VIRGINIA FISHING REPORTS Chesapeake Bay, Inshore, Offshore & Freshwater Virginia Fishing Report Updated August 31, 2012

Although they showed up late, the cobia are now holding strong. Many fish of all sizes are surfacing and are showing late summer patterns as they prepare to leave for the season. Anglers are reporting that the flounder are still cooperating in the lower Bay, although trophies have been scarce this season. If you’re looking for sheepshead then you’re in luck because they’re still around taking fiddler crabs, crab, and clams with fish up to 12 pounds being reported in the entire span of the Bay Bridge tunnel and all the tubes of the artificial islands. Also, Amberjack are still available at the South Tower and there is lots of action offshore; anglers are deep dropping for blueline tilefish, golden tilefish, and blackbellied rosefish.

(Photo: Dedicated Tidal Fish Poster aquatic therapy reported that he hooked what he thought was the buoy chain with a 2 ounce bucktail until he felt movement. “After 30 minutes and 6-7 runs, I was starting to get a little tired, the boat was broad side to waves and the cobe was pulling straight down. I lost my footing and slipped, slamming my right forearm into the gunnel, and dropping the rod in the water! The cobe pulled it down and it was out of sight in a second. Without a thought, I dove in and started swimming straight down. I was flailing my arms around and the outside of my right forearm hit the rod! I grabbed it, disengaged the reel and swam back up. When I popped up, josh yelled "What the f#$% are you doing?" I said I got the rod but the fish was gone and handed him the rod. As I swam to the back of the boat, he said "He's still on!" He had the boat in neutral so I climbed up the engines and he handed me the rod, "Finish the job!" 30 minutes later josh sunk steel and we had her on board: 63", 75lbs. Long and lean, a beautiful post-spawn cobe. 32nd of the year for us, 2nd over 63" and second top 10 fish at the time (Josh has a 97lber that leads the state). This was a fish of a lifetime for me: really fun, and I am so glad I saved the rod. My brother-in-law Steve Smith gave it to me for my 50th last year, it’s my favorite bucktail rod and I really didn't want to lose it!”)
http://www.tidalfish.com/forums/show...cobe-and-story!

Tournaments:



From IGFA Virginia Beach Representative Julie Ball:
As we cruise into the Labor Day Weekend, the promise of decent weather can mean a productive holiday on the fishing front. Many summer favorites are beginning to show more late summer patterns as they stage to leave for the season.

Making up for a less-than-favorable summer showing, cobia continue to earn the top spot with inshore anglers this week. Fish of all sizes are surfacing all over the lower Bay and along the oceanfront as they prepare to migrate south. Folks are finding cobia around structure as well as free swimming in singles, pairs, and small pods. More of the larger fish are around this week, with several fish pushing over to 60-pounds hitting the scales. Chummers are also faring well, while those working the oceanfront continue to encounter good shark catches of varying species and sizes.

Flounder are behaving in the lower Bay again lately as they continue to assemble along channel edges, shoals, and along the CBBT area. Good numbers of respectable flatfish continue to keep anglers content, although the trophy doormats are still scarce this year. Live bait and jigs are still working well on structure and wrecks, with most anglers reporting limits of fat keepers up to around 24-inches. Drifting off of Cape Henry and near buoy 36A is generating nice fish, while the Baltimore Channel and High Rise areas are also producing for anglers dragging strips of bait. Coastal wrecks are providing good results, but most boats are finding no need to travel past the lower Bay area to target fish. Expect some nice sea bass and triggerfish as a by-catch on many of the same wrecks.

Sheepshead are still around, with decent fish taking fiddler crabs, crab, and clams. The entire span of the Bay Bridge tunnel and all the tubes of the artificial islands are holding fish pushing up to 12-pounds. Spadefish are still biting around the islands of the CBBT, with anglers finding scattered 4 and 5-pounders near the 3^rd island. Trigger fish are still everywhere, often becoming a nuisance to anglers targeting other species.

Spot are gaining more attention with good hauls of decent fish coming from the local inlets, Willoughby Bay, and the lower Bay rivers. A few speckled trout are still mixed in with the spot, along with scattered croaker inside Rudee Inlet lately. Specks are also showing within the branches of the Lynnhaven River. The Lynnhaven basin area continues to host groves small puppy drum, but Atlantic Bait and Tackle reports that nice keeper puppy drum are hitting well near the Lesner Bridge this week for shore casters. Speckled trout are also making a decent showing on the Poquoson flats, the seaside of Oyster on the Eastern Shore, as well as the Elizabeth River.

