Chesapeake Bay News Freshwater Fishing NewsThe 2012 Virginia Charter Boat Workshop will be held at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science on Saturday, March 10, 2012. The workshop will focus on charter business management with sessions on fisheries management, legal issues, insurance needs, marketing and finance tips and lessons learned from current charter operators. The workshop is open to all [...]
Light tackle jigging (LTJ) is one of the most popular saltwater fishing techniques. Jigging can be effective for catching a variety of saltwater fish species. A variety of lures are popular, including metal slab jigs, bucktails, soft plastics, and other rigs. In the Chesapeake Bay and Virginia’s coastal bays anglers jig for rockfish (striped bass), [...]
Surf fishing for black drum is an annual event for many saltwater anglers in Virginia. These heavyweight members of the croaker family usually show up in the surf in May or June, with peak catches varying from a few days to several weeks. Black drum fish often travel in schools, occasionally feeding together with red [...]
Throughout Virginia, spot are usually available in the surf from late summer through early fall. These delicious saltwater fish are a favorite among surf fishermen for food and as fishing bait. Spot arrive in the surf early as June but the best runs usually start around Labor Day and continue into October. They can be [...]
The Coast Guard urged residents and mariners to stay off the water Sunday and Monday after Hurricane Irene and to refrain from swimming at local beaches and in tidal rivers. Tropical storm-force winds and heavy rainfall may have resulted in strong currents, marine debris and hazards to navigation. Additionally, Coast Guard small boat station crews [...]
The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (DGIF) is now offering a free Hunt Fish VA mobile application for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The Hunt Fish VA app allows users to search for a wide variety of Virginia hunting and fishing related information on their smart phones. Having the new app will allow [...]
Saltwater kayak fishing is extremely popular in Virginia, with anglers catching a variety of species. Throughout the state, fishing habitats range from tidal creeks and sheltered estuaries to the waters of the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean. In much of the state, flounder fishing is possible by kayak. The eastern shore has hundreds of miles [...]
NOAA has published quotas and other measures for bluefin tuna. The allocations divide the available 2011 U.S. bluefin tuna quota of 957 metric tons among commercial and recreational fishing sectors for the fishing season that began on June 1. In addition, NOAA’s Fisheries Service announced it would begin a review of domestic bluefin tuna management [...]
Virginia Marine Police will begin enforcing the Virginia Fisherman Identification Program registration requirement after the Fourth of July weekend. The new registration program went into effect on Jan. 1, and requires adults who fishes in Virginia’s saltwaters, or for saltwater species in tidal freshwater, to register with the Virginia Marine Resources Commission if they are [...]
The Atlantic croaker, sometimes known as hardhead, is one of the most popular saltwater fish caught in Virginia. These hard fighters are sometimes caught in great numbers by anglers fishing in the Chesapeake Bay and along the Virginia coast. Croakers range from about 10 inches up to monster fish of several pounds. In most [...]
