Fishing Report

JAMES RIVER

Castaway Sporting Goods, (804) 706-9100, reports that while fishing was slow last week, those who cast their lines caught considerable fish.

Crappie catches have slowed, but sunfish, croaker, spot, flounder and brim have picked up.

Crickets and squid have been the baits of choice.

Pond fishing, especially for sunfish and bluegills, has been strong. Things also are picking up on the saltwater side.

Tomorrow at the Chickahominy River off Route 5, the third qualifier will be held.

Notable catches: Ryan Turner (Chester) 22½-inch largemouth bass on the Chickahominy; Thomas Hickman (Richmond) 2 bluecats, 42-6 and 31-2.

Tournament results: 1. Charles James-Richard Owen , 11.22 pounds; 2. John Seay-Ralph Taylor , 9.24; 3 (tie). Harvey Reece-Calvin Hunter and Donnie Mead-Brian Brooks, 8.45. Big fish: Jason Cusic-Butch Thompson , 4.02.

Captain Mike Hoke of Life's Revenge Guide Service, (804) 357-8158, reports that the water temperature remains between 78-82 degrees.

Bluecats have been sporadic while flatheads are doing pretty well, especially on brim, live and cut. Stripers and smaller catfish have been biting on crankbait above the 14th Street Bridge in recent days.

Notable catches: Tony Graves (Gordonsville), 19-pound channel cat, 37½ inches, released; Daniel Jervis (Roanoke), who is 13 years old, 31-pound bluecat. His father, Mark Jervis , caught an 11-pound flathead.

Fin&Skin Bait Shop in Varina reports strong bluecat results on the lower James.

Notable catches (all were released): Jimmy Henry (Gordonsville) 2 bluecat, 41 and 48, and his wife, Tina Henry , 5 bluecats, 38, 35, 31, 22, 16; John Williams (Henrico) bluecat, 54-4; Kelly Brown , 2 bluecat, 68, 34; Dennis Brown , 2 blue cat, 40 and 37.

CHESAPEAKE BAY/OCEAN

Dr. Julie Ball reports the major summertime fish have been in place for a while and the final two heavy hitters, tarpon and king mackeral, have arrived in the backwaters of the Eastern Shore.

Chris' Bait and Tackle shop reports silver kings were off to a good start, with a few sighting, hookups, and landings until the recent cool-down and easterly winds slowed this trend.

King mackerel sightings were reported from the Little Island Fishing Pier. Spanish mackerel continue to provide excellent action for trollers, with Cape Henry still the best location.

Captain Steve Wray, skipper of the Ocean Pearl out of Lynnhaven, said his best luck is occurring in about 20-25-feet of water, with planers working better than in-line sinkers.

Cobia hunters continue to chum on the lower bay shoals, such as Latimer Shoal and the Inner Middle Grounds, where plenty of medium-sized fish in the 20to 30-pound range are cooperating.

The biggest fish still are coming from sight casters in open water along the lower Bay channels and the oceanfront.

Flounder are a good bet, with plenty of keepers available at most of the flattie hot spots.

Folks working the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel are faring well with limits of decent fish and a smattering of citations while using live bait. The first and third island tubes produced best this week. Drifting with well-presented strip baits is doing the job for many boats off Willoughby and inside Lynnhaven Inlet lately.

Spadefish still are available. The Chesapeake Light Tower and the Cell are providing some decent spadefish action, but more boats are finding them at the CBB-T.

The third island still is the top spade producing location at the CBB-T.

Sheepshead still are biting along the tubes, islands and pilings of the Bay Bridge Tunnel. Try fiddler crabs, blue crabs, sandfleas and clam suspended near the structure for a sheep nibble. Tautog also are biting, but interest seems to be low.

Black drum sightings, with scattered hook-ups, with some fish pushing 80 pounds, are coming from the 2nd and 4th islands.

These are slow growing fish, reaching enormous sizes, so reviving these docile swimmers will boost their chances of survival.

Red drum still are taking bait intended for cobia, and several sightings of schooling reds near the CBB-T are providing excellent top water opportunities.

