E-shore Va (Oceanside) looking for info. on Fly Fishing!

[nicksflyshop]

I am looking for some information on Fly Fishing the Eastern Shore of VA, on the oceanside around the barrier Islands from Wachapreague to Fisherman's Island.
Has anyone explored or fished this area? I am looking to fish for Specs and Reds if
they are around.

Any insight or information: email me at nick@theeveningrise.com

I am stricktly a catch and release angler!
Thanks

[Salmo trutta]

Lots of croaker and flounder right now. The place is "gods country" and begs to be explored and figured out. Why I've never caught a spec there I don't know. Never seen any tailing reds either but I really haven't fished it often enough, not even once this year (new born) but quite a few times last summer.

I like to concentrate at the numerous natural "inlets" or breaks in the islands. I wouldn't take my boat outside the inlet because channels are constantly changing and it always looked pretty darn rough from all the shoals out there but I'd fish inside where the tide and current are concentrated. Like I said, lots of flounder, croaker, spike trout (Weakfish), bluefish and Sharks. Some tarpon are being caught in the area too but from what is being posted it's all a bait thing and a gambling thing. After the first NE blow in August, they're gone. Try checking the Va board for more info.

Here's a couple web sites:
ESA Splash Page
http://ocsdata.ncd.noaa.gov/BookletC...okletChart.pdf
Tide Location Selection for Virginia

[nicksflyshop]

Thanks a bunch for your information.
You are right...it's Gods Country!
Nick

[flies only]

fished the bay side for two yrs now out of cherrystone. met a fly guy there who was extremely tight lipped about that area oyster in particular , that he wouldn't offer any advice. asked if i could charter him for cand r still he declined. he told me to go feed the mosquitoes for 30 to 40 years like he did then i will know the area. i did see some mongito flounder caught on bait over there though..

[Salmo trutta]

[QUOTE=flies only;876291]he told me to go feed the mosquitoes for 30 to 40 years like he did then i will know the area.:QUOTE]

Now that's funny. That's a similar response I get to most good water that doesn't have hordes of people. It's like that line from a St. Croix add, "The reason we have famous named waters is so that people don't find out about the really good ones." Or something to that affect.

I can't wait to fish some of those islands from shore with a spey rod on a ripping outgoing tide. It's too dangerous to fish that area from a boat on an outgoing and the incoming seems to be much better anyway as fish can start to access all the areas that were exposed during low tide. The maze of slews and channels in that area hold all types of fish but going there on an outgoing could leave you high and dry or worse. One hick up in the engine or beach yourself and that's it. as the current picks up, the waves increase and it's a washing machine mine field out there. No one can get to you and it's a long swim back to land. Now I'm not talking about the entire area around Oyster Ect but only the inlets. That area is half the reason I want a carolina skiff.

[boats]

Come to think of it I have been fishing over there now and then for over 40 years and have been bitten by quite a few flys. It's not as hard as it used to be before GPS I recomend forgetting about the hard heads that are tight lipped and figure it our for yourself. Most of those guys are bait fishermen and know very little about artificals much less about Fly fishing. Some know what they are doing but not many when it comes to light tackle.

Try staying in a narrow geographic area and learning it well. Example I only fish from Oyster ramp south. It's still 18 miles long and 4 or 5 miles wide with 5 inlets and numerous wash overs and cuts. Enougth to explore for a lifetime. You need to be self sufficent, no one is likely to come to help you out of trouble. When I was in the CG and before the Cape Charles Station was open the lower seaside was in Little Creek Stations op area. We never went inside in our 30's and 40's. allways called the game warden when we had someone overdue. I bet it's still the same way.

The inlets can be real dangeous. If you have a boat that will run well inside it's probably not going to be safe in the inlets. If it's inlet and ocean worthy it's probably too big and deep for inside. I go shallow and get to the back side of the islands with a small outfit and stay away from the inlets completly

You need a shallow boat and one that can be poled is best of all. Look the areas over at dead low tide to see what the structure looks like. Save a zillion waypoints then go back later and delete the ones you don't need. USGS quadrangles are better than the nautical charts. more detail and you are going to save the cuts on GPS Plotters are worthless on the sea side except in the bouyed inlets were you don't need them. You are going to save the drops you found anyway. I transfer them in pencil to the paper chart. Some of my paper charts are real old but still usefull marked up with details.

