World Class Red Drum Fishing, plus Cobia, Flounder and More

There’s world class fishing taking place in our backyard! ….. Huge schools of red drum have been surfacing daily in the lower Bay. As long as no one spooks them angers can sight cast them  ….. for an hour at a time some days.

Cobia are throughout the bay. Sight casting is the most productive technic now.

Spanish mackerel schools are still thick and the fish are large. Anglers are trolling Drone and Clark spoons behind line sinkers or planers. The fish are scattered along the oceanfront from Sandbridge to Cape Henry, and in the bay all the way up to Reedville.

Ribbonfish are feeding near Cape Henry. Anglers are catching them on diving plugs. So you’ve never caught a ribbonfish? They have a striking appearance. Their tiny scales are bright silver, almost reflective. They have yellow eyes and a long mouth filled with sharp teeth. They are often caught by recreational anglers on piers and in the surf of the Southeast. Ribbonfish are a prized food fish in Japan, but have yet to be widely embraced by American eaters. The flesh is between flounder and sea trout – mild with a hint of briny, ocean flavor. The texture is delicate, with white, flaky meat. Cooking methods listed online include poaching, baking, steaming, sautéeing or deep-frying.

Paige II Charters

Flounder fishing is good. Fish in the 4-6 pounds range have been caught near the CBBT, the Cell and around wrecks.

Spadefish are hanging around the CBBT, many ocean buoys and the Light Tower. Anglers are floating fresh clam morsels to them on small hooks. If they are not aggressively feeding, try putting some chum in the water.

Ocean structures are holding flounder, spadefish, and seabass. The deeper wrecks hold seabass, tilefish and grouper. Amberjack are around the towers.

The charter boats are bringing in yellowfin tuna, blackfin tuna, big eye tuna, and mahi. White marlin releases are on the rise.

The Virginia Beach Invitational Marlin Tournament is being held this week. Six boats fish day one and nine marlin were released. Short Rigger released a blue and 4 whites, Anticipation released a white, Sea Trader released a white, Bill Collector released a white, and Desperado released a white. All 22 boats are planning to fish day two.