Long Bay Pointe Fishing Report

Virginia Beach – Speckled Trout action is peaking! The specks are available inside Lynnhaven Inlet, Rudee Inlet and the Eastern Shore creeks. Anglers are using soft plastics and Gulps! Along with the trout, an occasional puppy drum. Pictured below is Kathy Cooper and her husband Chad, they enjoyed a beautiful day inside Lynnhaven catching specks.

Kathy Cooper

Chad Cooper

There should still be some nice flounder hanging around. They are usually found near ocean structure this time of year. Not many anglers are targeting them, but they should be there.

Tautog fishing has been slow but as water temps continue dropping the bite should pick up.

42 inch Striper caught under the Great Neck Bridge!!!

Rockfish numbers are increasing daily. Most are coming from the rivers, the Rappahannock, James, Elizabeth, and Potomac. The CBBT area is always holding a few fish. Connie at Long Bay is reporting a lot of keepers in the 20 to 30 inch range being caught.

Offshore boats have been stuck at the docks, as weather has not cooperated. If the offshore conditions settle down, the latest satellite imagery has a nice warm water eddy well with in reach of Virginia boats.

Long Bay Pointe Virginia Beach Fishing Report

Speckled trout action is picking up inside Lynnhaven Inlet, Rudee Inlet and in Virginia’s Eastern Shore creeks. Anglers are catching a lot of undersize fish but there are keepers mixed in. Leadheads matched with a twister tail or Gulps are the most popular bait, however topwaters seem to be catching the larger fish.

Puppy drum, some in the 20 to 28 inch class are in the same areas as the specks. Larger red drum are still  being caught in the bay and in the surf from Sandbridge  to Hatteras.  On a recent trip Craig Paige (Paige 2 Charters) and crew had a great day landing 20 red drum, several were citation release size. As a bonus they got a 7.5 lb flounder and a 9 ft sand tiger shark.

Anglers are starting to target stripers inside the rivers and inlets. They are also available around islands of the CBBT.

We still haven’t had our big spot run. The big yellow bellies should show anytime.

Tautog fishing is just around the corner as water temps continue to drop.

Offshore, there were nice kings caught inshore before the blow. Tilefish, snowy grouper and other bottom dwellers continue to bite well for those deep dropping. Off Oregon Inlet and Hatteras Inlet they have had some nice hauls of blackfin tuna, a few yellowfin and big eyes,  some mahi-mahi and wahoo. Crews that have been targeting swordfish have been having success.  Elson Myers caught a 530 pounder last week.

Long Bay Pointe Report

Virginia Beach, VA – The king mackerel bite gets top billing this week! Virginia anglers are landing them in the 40 to 50 pound class … Pretty work!

The offshore bite has been excellent. Anglers are landing some wahoo and releasing a good number of white marlin and a few blue marlin. There are still plenty of mahi around. Captain Dave on High Hopes Charters found plenty for his crew on this trip. This is great late season action!

Our ocean wrecks are producing seabass, triggerfish and a few flounder. Craig Irwin and crew had a  fine day on the wrecks.

Large red and black drum are beginning to leave their summer hangouts in the bay. Reds are still being landed on the shoals, but numbers are now increasing along the oceanfront in the surf. Beth Synowiec landed this nice black drum in the bay near Cape Henry.

Cobia are on the move as well. For a few days there were cobia on just about every buoy in the lower bay but numbers are decreasing. Remember cobia season is closed; all fish have to be released.

The Bay striper season opened October 4th. Anglers are now allowed to keep 2 rockfish between 20-28 inches per day. However, one fish may be over 28 inches in a 2 fish limit.

Small stripers have been reported around the CBBT islands and kayakers have been catching them around the rocks at Rudee Inlet. There are some large bluefish mixed in at both locations. Captain Craig Paige on Paige 2 Charters got into some large bluefish at the islands, he released this nice 37-inch citation fish.

The bridge tunnel is still home to some nice sheepshead.

Henry and Luke Bolin did some father, son fishing inside Lynnhaven Inlet Saturday and caught a dozen nice spot, a dozen croaker, two speckled trout and a few black drum and puffers.

Captain Bill on Key Dreams Charters enjoyed a nice day on the bay doing some family fishing. They caught 6 flounder up to 20 inches, spanish mackerel, sharks, puffers, and seabass.