The ocean beaches can be tough for fly rods though. Wind rough surf and sod banks studded with mussel shells to cut you off. Clean bottom is so clean and tide swept it does not hold fish. Structure bottom in the surf hold fish but is about only pratical with heavy casting gear. I drum fish with heavy conventional surf tackle. 30 # mono and 50 or 60 # shock line. It looks like it has been rubbed with a wire brush after landing a nice fish. Several of my fly fishing buddies have tried the surf but never landed anything due to the difficult conditons.

I think you will find the best light tackle sport inside around the marsh grass at high tide and channels and cuts throught the flats when it drains. Those flats look all the same but actualy there are channels that drain them, just a few feet deeper but hold water at any tide. Also a lot of aquaculture clam and oyster beds with deeper water around the seeded areas. Thats what you want to focus on with fly rods.

Boats

[Salmo trutta]

That's very good adivice. Thanks boats.

So the bouyed inlets, are they really accurate? Does the CG update them reguarly? What about all those white poles well inside marking channels? I guess that's the watermens doing?

I've been on a couple of those islands and loved what I saw. I fished some hardware and a little fly but didn't have the problem with the leader. I also didn't catch any noteable fish there either, but have near by in a boat with similar tackle you mentioned. There are only a small handful of islands that are even open to the public but you say for the most part are covered with shells and tackle busting shelves?

What's the fall/winter striper fishery like over there? I know they are around the CBBT and those shoals but what about the islands south of Oyster?

What's the best way to get USGS guadrangle maps for that area?

[boats]

On the Navagation I have a word file with some advice I put together for guys that gives what I think about it. Not that it's the absoulute word just what recomend. And I am no expert. White poles are an enigma, sometimes they mean one thing sometimes another. I stay away from them generaly unless I can see whats around at dead low tide. It's usualy some sort of oyster or claim bed. I can send the e file to you if you like. The new state ramp at Wise point inside the cut will be open soon and save a lot of time running down from Oyster or Kipeopeake park on the bay side. I bet a lot of guys will get in trouble when access is easier, it will attract less than experenced boaters.

Once there was a lot of deep draft navagation on the sea side. Before Virginia Closed the inshore trawl fishery large trawlers worked out of Oyster. Smith Island inlet was bouyed by the CG until fairly recently. Years ago I worked on a Corps of Engineers survey launch and we laid out dredging all over the sea side. I doubt if anything has been dredged lately. The VIP north and south is marked fairly well but not maintained for depth. Now on the south end of the shore it's only Sand Shoal Inlet that is bouyed and I never run in and out. I used to take an annual Tuna trip with a guy that was a good drum fisherman on the lower shore and had a 40 foot bay boat 9 knots at best. He would run out of Sand Shoal about twilight then all night to get to the tuna bite offshore. After fishing all day run slow so he did not have to run the inlet again until sunup the next morning. I think thats still good advice

The Islands all belong to somebody mostly Nature conservencey and good thing too. In Va Beach they would have put 1000 unit condo developments on all of them. However the waterways are open to anyone and Nature conservency allows beach acess for fishing except when nesting birds are involved. We respect there rules and appreceate the access given.

On Stripers no doubt there is a striper fishery but for fly fishing the structure fishing arround the CBBT is so good no reason to try to develop it from the Barrier islands. It's Drum primarly for me. Drum fishing is well worth the effort. There is a good local black drum fishery too. Not fly canadites generaly althought I landed and released a very big one on a 10 wt several years ago. Better places to speck fish on the bay side althought there is some good speck fishing sea side at times. Flounder is about dead due to Virginia favoring the deep water big boat fisherman with regulations. Average sea side shore flounder is smaller. Lots of Croakers and we will hit them with flys at times going and comming. Used to be a good Grey trout fishery but now it's only very small fish under lights. Tarpon are much talked about and it's not hard to see them rolling. Much harder to get a pick up on bait much less a fly. And another matter again to land one. I respect anyone who has caught one and feel sorry for anyone who is trying uncessfully. It's frustrating at best.

Boats

[boats]

Sorry

Quadrangles. Lots of mine are very old. I buy them from Henry Eagletons in Norfolk but list of agents all over are published on the internet. I bet Maryland Nautical in Baltimore can get them. They are off Fort Ave around Hull street.

Boats

[nicksflyshop]

Thanks for all of your insight on the area.
Good advice...Start in the Oyster area and learn as you go.
Thanks,
Nick