Spanish mackerel are zipping through tide rips near the Bridge Tunnel, along Cape Henry, and along the buoy lines at the mouth of the Bay. A few king mackerel encounters are occurring off of Sandbridge, but nothing significant as of yet.

Amberjack are still available at the South Tower, and jack crevelle could be a nice consolation prize at the Chesapeake Light Tower. Deep dropping for blueline tilefish, golden tilefish, and blackbellied rosefish is still a good choice, but most anglers will be interested in the offshore action right now.

Billfish are back in business this week, with some boats releasing a dozen or more whites in a day. The ‘Backlash’ out of The Virginia Beach Fishing Center flew 17 flags this week, boasting epic double grand slams, while the ‘Waterman’ also scored with a grand slam. The best marlin action is stretched from the 200-line to the triple 0s, in around 50 to 100-fathoms. Dolphin are scattered about, with some citation fish in the mix, along with wahoo. Yellowfin tuna are scarce, but some fish are raging to 40-pounds if you can find them. Overnight trips are producing some big sharks and a few juvenile swords for boats lately.

Virginia Saltwater Reports by Charlie Taylor:
Unable to get any valid information on saltwater fishing success this week as most of my contacts have not been out fishing due to Tropical Storm Isaac.

Potomac River reports from Captain Ken Penrod:
On the Tidal Potomac, Bass fishing hasn’t been “lights-out” in any of the areas we guide but some are certainly better than others—but that too will change. Of interest this year is the lack of, or absolute absence of SAV in areas that were virtual golf-course green just a year or so ago. The salt wedge is further up the Potomac than it has been in years and it may be a good idea to hose your trailer when you get home—and flush your motor.

WOODROW WILSONBRIDGE: sector is stingy these days but we catch some bass from small spots too fragile to write about. There are stripers on Fox Ferry Point, Blue Plains, Oxen Run Bridge and a hump just south of Hog Island. Look for bass in Little Hunting Creek, Pomonkey and Gunston Cove. It’s hard to beat Big Mouth Lure Company spinnerbaits, chatterbait imitation and swim jigs. If you are not using some of the various Case Plastics, weightless, you are missing-out on a good formula.

MATTAWOMAN VICINITY: Do not be surprised to catch redfish and see swarms off blue crab; a blue crab bite is often mistaken to be a largemouth bass strike. The best lures are swinbaits, case sticks, frogs and buzzbaits. By the way—it is unlawful to have live snakeheads in your live well no matter your desire to take it home to eat. If you want it—kill it, and even if you don’t want it—kill it.

Virginia Freshwater Fishing Reports:

POTOMAC RIVER - D.C. - Crappie are beginning to school around the Fletcher's Cove area with some catches made on small minnows. Catfish are still biting well on nightcrawlers and clam snouts. Smallmouth bass are taking small crankbaits, live crayfish and spinnerbaits along the banks, above Fletcher's. The Virginia shoreline is holding good largemouth bass all the way to National Airport. Rattling crankbaits are the preferred baits. Main river bridge pilings are giving up some good fish to patient anglers fishing soft plastic baits and deep diving crankbaits. Washington Channel sea wall is holding crappie schools and some bass. Plastic baits, fished slow, are taking the bass. The cover around Blue Plains and the Woodrow Wilson Bridge are also producing good bass on topwater baits and plastic worms.

POTOMAC RIVER - BELOW WOODROW WILSON BRIDGE - Bass are holding in the main river grass beds below Piscataway Creek. Better choice of baits are buzzbaits, frogs, soft jerk baits, spinnerbaits, plastic worms and jig 'n pig. In the backs of the creeks, crankbaits and plastic worms are producing well around submerged wood. Plastic worms, tossed into spatterdock fields, are taking lots of largemouth bass in the creeks. Zoom Horny Toads are taking fish from thick matted grass beds. Spinnerbaits and Storm Chug Bugs are taking fish from the marsh grass banks. Crappie are schooling up tight and biting well on small, live minnows. Catfish are taking cut bait, live minnows, clam snouts and nightcrawlers. Northern snakeheads are taking topwater baits tossed in weed choked waters 1-2 feet deep.

OCCOQUAN RIVER - Bass have turned on with the coming of the cooler nights. Lots of bass are being taken on crankbaits around submerged cover. Crappie are schooling and taking small minnows. Catfish continue to bite well on clam snouts, nightcrawlers and cut bait. Some stripers are available in the back of the river on Sassy Shads, bucktails and large minnow imitating lures.

