Virginia Beach Fishing Rundown

Looks like another great week of fishing coming! The water temps are in the low 80’s inshore and off. The weather forecast looks good this week, with winds around 10 mph out of the southwest through Saturday. There’s a slight chance of a thunderstorm each day.

Trolling close to the beach has been producing bluefish, nice size spanish mackerel and ribbonfish. Captain Todd Beck, Knot Wish’n charters says many citation size (4lb) spanish mackerel were caught this week.

King mackerel have been spotted skying and a few have been landed.

Ocean Pearl Charters, nice spanish mackerel catch!

Team East Coast Leisure

Flounder action is good throughout the bay. Good action is coming from along CBBT, inside inlets, around the Hampton Bar and Back Reef. Team East Coast Leisure won the 10th Annual Virginia Beach Flounder Tournament this past weekend.

Rick Zimmerman and Son. 48 inch red drum at the 4th island

Red drum and cobia can be found throughout the area and many anglers are sight-casting for them. Captain Beck said Schools of bull reds have made frequently appearances on the surface this week. He said many of the cobia on the buoys willing to take a bait are undersized.

Black drum can be found around the islands of the CBBT.

Spades and triggers are available on inshore structure especially along the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel and at The Cell off the Eastern Shore. Sheepshead action is also good in the same locations.

Speckled trout and puppy drum are in all southside inlets, the Elizabeth, Lafayette and Back rivers.

Small croaker and spot can be found throughout the lower bay. Anglers fishing at the Virginia Beach Piers and along the beach are catching spots, roundheads and blues.

OFFSHORE BLUEWATER

Tuna, dolphin, shark and billfish are available to offshore trollers. When offshore Captain David Wright on the High Hopes like others has been trolling early and then deep-dropping for swords, tilefish, grouper, rosefish, sea bass.

Offshore wrecks and navigation structures are holding wreck donkeys, amberjack.

The Virginia Beach Tuna tournament is scheduled for this week. Weigh stations will be set up at Long Bay Pointe Marina and the Virginia Beach Fishing Center.  The captains meeting will be live streamed on Wednesday and the weigh-ins Thursday – Saturday. http://vbtuna.com/

The Virginia Beach Invitational Marlin Tournament took place this past weekend out of Rudee Inlet. Fishing started off slow but picked up. Anglers ended the tournament with 105 total releases (98 whites, 4 blues, 3 sails). The total payout was $92,355.  https://vbbt.com/

RESULTS

1st Place- Cotton Picker 1000 points
2nd Place- Sea Trader 900 points
3rd Place- Victory Lap 800 points

Top Junior angler- Adam Kilby (age 14), 6 white marlin releases on Mama C
Top Lady angler- Wendy Brockenbrough, 8 white marlin releases on Sea Trader

Day 1 daily – Victory Lap (grand slam)
Day 2 daily- Reelin N Dealin (6 releases)
Day 3 daily- Cotton Picker (7 releases)
Top tuna- 50.6 pounds on Cotton Picker
Top dolphin- 34.0 pounds on Juggernaut

Gavin Cowan (age 13) with 4 releases, and R.B. Brown (age15) with 3 releases!