Way South Fishing Reports

Way South Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, July 31 Update:

Schools of puppy drum can be found feeding in the shallows this time of year chasing baitfish such as mullet. The Virginia inlets and tidal rivers are a great place to fish for them near docks, marshy shorelines, and oyster bars. A few anglers found slot reds feeding in Rudee Inlet this week pushing bait along shorelines. Small three to five inch swimbaits are a perfect presentation to cast at them. As we move closer to fall, shrimp will start to be a main forage item for inshore gamefish, so it is a good idea to have some shrimp soft plastics in your arsenal, or a cast net to get live shrimp to use. Sheepshead are a popular target for southern Bay anglers this time of year. They can be found at various reef sites in the lower Bay, but the highest concentration is found at the CBBT and surrounding bridges where they will be schooling near the pilings. The best bait to use is live fiddler crabs, but chunks of blue crab also work well. Anglers often use bottom sweeper jigs and drop them down right next to the pilings. In areas with strong current, a trolling motor with spot lock is a very valuable tool to help you fish efficiently. Triggerfish are also being caught at nearshore bottom structure, and some are very big.

Virginia Beach Sport Fishing reports that schools of bull red drum are showing up along the oceanfront and in the Bay. Last week they had good reports off Sandbridge and near the second island of the CBBT. The drum are around the islands of the CBBT on most days, but they can be tricky to locate and even harder to catch when there are a lot of boats in the area. Live croaker have been working very well, but large soft plastic swimbaits are catching as well.  Anglers fishing in the surf between Ocean View and Virginia Beach have been catching some puppy drum using cut mullet. Cobia fishing on the Bay is still on the slower side, but weekdays have been better for sight fishing. A few boats reported a better bite searching for cobia on the oceanside of the CBBT, where fish were willing to hit live eels and cobia jigs. Spanish mackerel fishing has been best on the oceanfront as well, and anglers fishing from the Virginia Beach fishing pier are catching them while throwing metal jigs and gotcha plugs. Trollers inside the Bay are having luck in depths of 30’ to 50’ while trolling metal spoons.

Way South Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, July 25 Update:

Fishing opportunities are endless this time of year in the southern Bay. There are several species that can be targeted in the shallows and in open water. Way South contributor Charles Harrison wrote in to let us know that he got out to the CBBT last weekend. He and a friend fished the second island of the CBBT and caught plenty of bluefish. He mentioned several boats were looking for red drum, but he only saw one hook up. They then decided to motor over to the first island where they caught an 18” Spanish mackerel right away, but no others. Jigging for flounder around the first island produced a few just undersize fish and one 19” keeper. Anglers fishing around the concrete ships at Kiptopeke are catching a good number of weakfish. A lot are undersize, but there are some keepers being caught as well. The cutlassfish have also arrived and are biting well in the evenings. The lights from the fishing pier also draw in these fish at night and most nights they can be seen feeding on baitfish.

Cobia fishing has been tough recently in the Way South region. Recreational anglers and light tackle guides report that fish are few and far between, but the ones they find are a larger class of fish with many over 50 inches. Reports Editor Dillon Waters took a trip down to Cape Charles with a few anglers to target cobia last weekend. They set up to chunk at Lattimer Shoal for the morning but didn’t get any bites with two chum logs and fresh bunker behind the boat. Once the sun got high, they switched gears to sight fishing, along with over 100 other boats. They searched from Lattimer Shoal to the islands of the CBBT, and up the shipping channel without seeing any cobia. They only spotted a few schools of bunker, though there were several schools of bay anchovies that had houndfish pursuing them. Only a handful of boats were hooked up with cobia throughout the day, but they did see some anglers catching red drum around the second island and a spearfishing diver bringing up sheepshead.

Way South Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, July 18 Update:

We are in the thick of cobia season in the Chesapeake Bay, and the fish are starting to feel the pressure. The bite has been good when boats can locate fish, but some days they have been hard to come by. If you can get out and fish during the week, the water is usually much less crowded than during weekends. Boats with towers are having luck sight casting to fish along the main shipping channel and shoals inside the Bay. Some fish have also been hanging around the CBBT islands and pilings. There have been some big fish around too, and we heard of a few fish over 50” caught this week. Sheepshead fishing is in prime summer form at the CBBT, and we had an angler check in after catching a half dozen up to 22 inches while fishing with fiddler crabs at the pilings. Fiddler crabs are hands down the best bait for the convicts, but sand fleas and green crab are good alternatives if you cannot get any. Virginia Beach Sport Fishing reports that fish up to 18 pounds have been caught recently, with several over 10 pounds landed as well.

The inlets and tributaries are good for fishing for slot puppy drum. The shallows of Lynnhaven Inlet, Rudee Inlet, and Fisherman’s Island are great places to search for puppy drum throughout the year. The heat will likely push these fish to deeper water during the hours of peak sun, but early mornings can offer some great opportunities with the chance to sight fish. The various bridges between Hampton and Newport News are also productive areas for various species in the summer. An angler fishing the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel had a successful day this week. They caught keeper flounder, some tautog up to 16”, and some puppy drum while fishing around the bridge pilings. Fishing for Spanish mackerel has been hit or miss this year around the mouth of the Bay. The oceanfront has been more reliable, especially around the Virginia Beach fishing pier where anglers are casting out metal jigs and catching mackerel and bluefish. We did have a report from a boat trolling inside the CBBT who caught around a dozen mackerel while trolling with spoons.

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.