Fresh Virginia Fishing Reports

Tautog fishing on the reefs are good rite now !! Tog are excellent eating fish. Were catching occasional sheepshead and drum also. Schools of blue fish are also a good catch under working birds .

This is a very fun time to be on the water from catching fishing shallow pulling planer boards to catching fish breaking

Shorter days, falling leaves and fish on the bite. As we wind up the fall and move towards winter, the fishing has not let us down. Our salmon season was disrupted by a drought on Lake Ontario, so we did two steelhead junkets instead, with a good result on both voyages. Back home, the flounder bite has remained consistent to date, with 14 fish netted this weekend alone. We await the arrival of our winter striped bass. Seeing reports of vast schools off the New Jersey coast has us hopeful for this cold weather fishery. As things shut down here we will look south to Rudee inlet in Virginia Beach for winter redfish and trout . Stay tuna'd, Aloha!

Daniel and his daughter had a great time today while his son couldn't make the trip last minute. They caught well over 50+ keeper size rockfish today, as well as a few oversized fish. They had the boat limit within minutes of setting lines this morning. Good job guys on a great catch.

The 2025 guiding season is coming to an end and im grateful to fishing booker all all my fishing guests. The season had highs and lows just like the tides of the potomac river. The lows usually revolve around trips that didnt live up to fish “catching” expectations of the client. There is nobody as disappointed as me when for whatever reason the fish do not bite. Some factors of poor fishing are controllable but most are not. I would like to privide a few examples of what can be controlled and what can not be cintrolled when it comes to probability of catching fish. Controllable: 1. Captain preparedness - i spend countless hours on the tidal Potomac river from washington dc to aquia, virginia. I keep the boat maintained and fully equipped. I show up on time and demonstrate a friendky demeanor. I come from a family that have soent over 50 years of fishing and guiding on the Potomac. 2. I communicate with clients and provide ramp location and meeting times. I try to get a level of fishing experience from them so i can evalute if my fishing experience is best for them. 3. I look at predicted weather conditions to assure saftey. After this - nany things are out of my control - 1. Angling ability - the biggest factor of catching fish will rest with the guests fishing expeience. If you have minimum cating ability or presenting an artificial bait properly - tben the probability of catching a fish goes way down. I will spend tbe day teaching you but if you also believe that catching fish should go hand in hand with instruction - that may happen - but the odds are decreased. 2. Tides and enviornmental factors - a fisb is an organism that responds to environmental conditions- tides, barometric presure, etc - these factors control mich of a fishes activity. These factors can lead to the saying “they call it fishing - not catching”. There are many examples of unrealistic expectations. A guest using his equioment the wrong way and still complaining of catching small fish when be was lucky to even get a bite. A guest who insisted on fishing for snakeheads when not only was their fishing ability up to the task but i told them that catching a snakehead was unlikely. Its your trip but im not always the best guide to suite your expectations. I always go where there are fish but one must catch them on their own. I fish with artificial baits thst require casting and presentation. Sometimes its best to start slow and fish with guides that use live bait for more abundant fish species. I love to teach everyone to beca better fisherman but its a process that doesnt always include or deserve catching a fish.

Theae Clients booked a full day trip and the weather was Calm so we went to the chesapeake bay bridge and put a hirting on some Tautog and sheepshead! Needless to say they got some fish fries to plan.