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Random Quote: All fishermen are liars; it's an occupational disease with them like housemaid's knee or editor's ulcers. ~Beatrice Cook, Till Fish Do Us Part, 1949
Spent last weekend fishing the CBBT and surrounding areas on the Northern side of the bridge. Had never spent time down there and didn't realize how beautiful it is.
We stayed at the Edgewood Motel, a fine establishment that is also the bait and tackle shop! Nothing but fisherman there, my wife didn't appreciate it quite as much as I did! [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img]
We put in every day at Kiptopeke State Park. Went north the first day and caught more Croaker than we wanted to deal with, caught a bunch of small bluefish and trout as well. The next couple days the wind was blowing enough to create a pretty decent chop on the Bay, but we still fished closer to the bridge. Fished the "16" channel marker and one of our buddy boats hooked into an awsome cobia that he fought for 40 minutes, got it to the boat three times and finally lost it on the gaff. We also hooked into a big one that stayed on long enough for us to pull all the other lines in before he jumped/rolled about 50 feet behind the boat and was gone. Also caught a number of decent trout there as well as a fat three foot shark which we released, not sure what kind.
Attempted to drum fish in the surf that afternoon and just got beat up and caught nothing.
On Sunday we started at the CBBT and ended up in a beautiful, peaceful back bay where we caught one keeper flounder, a couple smaller ones and again a number of trout. That is until the a**holes on the jetskis found us. It was all I could do to no do what I wanted to do to them. it involved trble hooks and weights. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_mad.gif[/img]
All in all the weather was great but the fishing was so so. One more thing, there seems to be only one place to eat down there, Stingray's. Cheap breakfast food, a little steeper on the dinner food and, oh yeah, it's in a gas station!
Can't wait to get down there again. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]
Great report Capt. Dan. I made the trip down from Baltimore last December and the striper fishing was incredible. The best I have ever seen. All you could ever want is down there.
I think I ate at Stingray's as well. Didn't pay attention to the name at 6:00 am when I had 40 in. stripers on my mind. It was just like you described though. Mmmmmm, good!!!!
Yeah GW, I've heard the striper fishing is great down there. I'm already planning a September trip and then again in late November/early December. did you anchor, drift or troll the striper?
Nice work...The CBBT IS awesome. Let me know before you come down next time and I'll give you as much info as I can. Fall into Winter is the best...BIG flounder, Trout, Blues and of course, BIG stripers...not that I am saying Spring/Summer is bad because it is also very productive...just have to work a little bit more. Big flounder are around the tubes all Summer.
We actually started out casting bucktails around the bridge pilings and supports. Spotted a crazy amount of birds pounding the surface so off we went. I think we were the only boat casting among close to one hundred boats trolling. We nailed 'em just as well and on light tackle. Action lasted probably an hour or two and we chased them a few miles. Headed back to the bridge when things slowed down and picked up a few more. Pulled the boat out at Kiptopeke w/ a 43", 42", 38" and a 36" in the cooler.
WOW, I guess I will definitely firm up plans for some Fall/Winter fishing down there. Any reason to not cross over the bridge? Sure is a lot more to do in Norfolk/VA Beach in the evenings than on the other side.
Glenn-You mention the tubes, are those the tunnel sections?
Capt. Dan. Glad you made the trip...the Eastern Shore and Kiptopeake are great places. As said, it is a great place to be in the winter. 40+ inch rock fish right off the concrete ships!
There is also a nice Tiki type bar at the holiday inn. A little hard to find, but a good time. I did not try the food, but the beverages were quite good [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]
Weekend Honeymoon--We didn't spot that Tiki bar until the last day when we were calling it quits. I think it's part of the Days Inn. Looks like a great hangout, we will definitely enjoy some libations there the next time we venture down!
CPT. Dan…. If you are a partying kind of guy that doesn’t mind traffic and crowded ramps, come on over to the south side of the CBBT and stay in Virginia Beach or Norfolk. Me, I like the laid back atmosphere on the Eastern Shore. Seems to go better with fishin…
NIGHTFISHER--Not a big fan of crowds, but I do like the option of going out for a nice dinner and drinks. I guess I'll have to give the South side a try as well. How's the fishing there compared to the North??
It’s all good fishing, there are a lot of good places on the south end of the CBBT, you will be close to the small boat channel and the 1st and 2nd island and the bridge itself is a great reef. There are quite a few wrecks at the mouth of the Bay and there is an artificial reef off of Ocean View. I generally fish the north end of the CBBT because I have a good selection of bottom there. The 3rd and 4th island, Middle Ground (a 5 to 6 foot shoal under the bridge), and the High Rise area (90+ feet deep). Its all close together by Bay standards so don’t get to thinking that its an either / or decision. The High Rise is only 12NM from Lynnhaven Inlet.
Checkout the Virginia Board on http://www.tidalfish.com Quite a few of the guys there are from the Southside and they can usually put you on the fish.
Capt. Dan,
If you are planning on keeping any stripers in the fall, plan on coming after the first week in Oct. It will be legal to keep them then. anything befor then is catch and release.
The tiki bar at the motel is nice to go to, during the summer we have been known to anchor in front of it and wade to shore for some liquid refreshments and the womenfolk can use the bathroom.
The eastern shore is nicknamed the "Land of Pleasant Living". Think you found out during your stay.
Good luck in the fall.
Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel report