Some large croaker pushing 2 to 3 pounds are lurking around the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel and the Cell, while the hard head hunters in Oyster are filling multiple coolers with nice fish.

The folks at the Fishing Center are reporting that decent spot moved into Rudee Inlet, with most fish ranging from 8 to 14-ounces.

A few puppy drum still are hitting, but the best action is coming from Lynnhaven, where pups are ranging up to about 23 inches.

Pompano began biting this week along the ocean surfline and piers, with some fish pushing a pound.

Amberjack are enticing many anglers to make the long run to the Southern Towers. Many pups are willing to take your live bait, with a few big fish also testing a few backs. Jigging also is an effective method for jacks when your live well runs dry.

The offshore bite off Virginia is a good mix lately. Most anglers are looking for bluefin tuna, since the Virginia Beach tuna tournament is this week.

Captain Mike Romeo, skipper of the Gannet out of Rudee Inlet, found a nice class of bluefin this week with his biggest fish tipping the scales at 168 pounds. Although the bite slowed a little the past few days, the Hotdog, the Fingers, and 26-mile Hill are good places to try. King mackerel also are a possibility in these same areas.

Trollers can continue to expect scattered yellowfin tuna, with a nice class of dolphin rounding out catches.

Wahoo are beginning to bite-off trollers, and a few white marlin have moved in. Mako sharks also are still around. Danny Knight (Virginia Beach) weighed in a 160-pounder he caught while fishing on the Frog Pile out of the Virginia Beach Fishing Center recently.

Notable catches: The Peninsula Salt Water Sport Fisherman's Association reports that Charles Southall (Poquoson) caught a 50-inch amberjack at the South Tower; Hunter Southall (Poquoson) caught a 50½-inch amberjack at the South Tower and Ken Neill (Seaford) caught a 51-inch amberjack at South Tower.

OUTER BANKS

Leonard Nuchols reports the surf fishing on the Outer Banks still has the summer doldrums.

With most of the best fishing spots on the beach closed, anglers are using kayaks to find fish in the Pamlico Sound and the Atlantic Ocean.

Fishermen have had good luck from the kayaks in the ocean, catching small dolphin fish and Spanish mackerel up to 7.5 pounds, with the 1.5 ounce yellow/pink/green Glass Minnow lure.

The Ramp 43 area reports sea mullet, blues, croakers, flounder, Spanish mackerel, false albacore and puppy drum.

Beach driving access is open from Ramp 43-Ramp 44 but not much farther.

The Pamlico Sound still is producing catches of flounder, puppy drum and speckled trout up to 3 pounds.

The Buxton jetties are producing flounder, trigger fish, sheepshead and pompano. The Hatteras Village Beaches report sea mullet, blues, pompano, Spanish mackerel and a 60 pound cobia.

Cecil Duke (Glen Allen) caught six North Carolina state citation sea mullet, ranging in weight from 1.14 to 2.2 pounds at the Oregon Inlet on the Outer Banks, using sandfleas for bait.

The northern beaches report sea mullet, croakers, blues, Spanish mackerel and a 34 pound cobia. The southern beaches report flounder, sea mullet, blues, pompano, Spanish mackerel and puppy drum.

Ocracoke Island reports sea mullet, blues, flounder, puppy drum, croakers, pompano, Spanish mackerel and black drum.

Andrew Paduch (Ocracoke, NC) caught a spadefish from the surf last week that weighed 9 pounds. The Hatteras Inlet offshore boats report dolphin, wahoo, blackfin tuna, amberjacks and king mackerel.

James Jones (Hartfield) caught a citation golden tile fish that was 11 pounds, and Winn Butterworth (Petersburg) released a sailfish for a citation. The inshore boats report Spanish mackerel, speckled trout, blues, flounder, king mackerel, cobia and gray trout.

The Oregon Inlet offshore boats report yellowfin tuna, wahoo, dolphin, sea bass and big eye tuna. The inshore boats report Spanish mackerel, blues, cobia, sharks, speckled trout, flounder, trigger fish, puppy drum croakers and a couple of big drum.

Notable catch: Bob Seat (Gordonsville), 23-pound mackeral while surf fishing at ramp 30 between Salvo and Avon, N.C.