Fishing Report
Atlantic Ocean and Coastal Bays, VA
Summary: Atlantic Ocean/Coastal Bays - 7/30/26 Surf anglers fishing with small baits along the Assateague beaches are catching a mix of kingfish, spot, croaker, and blowfish. Anglers casting bucktails or Gulps tipped with a strip of squid are catching flounder. Anglers fishing with large baits of cut mullet or menhaden are still catching and releasing some large red drum along with bluefish, as well as cownose rays and inshore sharks. At the inlet and Route 50 Bridge area, anglers are catching striped bass and bluefish by casting bucktails and soft plastic jigs, live-lining spot, or drifting cut bait. A large percentage of the striped bass are falling short of the 28-inch minimum, but that does not take away from the fun. Sheepshead, triggerfish, and a few tautog are being caught along the jetty rocks, bulkheads, and bridge piers. The sheepshead and tautog are being caught on sand fleas or peeler crab, while triggerfish are caught on small pieces of squid, clams, or peeler crab. Flounder fishing has not been good in the back bay channels due to cloudy water conditions caused by thunderstorms and wind that moved through the area last week. The immediate forecast is for clear skies so hopefully water clarity will improve by the weekend. In the meantime, a flood tide will most likely give you the clearest water conditions near the inlet. Spot can be caught in the shallower waters near the Route 90 bridge. Flounder fishing has been very good outside the inlet at some of the inshore lumps and at the wreck and reef sites. The anglers headed out to target black sea bass are doing better catching flounder than they are black sea bass. At times small dolphin are also being caught and triggerfish can be part of the mix. Boats trolling the inshore waters close to the beach are catching bluefish and a few Spanish mackerel. At locations such as the Jackspot, bluefin tuna are being caught sporadically. Anglers headed out to the canyons are catching a mix of bluefin and yellowfin tuna and a few wahoo. Many are stopping by lobster buoys to load up on small dolphin. Others are deep dropping for a mix of blueline and golden tilefish.