Virginia’s fall speckled trout season is in full swing. Long Bay Pointe Bait and Tackle has been weighing in some nice 5 to 6 pounders. The specks are holding in all the usual hot spots. Look for them inside Rudee Inlet, Lynnhaven Inlet, Little Creek Inlet, in eastern shore bayside creeks, on the Poquoson Flats and in the York and Elizabeth Rivers. They are feeding on shrimp and minnows near marshes. Shrimp hooked under a popping cork, jigs, plugs and topwater baits are all productive.

Puppy drum are in the same areas and hitting the same baits. A few large red drum are still hanging around in the lower Bay. Anglers fishing Sandbridge, near the wildlife refuge are landing them in the surf.

Sheepshead, tautog and flounder are available inside the Bay.

Lots of school-sized striped bass are available around lighted bridged and piers.

Offshore bottom fishing continues to produce seabass in good numbers and a few large flounder, some bluefish, black drum and triggerfish.

Offshore trollers are picking up some nice tuna and a few wahoo. Many are successfully targeting swordfish and tilefish.

Congrats to the crew of the Relentless for catching a rear Opah Fish. This is one of the first opah caught recreationally in our area.

VBSF Contributors

The Rudee Head Boats are now focusing their effort on offshore trips. Their full-day and 12 hour trips have been loading up!  Anglers are catching limits of black sea bass with many citation fish in the mix. Also big bluefish, triggerfish and 10 to 12 flounder each trip.

Captains Todd and Jake Beck with Knot Wishn Guide Service are finding plenty of trout inside Rudee Inlet. Lots of short fish, with a number of keepers mixed in.

Dr Ken Neill fished the Triangle Reef. While jigging for sea bass he caught a half-dozen big black drum, a bunch of small bluefish and a handful of nice triggerfish. He kept a limit of big sea bass. He finished the weekend on the artificial reefs inside the bay where he caught little sea bass, more small bluefish, pufferfish, pigfish and a good number of tautog that he tagged and released.

Captain David Wright on the High Hopes is focusing on half-day trips now.

Long Bay Pointe Bait and Tackle continues to weight in lots of citation fish!

Joshua Caples 46″ Red Drum Release 11/8/20
Antony Nahitchevansky 4 lb. 4 oz Grey Triggerfish 11/7/20
Stephen Gasecki 107 nlb. Swordfish 11/7/20
Bill Susewind 24″ Speckled Trout Release 11/6/20
Brian Hostetter 24 1/4″ Speckled Trout Release 11/6/20
Kelly Hoggard 4 lb. 8 oz. Grey Triggerfish 11/5/20
Michael Jones 5 lb. 2 oz. Speckled Trout 11/5/20
W. Casey Copeland 5 lb. 4 oz. 24 1/2″ Speckled Trout 11/5/20
Andrew J. Reid 25″ and 24 3/4″ Speckled Trout Releases (2) 11/5/20
Mike Firestone 24″ Speckled Trout Release 11/5/20
Ronnie Williams 39 Lb. Wahoo 11/4/20
Devin King 65 Lb. Wahoo 11/4/20
Sunny Caraco White Marlin Release 11/4/20
David Oden 25″ Speckled Trout Release 11/4/20
Cashin Prutsman 5 Lb. 6 oz. Speckled Trout (weigh citation but fish was released) 11/4/20
Matthew Venner 6 Lb. 2 oz. Speckled Trout 11/3/20
Matt Masciangelo 25 1/2″ and 24″ Speckled Trout Releases (two fish) 11/3/20
Mike Firestone 24″ Speckled Trout Release 11/1/20
Cashin Prutsman 26″ Speckled Trout Release 10/27/20

Fall is speckled trout season! Fisherman are finding them in all three southside inlets and in the surf from Sandbridge, south. Captain Jake Beck, Knot Wish’n Guide Service, said the trout and puppy drum bite inside Rudee Inlet has been hit and miss … with some great days and some very slow ones. If you can find live “shrimp” to fish under a popping cork it’s a trout’s favorite snack. Topwater plugs and jigs with plastic tails are also effective.

Puppy drum like fresh cut bait fished under a float or on the bottom. The key is fresh. Fresh spot is my favorite for puppy drum. There have been plenty of spot around, catches have come from the piers and inside Lynnhaven and Rudee Inlets. Croaker are mixed with the spot.

