are hitting near all four islands of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, the skinny waters of the Eastern Shore and off Cape Henry. The hardhead action out of Oyster improved last week, but the cooling trend may put an end to this bite.
Tarpon activity on the Shore is likely done for the year as a result of the storm.
The Chesapeake Light Tower can offer a chance at an amberjack, or maybe a jack crevelle this time of year, but there are no reports as of yet. The Southern Towers and some coastal wrecks are also still harboring schools of big AJ’s.
Deep droppers are still catching limits of nice blueline tilefish, some golden tilefish and blackbellied rosefish with jumbo sea bass mixed in, but most folks are focusing on the escalating billfish bite lately.
Offshore, billfish are still at the top of the list as white marlin releases continued to improve last week. Blue marlin, sailfish, spearfish and even swordfish offer bluewater trollers a little more variety and a shot at a grand slam. One boat even reported releasing one of each local billfish species for a very rare Fantasy Slam last week. Bigeye tuna are still around, along with some yellowfin tuna. Some big wahoo and big gaffer dolphin are also a good consolation prize.
Dr. Julie Ball is the I.G.F.A. Representative for Virginia Beach, VA. For more information go to drjball.com.