BY BILL HALL, Eastern Shore Post —
The local offshore blue water season has started, with boats based out of Wachapreague and Chincoteague reporting catches of yellowfin tuna while trolling ballyhoo in the Washington Canyon. On the bayside, cobia catches have come from the mouth of the bay all the way up to Watts Island, with bait fishing being more productive than sight fishing due to the recent overcast conditions.
Upper Shore
Captain Matt Abell, at the Sea Hawk Sports Center, reported that red drum catch and releases are still coming from the shallow water grass beds of Tangier and Pocomoke sounds. Most are being hooked using chunks of peeler crab on fish finder rigs.
The same areas are producing catches of speckled trout and a few puppy drum. Anglers using artificial baits are casting Mirrolures or popping corks rigged with 1/8 to 3/16-ounce jig heads with Berkley Gulps or Assassins, with a tiny tip of soft peeler bait for added attraction.
Sheepshead catches have been coming on jigs tipped with hard crab fished over deeper water rock piles and sunken vessels/reefs. Reports of cobia catches have come from the waters around Watts Island, south to the mouth of the bay.
On the seaside, sheepshead catches have come from around the pilings of some of the bridges and piers around Chincoteague.
Flounder fishing was described as “fairly consistent,” with pink and chartreuse being among the most consistent teaser colors, tipped with live minnows or silversides, along with Berkley Gulp or squid strips. Flounder have also started to show up around the inshore ocean wrecks, along with Atlantic spadefish and gray triggerfish.
Surf fishermen have released a few red drum but have been bothered by the presence of large sharks. Small whiting and spot are hitting small baits off the beach. A few yellowfin tuna have been caught while trolling the blue water of the Washington Canyon, according to Jimmy Vasiliou, of Captain Steve’s Bait and Tackle.
Wachapreague
Captain Lindsay Paul, aboard the Almost Persuaded, told me that the flounder bite out of Wachapreague continues to be “pretty good,” with lots of undersized fish but also some nice-sized keepers. Several anglers have returned to port with limit catches. Most of the flounder continue to be caught on Berkley Gulp combined with silversides or live minnows during the outgoing tide in clean water.
Anglers are also reporting increasing numbers of sand mullet (whiting) and croakers.
The ocean wrecks are still producing large black sea bass when sea conditions cooperate.
The White Bite made the run down to the waters off Oregon Inlet and was rewarded with a limit catch of yellowfin tuna. The vessel caught four more tuna on the next day during the trip back north. The Teaser boated a yellowfin tuna on Saturday and five more tuna on Sunday. The Heat Wave had a catch of three yellowfin tuna. All of the tuna caught locally have come from the waters of the Washington Canyon.
Lower Shore
Jeb Brady, at Bailey’s Bait & Tackle, said the flounder fishing remains “strong” along the Ditch and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel during periods of clean water. Anglers are reporting flounder ranging from undersized throwbacks to fish measuring 23 inches hitting squid and Berkley Gulp combinations.
Anglers fishing the bridge-tunnel pilings are finding a good sheepshead bite on crab, with small black drum mixed in with the catch.
Schools of large red drum are still patrolling the shallows during the late afternoons and evenings and individual fish have been caught and released using chunks of crab as bait.
The cobia season opened on June 15; however, the cloudy conditions during the season’s first few days have made sight fishing tough. Jeb expects the cobia action to improve quickly as the weather clears.
The Chesapeake Light Tower has been producing big numbers of Atlantic spadefish, with some spades starting to show up around the fourth island of the bridge-tunnel.
The area around the concrete ships is producing sand mullet (whiting) on small pieces of clam, while the lower bay piers are seeing catches of small flounder and croakers.
The writer was the first Eastern Shore resident to achieve Virginia Saltwater Master Angler status. He has been named Virginia Saltwater Angler of the Year and Virginia Saltwater Release Angler of the Year. He has won numerous Virginia Press Association awards for his columns.
