Article by Julie Ball
Anglers are enjoying the milder temperatures lately as a coldfront makes its way through the Mid-Atlantic area.
Inshore, cobia got the nod again last week as decent numbers of solid fish kept most cobia hunters content. Many fish are ranging in the 50 to 60-pound class, with small pods of fish becoming more common in open water as well as on structure.
Schools of big red drum are still meandering near the entrance of the Bay and along the oceanfront, providing good opportunities for casters. Spanish mackerel action also remains excellent along coastal waters, with an exceptional number of big fish making a showing this season. Some huge mackerel, with a few stretching to over 27-inches, were boated again last week while trolling small spoons. Small bluefish are always a given when trolling for these fish. King mackerel anglers are still waiting for the king bite to materialize, with only a few catches to report so far this season. On the other hand, a persistent presentation of sharks along Virginia’s coastal waters will satisfy any shark enthusiast’s interest.
The flounder bite was hit and miss last week. Some respectable fish are responding to jigs and live bait presented along structure in the lower part of the Bay, and drifters are enjoying catches of keepers ranging to around 20-inches along drop-offs and channel edges. Offshore and nearshore wrecks continue to hold some willing flatfish, along with nice black sea bass. The Rudee Inlet flounder action is reasonable, with a few decent flatties along with plenty of throwbacks hitting mostly gudgeons last week.
Interest in spadefish is waning, with nice spades still available along the northern span of the CBBT, around the four artificial islands, and on many inshore structures. It’s been a great sheepshead year, as big fish continue to strike at crab, clam and fiddlers presented along the pilings of the CBBT. Many of these fish are exceeding 12-pounds. Triggerfish are also competing for these same offerings.
Some speckled trout, along with scattered catches of spot and croaker, are available in most lower Bay inlets, while anglers fishing in Oyster are filling coolers with croaker from the back waters. Sea mullet are still available near the Concrete Ships and Fisherman’s Island Inlet. Tarpon are active in the back waters of Oyster, with plenty of sightings and a few jump-offs reported last week.
Amberjack are available near offshore wrecks and at the Southern Towers, but there is still little interest due to the good offshore scene. Deep dropping is still decent off Virginia, although several boats reported a slower catch last week.
Offshore, the billfish action is still on the rise with multiple white marlin releases, a few blue marlin encounters and even some sailfish action happening lately. According to Captain Jake Hiles of “Matador Sportfishing”, trollers are finding the best luck near the Cigar, while live-baiters are scoring better in the Norfolk Canyon. Further to our north, Ocean City is enjoying an exceptional run of white marlin just in time for the famous White Marlin Open billfish tournament this week. A few nice yellowfin and bigeye tuna are also available for meatfish lovers. Boats are also finding a few willing wahoo and plenty of big dolphin.
Dr. Julie Ball is the I.G.F.A. Representative for Virginia Beach, VA. For more information, go to drjball.com.