Way South Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, July 11 Update:
The Angler in Chief says a trip to Cape Charles provided lots of wind, some rain, and dirty water early this week. While he struck out, the anglers he was kayak fishing with (including David and Max Rudow) did catch a slot and an over-slot redfish plus a rockfish. Dark red glitter paddletails were the lone producing lure in the murky water. There are also lots of croaker around and, while visiting the fishing pier at Kiptopeke, that appeared to be the main catch. Locals mentioned that at night the cutlassfish were moving in close to the lighted pier in large numbers and providing “great bedlam,” and Max Rudow reported catching lots of small weakfish at the pier. Puppy drum are being caught around docks and bridges in the Hampton and Norfolk area rivers. A variety of artificial lures will work, including paddletails, jerkbaits, topwater lures, and shrimp imitations. They can be found feeding on shallow oyster beds in low-light hours, but will move to slightly deeper water once the sun gets up. A similar pattern is happening with speckled trout in areas with grass flats where the fishing is good in the early mornings, but the bite is shutting off within two hours after sunrise.
Sheepshead anglers have been finding success at the pilings of the CBBT. The bite hasn’t been red hot, but those willing to dedicate a few hours to dropping fiddlers along the pilings are usually catching some keepers to take home. Black drum have also been in the mix, and it is worth keeping a cobia rod rigged up when fishing the pilings, because cobia will cruise through periodically as well. On the oceanside, bluefish and Spanish mackerel are being caught close to the beaches and by anglers at the fishing piers. The Virginia Beach Fishing Pier reports that their anglers have caught bluefish, mackerel, spot, croaker, red drum, flounder, and skate. There has been a good mackerel bite on the pier this week, and they are being caught by anglers throwing metal jigs and gotcha plugs. Bluefish have also been abundant around the islands of the CBBT and other inshore bridges. When other bites are slow, the bluefish are usually a reliable target throughout the day. Cobia anglers have been reporting mixed results from the Bay with some stellar reports and some not so great. The bite has varied day to day, but has been best on calm sunny days when sight fishing opportunities are best. Bull reds have also been found feeding on schools of menhaden at the surface, with some big feeding frenzies found this week.
Way South Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, July 4 Update:
The summer bite around the mouth of the Bay can offer an abundance of fishing opportunities. Virginia Beach Sport Fishing reports that speckled trout and some puppy drum are actively feeding over the grass flats. The bite is best in the early morning or late evening hours and tends to be slow when the sun is up. Puppy drum are taking up residence under docks with shade and throwing paddletails and other lures to docks near deep water is usually a recipe for success this time of year in the Virginia Beach tributaries. An angler fishing an unspecified tributary had a successful late week trip while inshore fishing. They started our fishing near docks with lights and caught around a dozen rockfish. Topwater lures and paddletails did the trick. They also landed a keeper trout and finished their trip by catching some red drum around the 20” range. Fishing before the heat kicks in for the day is usually when the fish will be most willing to feed, especially in shallow water.
On the oceanfront and just inside the mouth of the Bay, trollers have been catching Spanish mackerel, ribbonfish, and some bluefish. These fish respond well to clark spoons and drone spoons when trolling. Anglers fishing from the Virginia Beach Fishing Pier have also been able to land some mackerel and blues while throwing gotcha plugs. We had a report from an angler who fished on the east side of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel this week near the fourth island. Their boat was equipped with livescope which allowed them to track down schools of red drum and bluefish near the rocky island. They also caught a few cobia near the bridge pilings as well. Cobia fishing has been a bit inconsistent this year, with some days offering a lot of sight fishing opportunities, while other days leave anglers scratching their heads. This time of year, is when the cobia fishing at the CBBT kicks into high gear and there are usually fish around the tunnel and at the shoals along the shipping channel. Chunking, live lining, and sight casting can all be effective.