OBX Report

The bluefish bite is good in the surf south of Oregon Inlet. There are some scattered mullet and pompano also available. Large drum are starting to show in the surf.

Soundside anglers on the Little Bridge on the Nags Head/Manteo causeway reported trout, bluefish and some keeper stripers.

OBX Pier Fishing Report: Avalon: trout and drum. Nags Head: bluefish, spades, black drum, spanish and trout. Jennette’s: pompano, black drum, trout and bluefish. Outer Banks: spanish and blues off the end, pompano, sea mullet and trout.

Red Drum are being caught at Avon. Other species being caught there are bluefish, sea mullet, puppy drum, and pompano.

Long Bay Pointe Bait and Tackle Report

Hurricane Florence has passed and local anglers are back at it! And the cobia and red drum have not disappointed. Fishermen are encountering schooling fish on the move; Craig Paige, Paige 2 Charters caught some large citation reds this week.

Sheepshead are plentiful around structure. Beth and Kevin Synowiec had a great catch over the weekend.

Anglers fishing the Virginia Beach Fishing Pier are catching sheephead, spanish mackerel, a few spot, small trout and small black drum.

Trollers are still finding the spanish mackerel biting up and down the beach and near the islands of the CBBT. Captain David Wright on the High Hopes put his crew on this nice catch.

Ocean Pearl Charters, with Captain Steve Wray got in a good half day trip the morning. They hooked seven cobia, caught four, a 38″ (released),44″, 48″ and 57″. They found the spanish biting first thing and caught 13 keepers and a ton of throwbacks.

Captain Bill on Key Dreams Charters checked in with a nice catch. Seven nice flounder to 18″ and a 31″ red drum released to fight another day. They pulled the hook on a much larger red.

Flags are flying! Those heading offshore were rewarded; the white marlin bite has been on fire. Along with the whites, boats landed a mixed bag of wahoo, tuna and mahi.

CAROLINA SURF REPORT

Down on North Carolina’s outer banks surf fishing has been very good in some nice clear water. Anglers fishing from Kitty Hawk to Corolla have caught bluefish, spanish mackerel and large pompano. A few cobia have been caught in Avon. Anglers down in Hatteras are catching citation-sized sea mullet, spot, and pompano on shrimp and sand fleas. Some large spanish mackerel and bluefish are schooling just behind the  bar. Anglers at the Point have hooked some false albacore and sharks.

Look for new fishing reports every other week from now until April. We will post any news releases from the fishery agencies as they are made available.

By Connie Barbour, Steve Wray (Long Bay Pointe Bait and Tackle)

Hurricane Florence has stirred up our local waters, once things settle down anglers will again have to locate the best fishing action.

A couple of days before the blow there was some outstanding cobia fishing happening. Boats were finding large schools with dozens of fish on the surface. Anglers were casting live eels and large bucktails to them. Don’t forget the Virginia cobia season closes the end of the month.

King and Spanish mackerel had made a good showing before the storm. Anglers were encountering them along the coast, close to shore.

Red drum were still hanging around the lower bay and along the Atlantic shoreline as well.

When anglers return to the water sheepshead should still be available around the pilings of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel and spadefish around the buoys.

A local favorite, the Norfolk spot are located throughout the bay and it’s tributaries now. Yellowbellies begin to show in the lower parts of the rivers, and then move to more oceanside locations. By about mid to late September, these hefty spot become very numerous as they pack into inlets, hang on bars, and line structure near lower bay seaside areas.

Croaker are also are showing in the same areas. Look for the big croaker to show up along the edge of the bay shipping channels and in deep holes near Lynnhaven Inlet. Speckled trout, puppy drum, flounder and bluefish are inside Lynnhaven and Rudee Inlets this time of year.

Offshore the mahi mahi action was excellent before the storm. The question is, will they still be available after the blow. Also our blue and white marlin season was heating up. It will be interesting to find out how the churned up water has affected their location. Offshore deep droppers had been landing some nice
golden and blueline tilefish catches prior to the storm, and it should remain a good fishery.

By TH Spangler | Connie Barbour (Long Bay Pointe Bait and Tackle)

September is typically the best month for Flounder. The bite inside the bay has been picking up. The bridge tunnel is the most popular area for bay flounder. The Cell is also a good spot. Ocean structure is still producing as well.

A lot of sheepshead are being caught around bridge tunnel pilings. Lawson Freeman picked up a stray mahi at the third island last week.