Captain Jake said the spanish mackerel bite turned on again last week and anglers were able to load up.  King Mackerel and schools of large drum also popped up off the beach.

Frank Marble kept his annual Sandbridge, red drum in surf, release string intact by picking up a nice 49 incher this week.

Tautog action is picking up. Look for fish along the CBBT and on the inshore wrecks and reefs. Dr. Ken Neill caught 24 tautogs on a recent trip. They were tagging and releasing them, they caught two twice.

They also picked up sea bass, gray trout and red drum. Dr. Neill released his largest red drum of the season.

Hunter Southall rounded out the trip with three big sheepshead.

Our striped bass season is open and you’re allowed to keep one fish that measures between 20 and 36 inches per angler per day in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, and one fish that measures between 28 and 26 inches per angler per day along the coast inside three miles. Right now look for them along the CBBT and at night near piers and jetties with lights.

The flounder are moving to deeper waters, a few were landed at the triangle wrecks this week.

Offshore, swordfish have become a very popular target. Anglers have been enjoying good action. Captain David Wright, High Hopes Charters, released an under size, 44 inch swordfish Saturday. They pulled the hook on a larger one. He rounded out his day with a nice catch of dolphin, sea bass and tilefish. Others got into a nice tuna bite as well.

Deep-droppers are finding plenty of tilefish. Remember a NOAA Species permit for both blueline and golden tilefish is required now.

The Rudee Head boats will be running offshore deep drop trips all month on Tuesdays and Saturdays. They said fishing is excellent, with citation tilefish and seabass being caught. They also had some snowy groupers brought in with the largest weighing in at 53 pounds! Inshore bottom fishing is slowing down somewhat, but they are still catching seabass with some triggerfish mixed in.

Don’t forget to reports your summer cobia catches. The VMRC reminds us that it’s time to take care of our required reports. They are due by October 21, 2020. If you have questions about how to meet your reporting requirements, you can visit the VMRC recreational cobia website at:

https://www.mrc.virginia.gov/regulations/VA-recreational-cobia-fishing.shtm

Here comes October …. a time of transition. Our summertime species start leaving, the waters are less crowded and fish are very active.

When weather cooperates it’s a great time of the year to be on the water. Lately large swells from offshore storms have made ocean inlets in Virginia and North Carolina challenging, but things are improving and those venturing out to the deep are catching sea bass, tilefish, swordfish, blue and white marlin, wahoo, dolphin and tuna. (Above) Captain David Wright, High Hopes Charters picked up dolphin and tuna on a recent outing. Boats fishing the triangle wrecks are limiting out in short order on the sea bass.

Dr. Ken Neill met Nicholas Kontodiakos at Rudee Inlet recently to certify a potentially new Virginia state record, 579 pound swordfish. Angler’s name  and details to follow from the VMRC.

The Rudee Tours head boats have offshore 17-hour fishing trips planned for October 6, 13, 20, 27 and 12-hour sea bass trips starting in November on Saturdays. They also have inshore ½ and full day trips.

Inshore, cobia are on the move. There’s only a couple of days left in the capture season; it closes September 30.

Captain Jake Beck, Knot Wish’n Charters took advantage of a weather window recently and was rewarded with some nice Spanish mackerel.

On a recent trip to the CBBT area Dr Ken Neill and crew caught sheepshead, tautog and several nice puppy drum.

There’s still large red drum around, but catches have slowed in the bay. Large drum should be feeding in surf along Sandbridge and along the wildlife refuge especially when its rough.

Speckled trout anglers are catching some quality fish. Long Bay Pointe Bait and Tackle reports speckled trout and puppy drum biting inside Lynnhaven Inlet, and Captain Jake Beck found a mix of specks and redfish inside Rudee Inlet as well.

Flounder fishing in the Bay has been slow.

Pier anglers on the Virginia Beach Pier are catching puppy drum, trout, some spots, pompano, small croakers and small flounder.

Red drum are starting to migrate out of the Bay, look for schools on the surface. As they depart surf anglers will be able to get in on the action as well. Frank Marble said the first large drum, 47 inches, was landed on the Little Island Pier in Sandbridge a couple of days ago. Look for some nice fish to be landed in the Sandbridge surf.

Cobia reports are scattered around the lower Bay. Captain Todd Beck with Knot Wish’n charters said the cobia bite should get very good along the oceanfront as they begin exiting the Bay. The cobia season closes September 30.

