Latest News & Fishing Reports in Virginia Beach
June 2011
Tuna, Tuna, Tuna! The Yellowfin tuna have arrived on the offshore grounds. They just showed up the other day and are chewing. Yellowfins in the 20-to 40-pound range. Some nice size mahi-mahi (dolphin fish) in the 10-to 20-pound range also are available, and Mako sharks are mixing in with the tunas. There is even the possibility of catching a swordfish, I have heard of several seen sunning on the surface. Deep dropping is still good for tilefish, grouper, wreckfish, and seabass. Seabass season opened back up on May 22, so its game on for the offshore species. Give us a call or email; we are all geared up to get you out there for some offshore action.
Inshore
Everything is here for the taking. Taylor blues have been thick along the beach and the first Spanish mackerel have shown. Spanish fishing will get even better in the next few weeks. A school of big Red Drum also has shown along the oceanfront. A boat recently released 18 Reds out of that big school. Big Black Drum are around the islands of the Chesapeake Bridge tunnel waiting for us to cast to them. Also, croakers and some flounder are biting around the bridge tunnel. A few cobias have shown, and I have heard of lots of them on the way with some good catches off the Outer Banks of North Carolina. We have good schools of bait just off the beach; so any day now, the cobias should show in numbers. Spadefish also should show up at any day now.
Don’t forget about our Extended half day trips. They are fun trips with trolling for blues and Spanish. Then live bait fishing for sharks, cobias, and king mackerel. Good times are here!
Offshore Report
It’s been a little hit or miss, but an eddy of warm water has moved in and some nice bluefin and yellowfin tuna have been caught. Also, some gaffer dolphin (mahi-mahi) and mako sharks were brought back to the docks. The first blue marlin also was caught and released last weekend. Had a deep dropping trip a few weeks ago, we had great blueline tilefishing and seabass fishing (had to let the seabass go due to closed season). Big chopper bluefish should be on the offshore lumps and hills also with makos or thresher sharks feeding on them. Everything has started to show, and we are waiting for you to get out there to get in on the action. Give us a call to book a trip soon or for later on in the summer. Seabass opens back up May 22 for anyone wanting to get a deep drop trip in.
Inshore Report
The big news is big inshore fish are just waiting for you – big stripers, red drum, and black drum. Last year at this time some big stripers where seen around the rock islands of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. We had some awesome top water fishing for them. There’s nothing like catching 20-to 40-pound stripers on top water poppers. I have reports that they have returned, and they should be here for the next few weeks. The other big news is the arrival of red and black drum. They have shown in good numbers and if you want to catch a fish inshore that could be 20 to 60 pounds now is the time. Afternoon and evening trips seem to be a better fishing time for the drum, so let us know if you would like to target these hard fighting inshore fish. The bluefishing has been very good; we caught 75 on half day trip the other day. I have heard of some flounder starting to show as well. The flounder have been late to show up this year, but finally are starting to show in the bay. Give us a call or email about an inshore charter, the striper and drum bite is on.
Family Trips
Looking for a fun family trip in the summer? We do half-day trips trolling for bluefish and Spanish mackerel. After catching blues and Spanish, we set out live baits and chum. We catch blacktip, spinner, hammerhead, and other assorted sharks. Kids and adults love the shark action. As a bonus we sometimes catch king mackerel or cobias with live baiting. Mid-June thru September are good times for these trips. Give us call to learn more about this opportunity.
Now is the time to book your rockfish adventure!. Don’t miss any of the action this season!
Offshore:
Still waiting for some yellowfin tunas to show. Everything has been running later than usual for the fall season. Still some dolphin caught the first week of November. Did an overnight trip last month catching some nice dolphin, a few sharks, and 1 out of 2 swordfish. Bluefin tuna should be showing any day and they usually are found closer to shore on their southern migration. Mixed with the bluefin tunas are some nice big chopper bluefish. The bluefish have already shown up and are ranging from 10 to 20 pounds. The nearshore and offshore wrecks are holding nice size seabass, flounder, and of course bluefish. Give us a call. Book now. Prime dates are starting to fill up fast!
Inshore:
Striped Bass aka Rockfish or Striper have made a showing in the Chesapeake Bay. They are around the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. Trolling and casting has been the most action. Sunrise and Sunset are the best times for casting around the rock islands of bridge. Using light tackle rods and reels makes for some fun catching of rockfish. Trolling the bridge pilings or over the tunnels of the bridge has been producing during the day. Rockfish have been in the 18″ to 36″ range. The bay season allows 2 fish per person. With the weather finally cooling down we should see an explosoin of rockfish. The bigger fish should show in December and a few have even been caught in commercial nets.Give us a call. Book now!
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Brian Eberhart - September 2009
