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Fishing Forecast: Catch some cobia while you still can

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The season is just starting to show signs of heating up, but we’d best talk about it before it all comes to a screeching halt.
 
Much has been said and written about federal fisheries management’s order to shut down the East Coast cobia season on June 20. And whether or not North Carolina and Virginia choose to comply with those orders and keep their fisheries open in state waters inside of three miles is anybody’s guess. Agencies for both states meet at the end of the month to decide their respective paths.
 
In the meantime, cobia have started to show in the waters around Ocracoke and lower Hatteras.
 
So while anglers wait to see what direction things go, it might be a good idea to get in on the action.
 
When conditions are just right – slight seas and sunny skies – sight-casters are starting to find fish as they make their way up the coast. Bucktails, plugs and live eels and croakers will bring strikes.
 
More and more fish will move into Carolina waters in the next couple of weeks.
 
And the inaugural Dare/Hyde Cobia Shootout starts Saturday and runs through June 17. The individual angler competition is based out of Pelican’s Roost Marina in Hatteras, and there is an entry fee of $50. Anglers can fish as many days as they want and the biggest fish will take home $5,000.
 
Drum fishermen working the shoals around the upper sections of the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay will happen on the first Virginia-caught cobia.
 
So enjoy the beginnings of a cobia season, because nobody knows when it’s going to end.
 
Summer flounder, Illustration courtesy of Duane Raver

Summer flounder, Illustration courtesy of Duane Raver


 
SOUTHEASTERN VIRGINIA
 
While drum have made a showing, and cobia are on the minds of nearly every Chesapeake Bay angler, flounder are garnering a vast majority of the attention.
 
The best action continues to come from the backwaters of the Atlantic side of the Eastern Shore, with fish available around Chincoteague, Wachapreague and Oyster.
 
It shouldn’t be long before flatties are found around inshore wrecks and artificial reefs, and along the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. Decent flounder already are being caught inside Rudee and Lynnhaven inlets.
 
Red and black drum are showing around the shoals and inlets of the Eastern Shore. Sight-casters working the mouth of the Bay and along the Virginia Beach Oceanfront should begin to encounter better numbers of reds.
 
While anglers working baits on fish-finder rigs will encounter a few cobia, they also will be the first to hook into the season’s first sheepshead.
 
Unfortunately, an extremely good tautog season closed at the beginning of the week. In its place is a lesser striped bass fishery that is surprisingly still producing a few fish meeting the trophy criteria. Don’t expect much.
 
Smaller rockfish are available in good numbers, but slot-limit spring fish can’t be kept until May 16. The sea bass season opens May 15.
 
Bluefish numbers are increasing along the Oceanfront and a few Spanish mackerel have been taken. A few scattered speckled trout, along with some bigger bluefish, continue to show in Rudee Inlet.
 
Croaker and sea mullet are being caught from the state’s fishing piers, but most are small. Crabbing remains excellent.
 
Bluewater trollers willing to head to the southeast will find some scattered tuna, wahoo and dolphin. Deep-droppers working the edges of the Norfolk Canyon will find sea bass, tilefish, grouper and spiny dogfish.
 
Red drum,  Illustration courtesy of Duane Raver

Red drum,  Illustration courtesy of Duane Raver



 
NORTHEASTERN NORTH CAROLINA
 
Tuna fishing continues to impress out of both inlets, with yellowfin and blackfin making up the catch. Dolphin are becoming more plentiful, with more larger fish showing. Bluewater trollers also are taking wahoo and a few sailfish have been released on the southern side.
 
Grouper season is now open and wreck anglers are finding them, along with triggerfish and some amberjack.
 
More and more big red drum are becoming available along the beaches and are available for both boaters and surf casters.
 
Puppy drum, speckled trout, bluefish, small black drum, blow toads, sea mullet and some croaker are being taken along the beaches and from piers. Pier anglers also will hook into their share of red drum and cobia.
 
Largemouth bass, Illustration courtesy of Duane Raver

Largemouth bass, Illustration courtesy of Duane Raver


 
FRESHWATER
 
Largemouth action remains outstanding on all fronts, especially since temperatures aren’t rising too fast. Recent rains have also helped keep bass interested.
 
Bass will continue to work shoreline cover and will take a wide variety of baits.
 
Bass-casters also will start to find bowfin, gar and chain pickerel to be interested in their offerings.
 
Crappie should still be available in shoreline cover in waters from five to 15 feet deep.
 
Bluegill are starting to migrate out of deeper water and should be catchable in five to 10 feet. Continue to look for bigger ones on the deeper side, with bottom-bouncing live baits being the best way to find them.
 
Big blue catfish should be migrating out of the deeper holes of tidal systems, making them a little more difficult to find and catch.
 
Lee Tolliver, 757-222-5844, lee.tolliver@pilotonline.com Follow @LeeTolliver on Twitter.
 
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