Article by Julie Ball
A cold front rolled through this week, bringing some welcome relief from the heat.
The flounder action in the Chesapeake Bay is still productive if you put in the time, with some respectable flatfish to show. But the best action is still coming from the nearshore and inshore wrecks, where anglers are cleaning up with limits of nice fish averaging from 22 to 24-inches lately. Jigging with Gulp! baits, metal jigs or fresh stripped bait are all good methods for wreckfishing for flounder. Some keeper seabass will also take these offerings on the same wrecks. For the Bay flounder hotspots, jigging and live bait are most effective right now, with both techniques working around all four islands of the Bay Bridge Tunnel, with the average flattie averaging around 20 to 22-inches. Anglers drifting with strip baits and minnows are also lucking into good numbers of fish near the 4th Island, the Hampton Bar and the Thimble Shoal Channel. Both Lynnhaven and Rudee Inlets are also giving up a few keepers lately.
Cobia continue to provide very good action, with more of the larger fish making a showing last week. Chummers are still scoring with keeper sized fish using chunks of bunker, live eels and live croaker fished on the bottom. The best locations for chumming lately are the seaside areas of Fisherman’s Island, the Nine Foot Shoal and Latimer Shoal, but the trash fish and sharks continue to harass chummers. Sightcasters are finding some incredible catches, with brutes pushing to over 70-pounds landed this week. Pods of cobia are starting to form near the mouth of the Bay, and more fish are starting to favor buoys, making easy targets.
Red drum are also schooling around the mouth of the Bay, with reports of schools also showing off the Virginia Beach oceanfront.
Spanish mackerel are still the word on the trolling scene along the oceanfront, but these flashy fish are also hitting within Bay waters. The bigger Spanish are coming from shallower water on small spoons trolled at a fast clip, with most ranging from 16 to 21-inches.
King mackerel continue to emerge, with scattered catches of fish off Sandbridge showing some promise for a good season.
Sharks still have folk’s attention as boats drift with chum slicks off Virginia Beach, especially at night for these toothy fish. Some of these sharks are pushing to well over 6-feet long.
Sheepshead are still biting well along the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (CBBT) structure, with more fish beginning to move to the tubes of the artificial islands.
Triggerfish are still biting in many of these same areas, with some fish pushing to over 3-pounds, especially on some of the nearshore wrecks.
Spadefish are still available at the Chesapeake Light Tower, the Tower Reef, the CBBT and several inshore wrecks. The 4th Island of the CBBT was particularly productive last week.
Bottom bouncers are flocking to Oyster to get in on the popular croaker run, as the size of the hardheads increase. Within lower Bay waters, croaker are still everywhere. The area off Kiptopeke State Park is still a favorite location, while some nicer croaker are also coming from the Inlets lately. Sea mullet are also lurking off Kiptopeke.
Tarpon are active on the Eastern Shore, with several hook-ups and a few suspected landings keeping tarpon hunters happy in the back waters of Oyster.
Amberjack are still an easy target at many offshore wrecks and at the Southern Towers, while anglers may also luck into a few jacks at the Chesapeake Light Tower.
Deep dropping is going well, with good hauls of the usual blueline tilefish, black bellied rosefish and an occasional grouper with a side catch of nice sea bass.
Offshore, the billfish bite is improving daily, with good numbers of white marlin and several blue marlin crashing spreads last week. Boats using live bait are catching the most billfish.
Further south, crews are also finding a few sailfish. Some nice yellowfin tuna and big eye tuna are scattered around and wahoo are becoming more common. Some big dolphin are showing here and there, along with many surprise shark encounters.
Dr. Julie Ball is the I.G.F.A Representative for Virginia Beach, VA. For more information, go to drjball.com.