OCCOQUAN RESERVOIR - Bass are hitting crankbaits, plastic worms and jig 'n pig baits, fished on main lake points and creek channels. Some fish are also being taken from the rock walls on the lower end of the lake. Catfish are biting well on clam snouts, while crappie are schooled and taking live minnows and tiny jigs, around submerged cover.

BURKE LAKE - Bass beginning to feed actively. Some big fish taking small
crankbaits and plastic worms. Crappie are schooled up and taking live minnows and tiny jigs.

POTOMAC RIVER - UPPER - Smallmouth action is fair to good, with a few decent sized fish. Most of the fish are being caught on plastic worms or grubs and small spinnerbaits. Good action on topwater baits, around and over the flooded shoreline grassbeds. Catfish are still taking cut bait, nightcrawlers and live minnows. Crappie beginning to school up around the creek mouths.

RAPPAHANNOCK RIVER - Smallmouth action is good above the city on minnows,
crayfish and Baby Chug Bugs. In the tidal sections, largemouth bass are
available above the Route 301 Bridge, taking small crankbaits and plastic
worms around the wood cover in the main river. Some bass are also available at the tide line around the city. Large catfish, to 30 pounds, are still taking cut baits in the main channel bends below the city.

SHENANDOAH RIVER - This river is in excellent shape for smallmouth anglers. Most fish are taken on live minnows, madtoms and crayfish, but nice fish are also being taken on plastic worms, grubs, spinnerbaits, Tiny Torpedos and small crankbaits. Sunfish and catfish are biting well.

MATTAPONI/PAMUNKEY RIVERS - Catfish action is excellent. Minnows and
nightcrawlers are producing bream, bass, bowfin, crappie, walleye, pickerel and stripers in the upper ends of both rivers. Croaker are being taken from mid river to the mouth.

LAKE ANNA - Bass action is slow to fair. The bass are on the move with the cooler temperatures. Best action from dawn to about 10 a.m. is near shallow flats. Topwater lures are the best choice, with crankbaits and plastic worms also producing. Rocky points are also producing bass on plastic worms and jig 'n pig. Crappie are schooled up around the bridge pilings, where live minnows and tiny jigs are taking good stringers. Stripers are active around Dike Three, the Splits, Jetts Island, Rose Valley and Stubbs Bridge. Some topwater action for stripers is available in the mouths of Sturgeon and Contrary Creeks, early and late in the day.

JAMES RIVER - Bass are tough to find in the tidal creeks. Best action is on plastic worms, small crankbaits and spinnerbaits in the back ends of creeks and the headwaters of the river. The gravel pits are also producing good numbers of bass and crappie. Above the city, smallmouth bass action is good. Best lure choices are plastic grubs, small crankbaits and small topwater lures. Catfish to 50 pounds are biting well throughout the tidal sections.

LAKE CHESDIN - Crappie are biting well, along with bass in the 3-4 pound
class. Spinnerbaits are the better bait for bass, while crappie are taking small minnows. Catfish action is excellent, with a number of large fish being caught.

CHICKAHOMINY RIVER - Fair fishing for bass, with crankbaits, minnows, plastic worms and buzzbaits taking most of the fish. Better action is to be had by fishing back ends of creeks and lily pad fields in the upper reaches of the river. Most of the fish are small, but some good fish are being caught. Bream are also being taken in large numbers. Catfish action is excellent on turtle livers and peeler crab. Lots of crappie are starting to show on submerged brush. Big blue catfish are available on cut eel baits.

CHICKAHOMINY LAKE - Bass catches are good, with fish to six pounds being
caught. Catfish, bream, pickerel and grindle are also showing in the catches. Catfish are taking shrimp, peeler crab and clam snouts. Pickerel and bass are taking jumbo minnows, plastic worms, spinnerbaits and crankbaits, while bream anglers are taking most of the fish on red wigglers and flyrod poppers.

LITTLE CREEK RESERVOIR - Some good sized bass and pickerel are mixed in the creels, along with smaller bass and bream. Topwater and plastic lures are the best baits for bass, while bream are taking red wigglers, crickets and flyrod poppers. Stripers are being caught on live herring. Larger bass are taken from deep points on drop shot or Carolina rigs.

