Way South Fishing Reports

Way South Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, March 21 Update:

Warmer weather is increasing the inshore activity around the Virginia Beach area and red drum and speckled trout are the top targets. Both Rudee and Lynnhaven Inlets are holding large schools of puppy drum. Knot Wish’n Custom Charters reports that there are ample opportunities for catching reds and their clients are catching fish up to 30 inches on recent trips. Sunny warm days have offered the best bite and fish are starting to cruise the shallow waters to soak up the sun. Rudee Inlet has had a lot of fish willing to bite, but there have also been a lot of anglers fishing in the inlet. At times there are numerous boats fishing a school of fish which requires everyone to be courteous of those around them to not spook the fish. We had a report from a kayak angler fishing with his son who took him out on Rudee for his birthday where they enjoyed catching numerous puppy drum throughout their trip. Now that’s a great way to spend a birthday!

The speckled trout were hit hard this winter, but it looks like plenty of fish made it through and we are seeing the bite get better for them from week to week. Anglers fishing the Elizabeth River have seen good action for specks in the upper reaches of the river where the water is the warmest. Chesapeake Bay water temps near the mouth are in the low 50’s and steadily rising. This will bring more tautog inshore to structure like the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. The offshore tautog bite out of Virginia Beach has been excellent recently and double-digit fish are being caught at various reef sites. Sea Mee Sportfishing was out earlier in the week and reported catching a six-man limit of tog while throwing back several. Numerous double-digit fish were caught and everyone on the boat landed a fish over 12 pounds. These bigger fish will likely stay offshore, but warming waters will bring plenty of keeper sized fish further inshore.

Way South Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, March 14 Update:

Warming trends have been good news for inshore anglers as speckled trout and puppy drum are getting more active in the inlets and rivers. Rudee has been a popular destination for red drum all winter and although it has been crowded at times, it has been fishing well. A kayak angler hit Rudee this week and said that the redfish bite was on as he caught several under slot, slot, and a handful of over slot fish. He also caught a keeper speckled trout. All fish were caught on either jerkbaits or soft plastic paddletails. Another angler fishing in an unspecified river said he found the jackpot when he located a school of hundreds of redfish in shallow water. Most of the fish were around 20 inches and eager to hit soft plastic shrimp presentations. Warmer days this month will have redfish active on shallow flats. This will offer sight fishing opportunities, which is a blast to experience.

Virginia Beach Sport Fishing reports that anglers should be on the lookout for a better tautog bite as the weather is warming up. Tautog get much more active when water temperatures reach the mid 40’s and when the Bay temperature rises above 50 degrees, the rock islands of the CBBT are a popular location to catch tog. Other popular locations for tog fishing include The Cell, Tower Reef, Kiptopeke concrete ships, Cape Henry Wreck, and the Triangle Wrecks. Crab, clam strips, and whelk are all baits that are tried and true for tautog fishing. Off the Virginia Beach coast, Wreck Dawg Sport Fishing had a trip that dreams are made of. Their crew reported catching over 100 togs with 20 fish breaking the double-digit mark. Several fish were caught on jigs and the biggest weighed 16.5 pounds. That is some of the best tog fishing we have ever heard of!

Way South Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, March 7 Update:

The bite in the Way South region this winter consisted of red drum, red drum, and more red drum. That pattern is still holding true with puppy drum providing most of the inshore action right now. Captain Todd Beck of Knot Wish’n Charters had a couple successful trips last weekend catching pups in the Virginia Beach area inlets. Both Rudee and Lynnhaven Inlet will be holding schools of drum right now but tracking them down can be a cat and mouse game. Recent reports indicate that the fish are pushing shallow towards the back of creeks with the warmer weather moving in. The shallow water over mud flats warms up the quickest and are often areas the drum actively seek out in late winter and early spring. Small jigs and soft plastics will be a good presentation to throw as most of the bait they are feeding on is about two to four inches. There was a report from an angler who had a successful trip catching reds in less than two feet of water using live minnows and paddletails. If you can find the schools right now, you can usually catch a lot of fish.

Water temperatures at the mouth of the Bay are in the mid 40’s and should be steadily rising as spring approaches. This will trigger several species to make their return. Virginia Beach Sport Fishing let us know that when water temperatures reach the low 50’s, tautog will start to move inshore to wrecks and reefs in the Bay. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel is an excellent location to target these fish when they arrive, particularly around the rocky islands. Another species that will soon make their return to the Chesapeake when water temperatures rise into the 50’s and 60’s are bull red drum. In recent years with milder winters, we have seen the large schools of drum start to show up at the end of March. This winter was much colder, so that might delay their arrival some, but we should start to see them arriving by mid-April. Their relative, the black drum, tend to move into the Bay around the same time or even a few weeks before, but in smaller numbers. Black drum run along the coastal beaches and will move up the Bay to shoals and wrecks in the spring. Anglers often fish for them with crab baits which are proven to be very effective. Both black drum and red drum can grow upwards of 50 pounds, so if you plan to fish for the big ones, make sure you have heavy enough gear.