REPORTS

10 November 2011

Haven't been out at all since back a few weeks ago!  Been too busy up trees throwing stuff at brown things and most likely will be for a few more weeks.

Past few weeks have produced quite a few speckled trout (quanitity vs quality).  Usual spots are doing well, including the ditch areas.

The good drum bite down in Carolina has stalled with this wind we've been having.  But a buddy who is fishing OKI says that there are as many pups as you can stand to catch from the surf as well as trout and flounder mixed in.

School Rock are beginning regular patterns and are available from the usual areas as well.

08- 15 October 2011

Went on down to Carova for the week to do some drum fishing.  Conditions leading up to the trip were just about perfect, a nice steady NE blow with cooler temps.  However, I've come to learn that too many days of any type of wind, even the good one is not a good thing and fish like change over days. 

I got lucky and got this fish the first night, which always makes things easier.

The next few days/nights were a skunk on the big ones, but there was enough to keep you from getting too bored.  There has been a lot of juvie black drum along the beaches from VA to Carolina this year.  As usual there was not much in the way of spot, and the mullet did not make a great showing, well not in casting range anyway!

A few nights later, Lockowitz gets bowed up on a garbo and we figured we should be on fish.  I bow up first and land this one


Lockowitz bows up next and gets a nice one

I bow up again, this was a 50inch fish, which is always worth a smile



After, I hooked into a 6ft or so garbo and my back said I was about over it for the night!  It was a good night to be fishing.  A group of buddies S of us got into them as well.  Also, some of the piers on Hatteras got into fish as well.  Interestingly enough, there was only a fish or two caught from LIP and Avalon throughout this time and the rest of the week.

The next night, the windshift had dirtied the water considerably, and picked up pretty heavily in the wrong direction.  We figured it was worth another shot so went out and I got into this one


Not a bad week, especially considering this is the slowest drum season I can remember, plus I learned a new word/phrase from Lockowitz.  Murder= to eat/catch/destroy.  ex:  I murdered that package of bacon.  They murdered those fish.......

01 October 2011

So with the forecasted winds for this weekend abruptly changing form good to doable to not worth it, my buddy Tim and I decided to get out of the house for a couple of hours and be productive and go catch bait.  We had heard that the bay piers had been doing pretty well for spot on moving water so we decided to do a quick bait run after dinner Saturday. 

We decided on Buckroe Pier as it was close, and they had been catching a few fish.  Arrived there at low and waited for some room to open up toward the end as not much was happening on the rest of the pier.  Caught a few spot here and there until the tide starting coming in.  Fished until 3am or so and I ended up with about 50spot and my limit of blues.  Tim managed fish as well.  Not the 2 cooler fulls we were hoping for but a good way to get out and be productive. 

The spot definately prefered BW over the FB, but quite a few were caught on the FB as well. 

With the drum still being a little slow and weather being difficult, it was a good time way to burn a few hours.

04 September 2011

Went over to the Lynnhaven Pier from the word of the good spot bite that was going on this past week.  Figured that would be a good time to waste a day and fill up the freezer with spot heads.  Got to the pier around 10am and it was DEAD out there.  We stayed till about 1 while seeing 5 spot total come over the rail, two of which were mine.  Not much in the way of crabs either. 

We had planned on hitting the Beach Pier but decided against that because of the Marathon Closures.  Needless to say with the activity level of Lynnhaven we went to the Beach Pier around 1.  Of course by the time we had gotten there the bite was over.  The pier has been having good runs of large spot during the morning and the bite seemed to slow by 2-3pm.  They have also been catching a few keeper specks and I saw a school rock get pulled up by the cleaning station. 

The pier was packed, as to be expected from a Holiday Weekend and in concert with the last 70 yards or so missing from the Pier.  Apparently they will be rebuilding.  Izzy tore off the last 30yards of the pier, they rebuilt 70 yards, and now plan on not rebuilding the last torn section.  Still a net gain I suppose over a few years ago.  The pier is supposed to start rebuilding next week and will be open during the construction.

Here's to fall fishing starting and Griswald traffic slowing!

14 September

Well looks like drum season may get into swing with this weekends predicted blow.  I know I am one of many anticipating things to start!

I took the morning off to secure some more bait, in the off hand that fish start chewin and it's too rough to reliable catch bait.

Took a quick drive over to Rudee Inlet to spot fish.  There were quite a few folks fishing, and not many catching.  There was one gentleman who had a few fish and said they were biting during the incoming, but not as well as they had a few days prior.  The wind has been a sustained SW for a few days now and none of the piers were doing well either.  Needless to say I didn't even get a bite except for one spike speck.

Left Rudee, afterall I did need to find some bait!  Went over to Lynnhaven Inlet and there was mullet.  Not wadded up really well yet, nor in that good cob size, slightly smaller but available in 10s and 20s if you were patient enough to wait  for them.  Ended the morning with about 150 or so mullet.  Got the primos in ziplocks in the fridge, and the rest frozen ready for the rest of the season.

Here's to some drum being caught.  The wind as of right now (15 Sept 2011 341pm) has already shifted N here in RVA and the temp is dropping already.

19 September

Well she's been blowing.  But there have been a few drum caught in the usual areas.  Not a whole lot from what I've heard, but there have been a few caught. 

With the blow dying down, I decided to try down in Sandbridge.  I had two heavers out and a bait rod and fished from the H through the outgoing and part of the incoming.

Bait rod produced lots of 12-16inch black drum, a couple cookie cutter pomps, one seamonkey and a few boofish.

The heavers remained untouched until late in the evening.  Had two runs, both of which were sharks.  Water was still a little sloppy and off colored.  Winds look not so fantastic the rest of the week but none the less will go out trying.