The red drum are here! Some days are better than others, on good days some boats are releasing more than a dozen big reds … evidence that the bite is on the rise. As we transition closer to the full moon, the bite will continue to improve along the breakers and turbulent shallow water along the barrier islands on the Eastern Shore. Most are targeting these fish off Smith and Fisherman Islands, but the catches are spread out, with fish biting close to the beaches in 3-feet of water, to well outside the inlets in up to 10-feet of water. Red drum are a local favorite due to their fierce strike and challenging fight, with some fish pushing up to around 60-pounds.

Black drum hook-ups are also on the rise. Although most of the fish are on the smallish side, some larger blacks are starting to show more activity. The largest fish are still coming from up the shore near Quinby and Machipongo, but scattered catches are coming from the Fisherman Island surf. Drum anglers have a good chance of catching both red and black drum in the same areas, especially if both clams and crabs are offered.

The flounder bite is still hit and miss this week, but scattered keepers are rewarding those who put in their time. Around the lower Bay, folks are finding the best luck drifting with cut bait and gudgeons around the 1st and 2nd islands of the Bay Bridge Tunnel, the ODU Reef, and off the concrete ships. Scattered keeper flatties, averaging around 22-inches are coming from Lynnhaven River. A few bigger fish pushing up to 5-pounds are also in the mix within the Inlet, where fish to around 5-pounds are responding near the Great Neck Road Bridge and the Lesner Bridges lately.

Croaker continue to bite in various areas in the Bay, with anglers filling up buckets with fish up to around 14-inches. The biggest hardheads are still coming from the lower Bay rivers. Big round head, blow toads, and scattered flounder catches are adding some variety from the pier, where anglers are enticing the most strikes with bloodworms.

Snapper and Taylor bluefish are all over the lower Bay, especially within the inlets and around the HRBT this week. Anglers are also finding some decent gray trout and schoolie stripers mixed in with the blues at the HRBT using Gotcha plugs in the light lines. A few medium-sized sheepshead are also becoming active on some lower Bay structures. The coastal and Bay trophy striped bass seasons will also open May 1st, with a minimum size of one fish per person at 32-inches or larger, but most will be more interested in drum and flounder.

A few report good catches of blueline tilefish ranging to 12-pounds, nice black bellied rosefish, and a few wreckfish on a recent deep dropping trip to the Canyon. Although the dogfish are still around, they are beginning to thin out.

Give us a call! It’s time to get out there!

Flounder and red drum lead the list of potential catches now that the tautog season has closed.

Flatfish are showing more and more along the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel span, with the best catches coming from just north of the Fourth Island. Anglers shouldn’t hesitate, however, to look for flatties around other inshore structures and sloughs. And some fish topping the 16.5-inch keeper minimum have shown inside Lynnhaven Inlet.

Red drum are starting to show along shoals near the CBBT, but look for schools entering the Bay as well.

Speckled trout continue to bite around the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel and in the Elizabeth River. Gray trout are here, but the action is sporadic. Bluefish nearing 5 pounds have been known to show this time of year.

Croaker are spread throughout the lower Bay.

The debut of red drum is always exciting, as they are the first big inshore game fish to arrive for spring. With the first showing of reds in the Bay last week, folks filtering over to the Eastern Shore barrier islands have released a few scattered fish on both bunker and crabs. But the best action is still yet to come. Huge schools of big red drum are making their way into to the Bay and were encountered off of Rudee Inlet this week. Rumors of a few black drum catches are also in the air as folks further up the Eastern Shore in Machipongo are finding a few fish using clams. These fish will begin moving in this direction soon.

Many anglers are turning their attention towards flounder with mixed results. The better catches of flatfish are coming on the outgoing tide around the 8-mile marker along the Bridge Tunnel. The winning bait is drifted squid or cut bait, which is enticing keepers ranging from 19 to 22-inches. Anglers are also finding some keepers around the 3rd and 4th islands. The lower Bay inlets are starting to show more activity, with keepers now coming from both Lynnhaven and Rudee Inlets. In Lynnhaven, boats are scoring with fish to 21-inches with squid and minnows presented on bare hooks within the basin area. This bite will continue to pick up as the water continues to warm.