BACK BAY - Small bass, nice bluegill, small crappie and large catfish are
being caught in the upper ends of Hellespoint and West Neck Creeks. The
Sandbridge area is producing catfish to nine pounds and a few perch. Crappie and white perch are being caught on small minnows throughout the bay.

SUFFOLK LAKES - Fishing is fair in all the lakes. Shellcrackers are taking red wigglers and crickets in 9-10 feet of water. Bass are taking spinnerbaits, plastic worms and crankbaits. Striper action is good on jumbo minnows in Western Branch and Prince. Bream and gar are biting well in Lake Prince, while crappie are biting well on live minnows. Lake Whitehurst reports excellent action for catfish, bream and white perch. A few walleye are being landed on drifted nightcrawlers.

LAKE GASTON - Largemouth bass are hitting red plastic worms and clear
crankbaits, around boat docks. Topwater baits are accounting from lots of bass from the uplake grassbeds. Zoom Horny Toads are the better choice for matted grass, while Baby Chug Bugs and Pop Rs take lots of fish in the milfoil beds. Crappie are taking live minnows and red and white jigs. Night fishing for catfish is excellent with almost any kind of bait. Trolling white bucktails and Cordell Redfins, is the preferred method for catching striped bass. White perch are taking crappie jigs dropped from Pop R's, on points.

BUGGS ISLAND LAKE - Bass are schooled up on structure and can be consistently caught on old road beds and points in 4-10 feet of water. Fish are aggressively hitting lures bumped on structure. Best lures are plastic worms and grubs in light colors, fished on Carolina rigs. Striped bass are being caught by trolling with bucktails, Cordell Red Fins and live shad from buoy 5 through buoy 8. Crappie fishing is good all over the lake, around brushpiles and bridge pilings. The fish are located at the 10 foot level. The mouths of Grassy and Eastland Creeks are showing good catches of white bass. The fish are being caught, jigging Little Georges just off the bottom, in 20 feet of water.

BRIERY CREEK & SANDY RIVER RESERVOIRS - Lots of slot fish are being caught in Briery Creek. Numbers are caught on plastic baits on shallow flats in the upper end of the main lake. Bigger fish are taken by dropping 7" Yum dingers or 10" plastic worms through the branches of standing trees, allowing them to hit each limb. The fish are taking the baits on the fall and swimming away from the trees. Laydowns on the shoreline are also holding good fish, but are difficult to pull out of the thick stuff. A few fish are taken by dragging plastic baits across the dollar pads and dropping them on the outside edges. Lots of large bluegill are also being caught. No report on Sandy River.

SMITH MOUNTAIN LAKE - Bass action is picking up, with most of the fish being caught in 5-8 feet of water, on crankbaits and topwater lures. Some bass are being caught around boat docks in the Craddock Creek section. Main lake points in the Roanoke arm are also producing some bass on plastic worms and jig 'n pig baits. Striper action is excellent in the lower end of the lake on trolled Red Eye Spoons and live shad. The fish are running 8-11 pounds.

LEESVILLE RESERVOIR - Live minnows and crankbaits are the better choices for baits to catch largemouth and white bass. Most of the fish are schooled and are actively feeding. Crappie are taking medium minnows. Stripers, 7-12 pounds, are being taken trolling bucktails and Cordell Redfins.

LAKE MOOMAW - Trout fishing is at a standstill, with only a few 2-3 pound fish being caught. Most of the action on the lake centers on bass, yellow perch and channel catfish.

PHILPOTT LAKE - Bass and crappie fishing is fair, with live minnows being the bait of choice. Trout fishing has just about stopped, while catfishing is good. Trout fishing in the Smith River is good for small fish.

NEW RIVER - Lots of smallmouth bass are being caught early and late in the day, in the deeper holes. Best lures are live bait and soft plastic lures in brown and chartreuse colors. Catfishing is fair.

SOUTH HOLSTON RESERVOIR - Smallmouth bass are biting well on jig 'n pig,
Silver Buddies, crankbaits and live minnows, fished off points in 10-12 feet of water. Catfish are taking nightcrawlers. Crappie are schooling and taking small minnows.

CLAYTOR LAKE - White bass are starting to appear in Peak Creek and some
crappie are being caught. Channel catfish are biting well, and stripers are starting to bust the surface, early and late in the day. Some small bass are being caught.

TROUT STREAMS - Fair action should be anticipated with the advent of the brook and brown trout spawn. Casters should have good success on small spinners and spoons, while flyrodders should make good catches on streamers and nymphs in sizes 8-10 on larger streams and rivers.