VA Beach Fishing Question

[TyF]

Hey i am going to Va beach for vacation in a few weeks and want to do some fishing... I dont think i will bring the kayaks but want to catch as many fish as possible and multiple species from shore.

Does anyone have any suggestions for locations for surf/pier/shore fishing and also a good all around baits that will catch lots of fish there and different species...

Thanks,

Tyler

[HokieDJ]

Go Rudee inlet. From the inlet you can catch flounder, croakers, blues, and specks.

[ronaultmtd]

Same with Lynnhaven Inlet- there is a pier at Lynnhaven as well-

[surfdog]

most of the locals use gotcha plugs at Rudee. cast out let it sink then retrieve, at lynn right from the beach cast up under the bridge with a t/b rig with shrimp or other cut bait or use a jig head and gulp. wife and i whacked a couple of black drum under the bridge 23 & 24" very good eating

[TyF]

thanks for all the info!

what else is a popular catch on shrimp at lynnhaven? so far that is the cleanest bait and therefore the one i would like to use if it is effective.

also i have a cast net and would love to be able to catch bait with it... any advice on what bait to try and catch and where to catch it?

[Redfish12]

Some of the eddy's around Lynnhaven inlet hold mullet, but I'm not sure if they are in yet. Take the net, you'll probably be able to catch some minnows to use for flounder bait. Just rig them on a Carolina rig (probably need an ounce or more) and let it roll slowly with the current. Should be a few flatfish around the deeper cuts.

[J.A. Veil]

If you want to hire a kayak fishing guide to fish in the area, contact Corey Routh. I fished with him twice about this time of year and caught decent redfish both trips.

[ILV2F5H]

Im headed down that way tonight as well for some flatties. Lynnhaven might be one of our stops. I heard the mullet are running. Im bringing two rods. One for jigging and the other for livelining. Good luck, I hope you get into the fish.

[TyF]

I would love to hear how you do...

Good luck!

[kanvery]

In my pier fishing days VA beach and the surrounding areas were gold. I had to make trips around the time of year you are going to drop my sister off at school and made lots of detours to the piers. The oceanview pier is really good for flounder about 100ft from the pier house but not much else. You can buy live mud minnows there and they work great but I had a lot of luck with the gulp shrimp and mullet in natural or chartreuse colors. You have a shot at some nice pups this time of year but there are better places. Lynnhaven pier is awesome and one of my favorites for specks, flounder, and pups. The specks and flounder seem to hang out around the surf and out to about 1/2 way while the pups really prefer staying in the wash. Gulps have always been my favorite here and beat the heck out of any live bait imho. If you were to go live bait shrimp would pretty much guarantee you anything out there but only after 200 spot, croaker, or small guys. Live finger mullet or mud minnows are really the way to go if you can find them. You should be able to most tackle shops are very well stocked in that area. Pin rigging from the end can be very productive for big blues, BIG spanish macs, cobia, and the occasional kingfish/king mac. If it's pin rigging you want though head to VA beach pier or Little Island State Park. Both have about the same. I usually catch a croaker, small blue, or mullet to use as bait on the king rigs and your really never know what you'll get. Both places can be really productive for other species after dark and I have caught decent specks and flounder at both places around this time of year but the real gold is what is at the end. You can plug away all day while you have your pin rig out and still catch some of the big migratory fish in the area; kingfish/king macs being the prime catch. Further south the surf fishing gets really good for pups, specks, and other random stuff. If you did happen to bring the kayaks you could have a good chance to catch kings from there. I've also heard that the bouy about 3mi off of Little Island State Park is a cobia stop for a lot of boaters. Of course if you brought the kayaks then that really changes things! Where are you staying? I might be able to help out a little more. Either way good luck and catch some fish for all of us!

[ILV2F5H]

So we arrived at Lynnhaven inlet around 11pm on an outgoing tide. Lots of small schools of mullet and a handful of short pups. Fished until about 4am and decided to head over to Rudee to catch the incoming. Nothing at all. We only saw a few spot caught over the rails but thats it. Even the spot bite was slow.
Decided to head back to Lynn inlet, Duck Inn side. Probably caught about 50+ puppy drum between the three of us. No keepers but at least we caught fish. We even made the best out it because we made a bet on who could catch the biggest drum and if you caught a keeper flounder you would automatically win. Winner got a paid buffet to Capt George's. Thats right I won....13" pup did it. They all ranged from about 9" to 12.5". It was decent pullage for the fatter ones but the trip could have been a lot worse.

We did see a wake boarder fall off right under the bridge in the inlet. His vest was off. I wasnt paying too much attention but there was a lot of current and I looked up to see a head in the water. He was able to grab ahold of the board while it pushed him out. He did make it back on the beach safely. I would have hated to see a different result.

That was my report...happy Monday!

[ILV2F5H]

Forgot to mention that we used a variety of Gulps and livelined finger mullet. All the action came from Gulps.

[TyF]

thanks a ton!! all this info really helped!! i think i might start out at lynhaven and then maybe go down to va beach pier for some bigger stuff...

[surfdog]

i love capt georges used to go there a lot when working in the oil terminal in chesapeake. stoped in for a bite with the wife last time we went through Va beach and wow the remodel job was fantastic.

that wake boarded is an idot, that current going out of lynnhaven is very fast and dangerous, lucky he didnt get sucked down in one of the many whirlpools that form on the bayside of the bridge