Croaker are becoming a more common occurrence, with reports coming from various locations around the lower Bay, especially near the 1st island of the CBBT. Medium-sized hardheads are also hitting at the Little Island and the Ocean View, with larger fish coming from the James and Rappahannock Rivers. Nice-sized sea mullet, along with a few small spot have also debuted within the Bay, with blood worms working best for all pan fish right now.

Even with new species to target, folks are taking full advantage of the recent tautog explosion. Bait is now easily accessible, and fish are hitting on most any lower Bay or coastal structure right now. Boats are catching dozens of fish, with several weighing over the 9-pound minimum size for a state citation, with fiddler crabs and blue crabs working well. On deeper offshore structures the bite is also good, with fish ranging between 10 and 15-pounds not uncommon. One angler even lucked into a 24-pounder which could squeak by the existing state record.

The deep dropping interest off the Virginia coast is still good. When the weather allows, boats are loading up on good catches of blueline tilefish, golden tilefish, black bellied rosefish, and a variety of grouper.

The inshore tautog bite is heating back up. And with crabs available again this weekend, expect plenty of folks to be on the hunt for these wreck-dwellers. In Bay waters, lots of fish averaging to around 6-pounds are coming from the Bridge Tunnel, with a few pushing to over 9-pounds. The Bay Bridge Tunnel tubes, the Concrete Ships, and lower Bay wrecks and rock piles are all giving up keeper-sized tog. Blue crabs and fiddler crabs are the top inshore bait, hungry tautog are also willing to take squid while near the Light Tower. Coastal wrecks and deep water wrecks are giving up the bigger fish, with the best catches coming on crabs.

The other species gaining a lot of attention lately is spring flounder. The best early spring flatfish action always comes from the Eastern Shore seaside creeks and inlets. This year the bite has already been going strong for a few weeks in the usual hot spots in Quinby, Wachapreague, and Oyster. Although the action is still slower in the Bay, anglers are managing decent catches of flatfish to 23-inches from several areas around the lower Bay, especially at the curve near the 3rd island of the CBBT. The most effective bait is drifted squid or strip bait, with bigger fish still hitting jigged baits near the High Rise. Smaller fish averaging to around 17-inches showed up in Lynnhaven Inlet and along Ocean View this week.

Virginia was handed an unexpected surprise this week. Candice Otey of Norfolk was enjoying a nice day fishing for croaker on the Ocean View Fishing Pier, when she hooked into something more than she bargained for. After a fierce battle, Candice became the first angler in Virginia to release a full-sized bull red drum this year. The drum weighed 59-pounds, 13-ounces, and stretched to 49-inches long. That’s a hefty specimen for any time of year!

Striped bass along the coast will become officially off limits at end of the month. With the quickly rising water temperatures, rockfish reports are scarce. Most fish are now in the tributary rivers for their spawning rituals.

A few boats made the trip to deep dropping territory off the Virginia coast last week with good results. Nice blueline tilefish, black bellied rosefish, grouper, wreckfish and other deep bottom dwellers are hitting along the 50-fathom curve and near the edge of the Norfolk Canyon. Dogfish continue to pose a nuisance for deep droppers, so expect to weed through some trash fish in order to find edible fish.

Give us a call if you want to go catch some fish!

The Giant Bluefin Tuna bite continues! They have been boiling on bait from Cape Henry to False Cape within 3 miles of the beach.

Incredible fishing … hope this is the new norm for VB in January and February!

Lots of Whales with them!

We have open dates, call us!

Captain Steve

We are available for Sunday Jan 22nd, if anyone out there feels the need to wrestle with big fish! And possibly do some whale watching, they have been putting on quite a show this season.

On January 6th, Cheryl, Mark, Dane, George, Nicole, and myself set out for tuna off the Virginia Beach oceanfront. But, there were too many Stripers. We loaded up with stripers up to 33 pounds and ran them back to the dock. After a quick offload, we set out strictly for tunas. It didn’t take too long before we got a bite. Unfortunately, he broke off quickly. Within 2 minutes of re-rigging, the 80w  goes off again. This time Cheryl gets suited up for the battle. After a 50 minute fight, the crew sticks the tuna & bring in Cheryl’s biggest tuna to date on-board.

Awesome day on the water on the Pearl!!!

Sushi tonight for sure!!!