Fishing Report for Nov 4, 2020

Saltwater

Tautog are becoming more available inside the bay. The CBBT is a good place to target these excellent eating fish. Crab, either cut or whole fiddlers work well.

Rockfish are becoming more available also. They are mostly being found inside the creeks and rivers of the Chesapeake Bay. Good reports have been coming from the Rappahannock River, for example. As the weather gets colder and later in November and December the bigger fish are usually caught inside the Bay proper. But for now, the rivers and creeks are yielding good sized Rockfish. Many are being caught shallow by those targeting Speckled Trout and/or Puppy Drum.

There have been some quality-size Rockfish caught from within the James River, particularly from the James River Bridge. The Hampton Roads tunnel has also been producing keepers along with the islands of the CBBT.

The Speckled Trout bite may be the strongest bite going at this time as anglers are scoring well with various baits. Some of the more popular baits for the Trout are 4-inch swim baits, Mirr-o-lures, jerkbaits, and live bait such as shrimp, Spot, or finger Mullet. Like the Rockfish, they are mostly being found inside the rivers and inlets of the Chesapeake Bay. Lynnhaven, Mobjack, the Piankatank, and the James are some popular locations.

Rough, windy conditions have kept many of the charter boats docked over the last few days. So, the reports are not plentiful. The piers and surf of the Nags Head area have produced a little better. There's been a good run of Puppy Drum for the last few days along with the Spot and Speckled Trout. There has also been some good-sized Sea Mullet and Bluefish reported.

Freshwater

Bass fishing continues to improve in many places as we have now entered November. The water temps are dropping and the fish are feeding up in preparation for colder weather.

Chickahominy Lake has been producing some good bags of Bass along with the Chick River. Various sizes of swim baits are working now, as are spinnerbaits and shallow crankbaits. Lipless crankbaits (¼ oz.) are also working well.

The pits along the James River are good places to target the Largemouth now as the bait can pile up in some of these, causing schooling action.

The upper James is settling down and cooling off as well. Targeting the Smallmouth with spinnerbaits, crawfish, crankbaits, and 4-inch grubs in natural colors is usually the ticket. Inside the city limits holds excellent opportunities for trophy Smallmouth.

17 lbs. won a weekend tournament at Kerr and 28 lbs. was the winning 2-day weight at Lake Gaston. Targeting boat docks with jigs was the most productive method at the Gaston event.

Crappie fishing has been very good and improving at Kerr, Gaston, Anna, and Chesdin. Brush, stumps, docks, and bridges are all holding the Crappie. Quality electronics will show the depths where the fish are holding. Side imaging has become invaluable in many cases for locating fish. Skipping jigs under docks can often be the better method for the bigger fish.

The smaller local lakes should not be overlooked at any time, especially now. Good examples are Sandy River, Briery Creek, and Swift Creek Reservoir. Excellent fishing for both Crappie and Largemouth exists on these bodies of water.