Fishing Report
*Atlantic Ocean and Coastal Bays, VA
Summary: Atlantic Ocean and Coastal Bays Surf anglers are settled into fishing for a mix of kingfish, croakers, and spot in the surf when using bloodworms or bloodworm alternatives. The large red drum have moved to somewhere else for the time being but anglers fishing with large cut bait are keeping busy catching sandbar, blacktip, sand tiger sharks, and sting rays. Casting a jig with a strip of squid in the surf wash is a good way to fish for flounder. At the inlet and Route 50 Bridge area, sheepshead and tautog are being caught close to the jetty rocks, bulkheads and bridge piers on live sand fleas. Striped bass are being caught, but almost all are below the 28-inch minimum. Flounder fishing has been fair in the back bay areas; water clarity has been an issue and many of the flounder being caught are below the 17.5-inch minimum. A flood tide offers the best fishing opportunities for flounder and larger baits tend to weed out the smaller flounder. Fishing with squid is a fun way to catch the abundant croaker and blowfish can also be part of the mix as well as small black sea bass and sea robins. Spot can be caught in the back bay waters on bloodworms. Outside the inlet trolling for Spanish mackerel has been very good relatively close to the beach. Small chrome Clark spoons pulled behind long fluorocarbon leaders, or wire and planers is the best way to target the Spanish mackerel. Bluefish can be part of the mix at times. The offshore wreck and reef sites are producing excellent catches of large flounder. Fishing for black sea bass has been fair and triggerfish and small dolphin can be in the mix. Farther offshore in the canyons, releases of white and blue marlin are common. Yellowfin tuna have been hard to find.