Article by Julie Ball
As air temperatures begin to ease into the eighties, the late summer fishing trend is right on target. Many summer species are preparing to migrate out of the area, often staging near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. Most anglers are opting for either flounder or cobia as the fish begin to make their transition.
Flounder is a favorite, and even with a few sparse days due to muddy water, the action was still good last week. Nice flatfish are coming from most anywhere, but the most productive areas are in the deep channels, drop-offs and lower Bay structures. Good reports are coming from the 3rd and 4th Islands of the Bay Bridge Tunnel, Back River Reef and near Buoy 42. A good number of fish are ranging from 21 to 24-inches. Live bait, jigs and fresh strip baits are all working well. The lower Bay inlets are also giving up limits of keeper fish. Flatties ranging from 18 to 20-inches are coming from both Lynnhaven and Rudee Inlet. The flatfish will begin moving to more inshore and offshore wrecks soon. Nice keeper-sized sea bass are also providing good action on many offshore structures.
Cobia action is a sure thing lately, with pods of fish appearing on the surface in the lower Bay and along the oceanfront as they prepare to depart local waters. Many fish are pushing to well over 50-pounds. Sight casters are leading the way with catches in the double-digits for some boats. A few die-hard chummers are also scoring some decent fish.
Schools of bull reds are still roaming in the lower Bay, especially near the 3rd and 4th Islands. Surf anglers are also catching nice fish along Smith Island. Puppy drum are showing some activity in the shallows, where a few pups pushing to around 30-inches were caught as a by-catch by speckled trout anglers last week.
Speckled trout are showing promise on the Poquoson Flats and Hungar’s Creek, with smaller fish coming from the Bayside creeks on the Eastern Shore. Scattered catches of specks up to around 7-pounds were reported from the Lynnhaven Inlet lately.
Some spot are hitting in the Lynnhaven and Rudee Inlets and around the lower Bay. The local piers are reporting good spot action, especially after a stiff north or easterly blow. This bite should only improve over the next few weeks. Medium sized croaker are responding inside Magothy Bay near Buoy 262 and out of Oyster. The folks at Chris’ Bait and Tackle report that shrimp and squid were the best croaker baits last week. Tarpon are still active in the backwaters of Oyster, but not for much longer.
Nice sized Spanish mackerel are still providing good action from the middle Bay on out to the Chesapeake Light Tower. A few anglers are also encountering mahi along the CB buoy line and near the Light Tower.
Sheepshead anglers were still finding good catches last week, with some fish weighing up to around 13-pounds. More sheepshead are now biting on the tubes of the CBBT along with scattered tautog and nice triggerfish. Spadefish are still around, but they are preparing to leave soon.
Deep droppers are still faring well off Virginia. The Rudee Inlet headboats continue to bring home content anglers toting a variety of nice tilefish, rosefish, barrelfish, grouper and big sea bass. A few large amberjack are still available at the South Tower and at some offshore wrecks. Jack Crevelle should make a brief showing at the Chesapeake Light Tower over the next few weeks.
Offshore, billfish are still at the top of the list. The bite varies from day to day, but white marlin, along with scattered blue marlin and good numbers of bailer and gaffer dolphin are the main event. A few tuna are around, but they are scattered. The “Sea Witch”, skippered by Captain David Warren out of The Virginia Beach Fishing Center, had a good day trolling offshore last week with two whites, a blue and a limit of nice dolphin for his crew. For more information, go to www.drjball.com.
Dr. Julie Ball is the I.G.F.A representative for Virginia Beach, VA. For more information, go to www.drjball.com.
