[jay b]

Fished the outgoing on the west side bar from 0500-0630. Did manage 1-3lb. Bluefish, but that was it. Don't know if it made a big difference, but there was a lot of grass (almost every cast) & very little bait in the water. I think the biggest thing was a extreme lack of fish. Oh well, mark it down as paying dues, still not a bad way to start the day.

 

[bcusic46]

I was out there too. Didn't catch anything. I am new to fishing, but I have been watching this website since just after I started. I usually fish a harrisons pier with bloodworm and a bottom rig, I am very new to using lures and plug. still haven't cought a thing yet on anything other than live bait. I usually knock croakers and roundheads out at Harrisons, (even a few strippers, and black drum), but I just cant seem to get the artifitial bait thing down. I gotta be missing something. I have tried everyday for about a week and lynnhaven inlet and chicks beach under the cbbt. nothing. Can somebody give me some pointers.
I am still also trying to figure out the tides (as far as when the fish should bite) . I have been using Bucktails, rattle traps, and gotcha lures (of course white with red tip) Nothing seems to be working. I don't know if it is me, or i am just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

 

[Shoeless]

To work the artificials, you need to impart action to the lure. Erratic action will help trigger strikes. The gotcha should dart side to side if you are doing it right. The others raise the rod tip and let it fall in various rhythms and patterns until you find what works for you. Also, the areas you fished can be more hit and miss than fishing off a pier.

 

[Lars]

bcusic46,

Try fishing Willoughby Spit sometime. There are a lot of people (like me) fishing with lures at the Spit so you can observe what we're doing. The trout seem to have moved off, but I caught some blues earlier this week. You can bring your bait rod to that spot as well.

As for the tides, the thing to look for is moving water (current). The bite can completely stop at dead tide.

 

[bcusic46]

Thank you shoeless. At lynnhaven and chichs beach when would be the best time to go? On the pier I go to, you kinda have to catch the high tide about two to two and a half hours before the peak, and then for about another hour after. Do I use that same stategy from the surf? It seems every time I go out there it doesn't look like anybody else is catching anything either. I used to fish freshwater, and you don't have this kind of stuff to worry about. There you just schedule to the temp and time of day. I am just trying deperatly to catch a striper. About a month ago I cought four from harrisons pier, and they were the most fun of any fish I have ever fought with before. In freshwater nothing could compare to that. The closest thing would be a largemouth, but even they aren't that strong. I have cought stripers in lake whitehurst, and they didn't put up that good of a fight. One of the stripers I cought from harrisons was only 14 inches and even he was fun to catch. I am just hoping to catch one before the season ends.

 

[bcusic46]

hey Lars.
I kinda know the area of willoughby, but where do most people fish from there. just anywhere in the surf or a the end. From the interstate I can see some rocks down there, and I thought that seemed like a good spot, but I also saw a guy at rudee inlet get a fine for stepping on the rocks there. I was not sure if norfolk had the same laws as VA Beach, or not.

 

[Shoeless]

The main striper season here is in the fall heading into winter. Lynnhaven Inlet gets way too crowded, so I spent most of my time under the CBBT. It can get thick there as well, but nothing like Lynnhaven. I follow the couple hours before/after rule usually, but I spend most of my time at Little Island Pier in the summer. I king rig and bottom fishing for cobia so there are some long hours put in waiting for the clicker to go off.

 

[Lars]

The best place to fish is from the jetty to the east of the HRBT. It's legal and there are a couple of public beach access points close to the jetty. The thing about the Spit is that there's a pretty strong lateral current around the jetty mid-tide and that's exactly what one wants. Plastic jigs like Storm Wildeyes work very well, but if the only fish around are blues, then you may want to use tins or crankbaits instead, unless you mind losing a few jigs to the blues' teeth. You may also want to bring a net to get the fish up to the rocks, although it's not necessary.

 

[jay b]

Shoeless is right about the lure "action", it needs to look something like the real thing. I always try to watch the lures move through the water as it gets close enough to see. A little twitch usualy helps the presentation, if for no other reason to make it flash as it moves. Watch how the others around you do it (especially if they're catching) and use what they are and try to fish it in the same way. If the current is real strong use something a little heavier so it gets down some in the water and slow down your retrieval speed so it doesn't look spastic. And like my original post here, there are no guarantees at any given spot at any given time, so if you can move around some. At the Lesner I've caught fish all over the place, inside & out. I was one of the two guys that came off the outside bar this a/m with the waders, net,stringer, and vest with the 10lbs. of got-to-have-at-all-times lures in it. Change your lure if it's not working and when you use up the tackle box in one area move to another that looks good. The fall is better for Stripers at the Lesner but there are a lot of other fish there this time of year that will bite the same type of lures, so be patient and keep pluging. If you liked the fight with the little striper just wait until you hook onto one of those 5lb. Blues!!

 

[bcusic46]

How effective are bucktails? They seem to be my favorite (even though I have never caught a fish on artifitial bait). They seem to be the easiest to make look natural. I always put a grub or rubber shad for a tail and just retrieve slowly, while gradually bouncing the rod up and down. Are they any good and is that a good retrieval? I went to harrisons tonight and lost my last gotcha. I popped my line while casting on accident. The gotcha's I bought were about 4-5 inches long. Are those the same plugs you guys use? I need to know before I go buy anymore. Thanx

 

[Shoeless]

If you are using the 4-5 inch gotcha, that is the magnum size and they are harder to "work" with a light outfit. And they cost more. There are two smaller sizes. Could't tell ya the weights, but you can tell by looking at the size of the heads. I think the metal bodied gotchas are lighter than the plastics. Anyway, since you have to reload, I would buy red/white, red/chartruese, green/chartruese, pink.

 

[emanuel]

Oh lord, here we go with the strippers, again. This time I will leave it alone, you have been warned!

 

[Cobia Seeker]

I think we went through this last year with the strippers...