Article by VMRC - Saltwater Review
Overview
The cobia bite has begun! While there are scattered reports around the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, folks at the Buckroe Pier, in Hampton, hooked several last week.
Everyone seems to be asking about croaker. While a few locations report that croaker are just beginning to show up, the folks in the York River report that they have officially arrived. Plentiful croaker are available from the river and the Gloucester Point Pier.
Offshore, everyone is excited about the first bluefin tuna reports and is expecting the tuna bite to turn on very soon.
Flounder are still biting, especially around Chincoteague and Wachapreague.
Chincoteague
Donna at Captain Bob’s reports that Queen’s Sound continues to be reliable for flounder. The throwback ratio is 15 throwbacks to 1, but the keepers have been large (25 to 24 inches). Staff at Captain Bob’s suggest that anglers follow the birds for huge snapper bluefish (averaging 24 to 26 inches) at Markers 17, 19 and 20 or in front of Curtis Merrit Harbor.
Numerous undersized black sea bass and whopping skates and rays (40 to 45 pounds) are also in the area. The Four Mouths area has been producing as well, despite a lot of grass, and in the surf, 12-to 14-inch kingfish have been biting along with a few striped bass.
Offshore, anglers are catching their limits of black sea bass at Black Fish Banks, and a few flounder have come in from the wreck in that area as well.
At the Lumpy Bottom, mako sharks have been caught with regularity. A bluefin tuna was also spotted there this week, along with piles of chopper blues. Donna notes that a big bluefin tuna bite usually arrives just behind the chopper bluefish!
Cape Charles
Slow fishing was reported last weekend from Chris’ Bait and Tackle. A few flounder catches were reported from Oyster and around northern Cape Charles. Cobia have been caught by anglers site-casting around Latimer Shoals.
Captain Ray Cardone of Cherrystone reported catches of croaker, kingfish, and weakfish. He also reported flounder near Plantation Light.
Wachapreague
Flounder fishing has been great near Captain Zed’s. According to staff, everyone is catching fish and coming back with a few keepers. Keeper ratio is 1 out of 10. The top spots are the Green and Drawing Channel, and near the old Coast Guard Station. The first bluefin tuna of the year was brought in over the weekend.
Lower Bay/Bridge Tunnel
At Cobb’s Marina, several citations were reported including a 7 lb. 11 oz., 26-inch flounder and a 51-inch cobia hooked near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.
At Wallace’s Bait and Tackle, staff have seen a good number of cobia being brought in, with several citations recorded last weekend (60 to 70 pounds). The cobia have been biting near the rock piles in the Grand View area. Staff are also hearing reports of red drum in the area, as well as a few flounder.
Croaker fishing in the York River has been phenomenal. Anglers are catching mixed sizes throughout the area, according to the York River Fishing Center. Several speckled trout citations were reported including a 5 lb. 6 oz. fish caught in the Ware River on June 7th and a 5 lb. 4 oz. fish from the North River on June 9th. The speckled trout bite in the Mobjack area has really picked up as well.
Dr. Julie Ball, IGFA International Representative for Virginia Beach, contributed the following:
With most of the summer species now in place, anglers are still turning most efforts towards the abundant cobia, which are now available all over the lower Bay. Cobia are making their presence known as they take chummer’s offerings, and cruise along the surface. Boats using the chumming technique are having good results from the Buckroe area off Hampton, to the Inner Middle Grounds, and the Nine-Foot Shoals closer to the mouth of the Bay. Sight casters are having the best success, with many boats scoring with double-digit hook-ups while cruising the Lower Bay and Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel areas. Anglers fishing on the Ocean View Fishing Pier are also landing a few small cobia lately.
The red drum bite is still very good, as big reds continue to hit along the surf, at Buoy 10 near Fisherman’s Island and the Nine-Foot Shoals area. Many anglers are finding topwater action as schools of red drum continue to cruise near the 3rd and 4th Islands off the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.
Black drum have shifted to the islands of the Bridge Tunnel, where various lures can prove effective. Be sure to take the time to revive these fish when releasing them, as they tend to tire, leaving them unable to recover without assistance. Pier anglers are also getting in on some of the black drum action. Two black drum (the largest was 52 inches) were released from the Seagull Fishing Pier at the first island of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.
Spadefish are showing up on lower Bay structures, inshore wrecks and at the Chesapeake Light Tower. Anglers have hooked a few fish, with most fish weighing around 6 lbs. The larger spades will come from the Inner Bay hot spots soon, such as the Cell and Wolf Trap Light.
Sheepshead action is slow, but a few fish are cooperating along the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, with one fish over 13 pounds boated last week.
There is finally good news on the flounder front. The bite is still improving with more anglers reporting limits of nice fish. The folks at Ocean’s East 2 report that flatfish weighing up to 9 pounds are taking drifted minnows and cut bait near the islands of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. Anglers jigging and working live bait along the pilings and over the tubes of the Bridge Tunnel are also scoring with nice fish, with the 1st and 2nd Islands being the most productive lately. Lynnhaven and Rudee Inlets are still giving up above average numbers of keepers.
Many anglers are excited about the recent arrival of Spanish mackerel into local waters. These fish provide quick action and are easy to catch. Boats are encountering good numbers of Spanish mackerel while trolling off Cape Henry and along the Virginia Beach oceanfront. Tailor bluefish are also in these same vicinities.
Reports of speckled trout and a few puppy drum are still coming from within Rudee Inlet, Lynnhaven Inlet, and Mobjack Bay.
Small bluefish and croaker are available all over the lower Bay. The Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel, the Hampton Bar, the Monitor-Merrimac, the James River Bridge, Little Creek, and the southern small boat channel at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel are providing the best action on a range of sizes of hardheads. Sea mullet are also biting along the oceanfront, where pier anglers had a good run of small to medium sized fish this week. Small spot are also hitting within lower Bay inlets.
Deep dropping boats are finding decent catches lately. The head boats out of The Virginia Beach Fishing Center are finding good numbers of blackbellied rosefish and some nice blueline tile fish. On a recent trip, one lucky angler boated the new state leader for the year, weighing in at 19 pounds, 5 ounces. Scattered golden tilefish, grouper and wreckfish are also in these same areas. Boats targeting black sea bass are finding some nice fish on a few offshore wrecks and as a bycatch while deep dropping.
Outer Banks, NC
Offshore fishing out of Oregon Inlet has been very good for people looking for yellowfin tuna and dolphin. King mackerel, wahoo, blackfin tuna and bigeye tuna have helped to make up for the lack of bluefin tuna.
Billfish catches have been improving but are still slow with blue marlin making the biggest improvement.
Bottom fishing has been good for tilefish, black sea bass, triggerfish, vermillion snapper and snowy grouper. Artificial reefs have seen moderate catches of sheepshead, triggerfish, and tautog. Nearshore and pier fishing produced excellent bluefish runs with some Spanish mackerel mixed in. The cobia bite is slowing down some.
Surf fishing south of Oregon Inlet has been going strong as pompano are biting very well with two hotspots around Ramp 43 and Ramp 49. Sea mullet were also caught around Ramp 43 and in Avon. Spanish mackerel were reported around Ramp 49. The cobia and red drum bites have been dropping off lately.
Offshore fishing out of Hatteras Inlet has seen a good run of yellowfin tuna and dolphin over the last week. Billfishing has been slow with only a few blue and white marlin being released.
Inshore, the bluefish and Spanish mackerel have been the headliners with a couple of cobia and red drum in the mix.
