Article by Julie Ball
Finally, the Mid-Atlantic spring fishing scene is taking off, with catches improving most everywhere!
Tautog was still the biggest draw last week, and you didn’t have to go far to get in on the action since the bite in the Chesapeake Bay continues to escalate. But don’t wait too long since the season closes on the 1st of May. Excellent catches are coming from the structure and pilings of the Bay Bridge Tunnel and several lower Bay wrecks. Anglers using fiddlers and blue crabs are experiencing steady action with easy limits of fish averaging around 4 to 8-pounds. Some trophy catches up to 10-pounds are also coming from these same areas. The larger tog are still coming from the deeper water structures, but the action is a little slower. The bait of choice on deeper wrecks is blue crabs or green crabs, either cut or whole.
The flounder bite is still emerging in lower Bay waters. Scattered keepers are rewarding those who put in their time along the Eastern Shore seaside inlets, Oyster, Magothy Bay and Back River Reef. Decent keepers measuring to around 21-inches are coming from both Rudee and Lynnhaven Inlets on strip bait and jigged Gulp! grubs. The flatfish action should pick up around the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel as the water clears after the latest front.
Puppy drum are everywhere. Rudee, Lynnhaven and Little Creek Inlets are still harboring very good numbers of healthy pups measuring up to around 24-inches, with the best catches coming on crab lately.
Nice speckled trout are still hitting topwater lures and Mirrolures in the Elizabeth River for catch and release action, with plenty of feisty puppy drum also available to round out catches.
Anglers are still anticipating the arrival of red drum off the Eastern Shore, but no one has reported any catches as of yet. Small black drum are becoming more active in the Eastern Shore seaside inlets and along the surflines of the barrier islands. Large black drum will show up in Quinby and Machipongo before they move down to lower Bay waters.
The lower Bay rivers are still giving up good numbers of croaker, while Little Creek and Ocean View are hosting decent numbers of medium-sized hardheads, which are favoring squid and shrimp. The folks at the Ocean View Fishing Pier report that the best croaker action is still at night.
Golden tilefish, grouper, black-bellied rosefish and other deepwater bottom species are still available in water over 50 fathoms near the Canyon. As dogfish sharks begin to move out this month, more boats will venture to shallower water around the 50 fathom curve to target blueline tilefish.
Offshore action is heading our way. A few boats from Virginia will test some warmer water moving into range near the Cigar in hopes of finding yellowfin tuna.
Dr. Julie Ball is the I.G.F.A. representative for Virginia Beach, VA. For information, go to www.drjball.com.
