when for rockfish in va beach?

[golfs321]

Im a senior at cnu and fish all year in NJ for rockfish. I havent gone down here much what time of year is best for va beach? and im guessing it requires a long cast!

[Phil Allen]

I fish there on a charter every new years eve and we always do well on rock and big blues. I don't know how the surf would be.

[newsjeff]

Im a senior at cnu and fish all year in NJ for rockfish. I havent gone down here much what time of year is best for va beach? and im guessing it requires a long cast!

 

Depending on water temps (and bait), it's usually late November through January (or longer).

 

The fish can be anywhere from Cape Henry to the state line. The best bet is to look for working birds. However, it's possible to beach that stray fish.

 

I live in Sandbridge. Send me a PM if you want to fish the Atlantic for the cows sometime.

 

The schoolies in the rivers/bay are already biting.

[Jon G]

It's a different ball game from shore down there. The boat fishery is top knotch all winter long. More 50 to 60 pound fish are weighed in at Chris's Bait and Tackle on the eastern shore of the bridge than just about anywhere else anywhere. Early December sees a massive slug of fish in the lower bay but by January they are out in front of Va Beach in insane numbers. The sky can be filled with diving gannets as far as you can see from Cape Henry and points south. Most Oregon Inlet charters run up to Va waters for the bite as the fish are staying further north every year.

 

The Sandbridge guys fishing from the surf just finished off another phenominal red drum bite. Far better than Assategue could ever offer and this is in a populated area/tourist town. Don't know why that is but the fishing down there is far superior to the Delmarva area beaches.

 

A lot of kayak guys get in on the fun just off the beach but shore caught fish are rare. Take the guy up on his offer from Sandbridge. It's probably your best shot at shore cows.

[newsjeff]

Jon nailed it.

 

From the beach, there at lots of times you can see the boats just whacking big stripers at the tide line.

 

And there's no way to reach them 200 to 400 yards out unless you have a yak.

 

However, it's always possible to get that lone striper that comes in close to feed. This type of fishing is often a cold and boring experience with little payoff, but it's still better than being at work. I advise you to bring both a heaver for deadsticking and a lure rod for plugs/metal.

 

Finding fresh bait from shore (and even from a yak) in mid-Winter can be harder than landing a 50lb striper. If you bring some down for me, you'll have a friend for life.

 

Jon, Sandbridge didn't have a great drum run this Fall. At least not compared to the last few years. There weren't more than 25 or so caught off LIP. The guys on the beach seemed to have better luck than the pier guys this year, which is suprising in itself.

 

I got mine off the beach this year, but not for a lack of time on the pier.