Article by Capt. Matt Abell
As summer draws to a close, young people are looking forward to the impending school year and parents prepare to trade the leisure of summer for taxiing their young’uns to fall sports and school activities instead of the boat ramp where the kids really learn in school… a school of fish that is. Time is running low to put the metaphoric cherry on top of an already great ESVA summer!
The Chesapeake has produced some decent bull reds last week. Fish have been spread from the CBBT all the way north into Maryland near Buoy 72. In the northern areas anglers have actively searched for breaking schools of reds that hopefully have a taste for jigs. The southern portion of the bay has seen better results soaking cut bait such as spot, hardhead and bluefish in depths of 15-30 feet of water on fish finder rigs with 7/0-9/0 hooks. I prefer circle hooks, as all of these fish are trophy sized and will be released. Make sure you have plenty of bait because the sharks and bait stealing blues will do their best to make sure you are fishing with a shiny bare hooks.
This week has also provided some smiles on the faces of ESVA anglers as they pursue the illusive sheepshead. They have been tasty and tenacious providing bullish battles on their way to the dinner plate. Chunks of crab fished around structure like artificial reefs have been the setting for these stubborn spoils adorn with stripes and some pretty funny looking teeth.
The beauty of the deep blue of the Atlantic has been accentuated with a good number of colorful mahi. These ariel acrobats have taken up residence around bass pots and just about anything that you may find floating in and around the 20 fathom line. Trolling small skirted lures as well as feeding back chunks of squid resulted in decadent dolphin dinners. While targeting inshore mahi, anglers have stumbled across false albacore, wahoo and even a couple of nice sized kings.
If you don’t have that deep water desire and want to stay closer to shore, spanish mackerel have made their presence known off Chincoteague as anglers troll Clarkspoons for these speedy, spotted missiles just off the beach.
Flounder fishing has definitely slowed but fishing small pieces of clam for triggers and spades is still very lucrative.
The cobia bite seemed to receive a boost this week with isolated good reports from the CBBT up past the Maryland line. There has also been a few fish boated in the inshore waters of Chincoteague around buoys and shallow wrecks. Most fish have been taken with live eels while sight fishing.
Yesterday my son Sammy, knowing school was going to start on Monday, asked me to take him to Assateague for a quick last minute trip to help put the icing on an awesome summer. I was reluctant to the fact that I had been on the boat with red drum charters nearly every night for the previous 2 weeks and was looking forward to a relaxing evening. Nevertheless, we got the surf rods and hit the beach. We didn’t catch anything huge but it’s amazing how the tussle of tiny spot can wash away anxiety from school or work like a foot print in the surf. It didn’t matter about the end of summer or even the size of the fish, it was just my boy and I doing what we love.
So get out there and steal a fleeting experience while you enjoy this wonderful place we call home! §
