Thursday, July 29, 2010
Weekly fishing report
Courtesy of Jenny Shail
Mark Taylor is outdoors editor at The Roanoke Times.
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@roanoke.com
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Mark Taylor
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Anglers who want to tangle with tasty, big and strong saltwater fish have a few options.
One is to book a trip on an offshore charter, and hope the captain can find tuna, gaffer-sized dolphin or wahoo. A great trip might even feature a billfish or sailfish release.
Offshore adventures can be awesome, but they come at a price. A full-day on a big boat can run in the $1,500 range. Even split six ways that's a good bit, though it's less painful if you come home with a bunch of fresh fish.
A more moderately priced adventure can be found fishing in the lower Chesapeake Bay for cobia, a fish that is really hot at the moment.
This can even be a do-it-yourself affair for anglers with decent-sized boats. A guided trip will cost several hundred dollars, but there's a great chance of success.
Lakes
Bass fishing has picked up at Smith Mountain Lake, reports Dewayne Lamb at Captain's Quarters Marina, an improvement Lamb attributes to the slight break in the heat.
Big plastic worms are taking bass from main lake points, with the key being finding points with good rock or brushy structure.
Lamb said stripers are at depths of 40 to 50 feet around creek mouths. It's tough to reach the fish trolling so many anglers are content to drop live bait into the schools. Alewives are more productive than gizzard shad.
Lamb said he hadn't heard anything about catfish action.
Bass fishing hasn't really changed at Claytor Lake, reports John Zienius at Big Z's in Radford.
Lures such as Senkos and flukes are working around grass beds, while anglers are also finding some decent action in moving water on the lake's upper end.
Fishing with live bait around submerged lights -- which attract bait fish -- is taking some trout at Lake Moomaw.
Streams
Tom Maynard of the New River Angler guide service said smallmouth action has been good on the lower New, with typical summer approaches such as Senkos and tubes working well. Big fish have been tough to come by.
James River smallmouth action is similar.
Saltwater
Anglers chumming on shoals in the lower Chesapeake Bay are catching lots of nice cobia, with some fish topping 90 pounds. Flounder fishing also is good.