Cobia are being spotted just about everywhere. Sight casters are finding them cruising the surface, be sure and check out all the buoys. The cobia season closes September 30th. The commercial cobia fishery will also close in state waters the same day.

Red drum are being caught throughout the lower bay. Locating a large school of drum is a memorable experience.

Spanish mackerel fishing remains excellent. There’s a nice class of fish available now, some topping four pounds!

Spot fishing is good in the rivers. The Rappahannock River, the Potomac River, Colonial Beach and Buckroe Pier, all good locations.

There’s been reports of puppy drum and trout inside Lynnhaven Inlet lately.

Offshore, limits of mahi are being caught by the offshore charters. The red hot white marlin bite has been in the canyons to our north, but over the past few days the bite seems to be picking up closer to home. Look for it to really turn on any day. The blue marlin, and wahoo action will pick up as well. There are some big blues out there, the Virginia Beach Billfish Tourney produced a 683 and a 440 pounder.

The Tilefish bite has been very productive, and should stay that way for a while.

By TH Spangler | Connie Barbour (Long Bay Pointe Bait and Tackle)

September is just around the corner! And that’s peak fishing in Virginia!

The offshore waters will load up with white marlin. The whites school up off the Virginia coast until the first good autumn blow, or until a tropical storm stirs the cooler water to the surface and off they go. But until then the fishing will be outstanding. Many days charter boat outriggers will look like laundry lines as they return to port.

Our local offshore tournaments are currently underway. After some brutal offshore 20-30 knot winds at the canyons, things improved Friday for the Virginia Beach Billfish Tournament. 167 billfish were recorded Friday. The Katherine Anne boated a blue marlin. The 63” Paul Spencer is owned by local Brad Wachowiak and Captained by Daniel Davis. That blue weighed in at 440 pounds. Saturday is the finale day. We’ll list the results next report.

Inshore, spot are becoming numerous throughout the bay and its tributaries. Spot fishing for the big yellow bellies should peak mid September. Small to medium croakers are available all over the bay.

The spadefish bite is slowing while the sheepshead bite picks up.

Spanish mackerel and small bluefish are plentiful along tide rips and along the oceanfront. There are a few kings around. Paul McCallum picked up a nice 47 pond king while chumming off sandbridge.

Cobia and big red drum action continues and should peak in September.

Some doormat flounder are being caught; the lager flounder seem to be coming from ocean structure.

Tarpon are still inside Eastern Shore seaside inlets.

Spanish Mackerel Season Is Peaking

By TH Spangler | Connie Barbour (Long Bay Pointe Bait and Tackle)

Only a few more days remain until school starts and the college football season kicks off.  As the end of  summer approaches, GREAT opportunities continue for local anglers! In fact some of the best fishing of the year is happening …. now!

Lots of Spanish mackerel and taylor bluefish are feeding in Chesapeake Bay tidal rips near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. The spanish mackerel fishing has also been especially good along the oceanfront near sandbridge where there have also been reports of some nice kings! …. Keep an eye out for cobia,  the brown suites are hanging around the same areas.

Spadefish and sheepshead are on Chesapeake Bay structure.

Some nice flounder have been caught, the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament recently registered a 10-pound 4-ounce flatly, caught inside Lynnhaven Inlet. Lynnhaven and Rudee inlets are also holding some speckled trout, puppy drum and large bluefish.

Dr Ken Neil and a nice 50-inch cobia

Cobia and big red drum catches remain good. Both are on the shoals over on the Eastern Shore. Croaker, sea mullet and flounder are in Eastern Shore seaside inlets and on the bayside as well. Tarpon are being caught in their usual Eastern Shore holes.

Croaker are available throughout the lower bay and more small spot are starting to show. Look for spot and croaker sizes to increase as September approaches.

The coastal wrecks are holding flounder, spadefish, triggerfish, sea bass and sandtiger sharks.

Pier and surf anglers are finding sea mullet, pompano, spadefish, small flounder, and a few spanish mackerel. Cobia and red drum are a possibility.

Offshore billfish action is heating up just in time for the local tournament season. Mahi mahi are being found around inshore seamounts like the hot dog and a few wahoo are being caught along with an occasional tuna. Swordfish are available to those targeting them.

There should be plenty of amberjack holding on the Chesapeake light tower and south tower. Deep-droppers are finding excellent numbers of both golden and blueline tilefish, along with sea bass.