Virginia Beach Sport Fishing

admin — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 14:44:43 +0000

The Area
Virginia Beach is an excellent area for saltwater fishing. There are areas to fish from shore or piers, facilities to launch a boat, numerous charter boats, and several fishing clubs. This is an excellent area for live bait fishing, casting, trolling, fly fishing, flounder fishing and many other opportunities.
Virginia Beach is situated at the convergence of the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. At the center of this is the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (CBBT). This enormous structure creates an artificial reef which provides habitat for fish of every size.
Local Fish
The area is known for excellent fishing for dozens of species of fish. Inshore, flounder, sea trout, bluefish, rockfish, spot, croaker, sheepshead, triggerfish, spadefish, red drum, black drum, cobia, spanish mackerel, sea bass, small sharks and tautog all inhabit the CBBT and other locations.
Farther offshore, anglers have opportunities for monster bluefish, mako and other sharks, bluefin and yellowfin tuna, king mackerel, dolphinfish, wahoo and billfish.
Seasons
Fishing in the area starts on Jan. 1 and ends on New Years Eve. There is fishing nearly any time the weather allows. In early spring, tautog and rockfish can be found. As the waters begin to warm, flounder, croakers and other inshore fish begin to enter the area.
By early or mid- May, black drum often roam the lower bay in large schools, prompting many serious anglers to make the annual trip to the area. As spring fishing improves, trout, flounder, bluefish, and striped bass take up residence along the CBBT in greater numbers.
Summer give anglers more options, with inshore fishing for species like cobia, spot, sheepshead in full swing. Offshore, anglers can fish for big game fish along the 20 and 30 fathom curves and on out to Norfolk Canyon where tuna, billfish and other species are commonly caught.
Autumn brings more good offshore fishing but many anglers turn their attention to the CBBT as the water cools and species such as striped bass and tautog enter the area in greater numbers.

You can Catch Some Serious Fish here in Virginia Beach

Inshore and Offshore Fishing in Virginia Beach

admin — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 20:21:23 +0000

Virginia Beach Charter Fishing
Inshore fishing on Virginia Beach charter boats may include trips for striped bass, sea bass, and both red drum and black drum while offshore fishing charters target tuna, sharks, dolphin, billfish and other species. The area is world famous for its saltwater fishing.

In the summer months, offshore fishing from Virginia Beach is excellent. Yellowfin tuna like deeper water for the most part, often being caught in water from 30 to 100 fathoms.

Offshore fishing spots include the Norfolk Canyon, Cigar, Weather Buoy, Wayne’s World and others. These Virginia Beach hotspots range up to 75 miles out of Rudee Inlet.

In addition to yellowfin tuna, anglers catch bluefin, bigeye, skipjack and longfin albacore tuna, dolphin fish, wahoo, billfish and sharks.

Of interest to many anglers are the trips that reach the Norfolk Canyon. Just before reaching the canyon walls are slopes that are often very productive areas. Near the canyon walls, the bottom becomes steeper and rockier. Fish congregate along the drop offs to catch food that is caught in the hard running current. Along the edges are lobster traps which are marked by orange buoys or “lobster balls”. The buoys attract dolphinfish which in turn attract the larger marlin, swordfish and sharks which feed on them heavily. A trip by a buoy can be uneventful, or one or more lines might be attacked by mahi mahi, tuna, marlin or otherfish.

Another enticing reason to fish the Norfolk Canyon is the excellent deep dropping for snowy grouper and tilefish. The snowy grouper record has been shattered twice recently, with bothfish being caught just inshore of the Norfolk Canyon.

Late August and September often feature the best fishing with anglers seeing larger numbers of tuna as well as an influx of wahoo and bull dolphin. Offshore fishing continues into October, when windy weather and falling water temperatures make fishing less productive.

After the offshore season winds down, Virginia anglers enjoy excellent striped bass fishing. Known locally as rockfish, these delicious fish migrate down the East Coast and congregate in the lower Chesapeake Bay and coastal waters from November thru March. Anglers sometimes catch monster rockfish, exceeding 50 lbs. The Virginia state record rockfish has been broken many times recently, with some of the biggest fish being caught out of Virginia Beach Virginia.

Virginia Beach Fishing is a Group Sport

VIRGINIA BEACH FISHING BLOG » Norfolk Canyon

Virginia Beach Sport Fishing

Inshore and Offshore Fishing in Virginia Beach