Anglers trolling are still finding spanish mackerel scattered in the lower bay and along the oceanfront. There are some albacore fixed in now. Captain David Wright on the High Hopes had a nice catch of Spanish last week.

Boats working off the oceanfront are picking up a few “smoker” king mackerel. The Flatline (Aquaman Charters) picked us the nice king pictured above.

Now is usually when we see some of the largest flounder of the year caught. They are biting inside the Bay and around ocean structure. The largest fish are usually caught on a live Spot. Speaking of spot, it’s time for a run of large yellow belly spot.

Speckled trout and puppy drum are feeding in Bay tributaries and area inlets. Connie at Long Bay Pointe Bait and Tackle said the speckled trout fishing has turned on inside Lynnhaven Inlet. Dr Ken Neill has been catching shrimp off his dock at night and fishing them on the flats near Seaford Va. He’s had good luck using artificial lures and peeler crabs but said a live shrimp was tops, can’t keep them in the water long without a hookup.

Rudee Tours, the Rudee Inlet head boats have had great success with their new fall scheduled. They are getting nice catches of black sea bass, triggerfish, spadefish, amberjacks, and flounder.

Anglers fishing off the Virginia Beach Fishing Pier are catching spot, pompano, drum, small croaker and few roundhead.

When the weather permits, offshore boats are enjoying some great billfish action. The Rebel recently caught 3 blue marlin and 12 white marlin and found time for a limit of tilefish. Look for the wahoo bite to pick up over the next few weeks.

Next Report September 28th.

High Hopes Charters

This is prime billfish season along the mid-atlantic coast. White and blue marlin, sailfish, spearfish and swordfish are available now. Captain David Wright on the High Hopes says dolphin numbers are on the rise as well, with some nice gaffers available. Tuna fishing is fair, last year this is when some really big yellowfin tuna were landed to our south, in Carolina waters.

White Marlin Open Winners

The 2020 Ocean City MD White Marlin Open wrapped up Sunday night with a new tournament record fish. 433 registered boats caught fish that were collectively worth $6.7 million dollars during the weeklong event.

The top prize of over $1.6 million went to the “Canyon Blues” out of Ocean City, MD for the huge 97-pound white marlin caught by Brandon Golueke from Chester, MD on Saturday. That fish stands as the 3rd largest white marlin weighed in the 47-year White Marlin Open history.

Record setting dolphin!

Congratulations to Captain Steve Richardson and crew on the Backlash, for winning the dolphin category with a record 73.5-pounder caught by Matt Wagner. A complete list of all tournament winners can be found on the tournament website at www.whitemarlinopen.com

Inshore, spanish mackerel, blues and sharks are keeping charters busy. A gold Clark or Drone spoon seems to be working best for the mackerel. Mixed in with the spanish and blues are a large number of ribbonfish. And don’t be surprised to pick up a nice king. Several nice ones were landed close in this week. It’s always nice when the captain can get away from the helm and grab a rod, Dr Ken Neill did just that and checked in with his first ever spanish mackerel citation.

Ocean Pearl Charters

Captain Steve Wray and crew on the Ocean Pearl have been enjoying limits of blues and mackerel.

Our flounder season is officially on now. Limits of quality fish are being weighed. Jigging bucktails dressed with strip bait or a scented Gulp work well. But remember big fish like big bait. A live spot should do the trick.

VBSF sponsor Captain Craig Paige, Paige II Charters had a great catch of flatfish Aug 8th, the biggest weighed in at 7 lbs.

Cobia catches are being reported throughout the lower bay. Live eels, live spot or croaker are your best bait but they will hit artificial baits when spotted on the surface.

Red Drum are still available and should continue to be the rest of the summer.

Speckled Trout catches have been good recently.

There is good sized spot being caught in Chesapeake Bay tributaries now. Spot fishing peaks in August and September.

The Virginia Beach Pier reports nice roundheads and spots. Spanish, blues and small sharks are always a possibility.

Rudee Tours, nice tilefish

The sea bass bite remains good. Limit catches are not uncommon. Deep droppers are catching tilefish at the canyon. Rudee Tours, our head boat sponsor has 17 hour offshore trips scheduled for Aug 13, 20, 27, and Sep 3. They also run daily inshore ½ day, ¾ day, full day and night trips. Give them a call, 757-425-3400.