| Inshore fishing on Virginia Beach charter boats may | | | | and rockier. Fish congregate along the drop offs to |
| include trips for striped bass, sea bass, and both red | | | | catch food that is caught in the hard running current. |
| and black drum while offshore fishing charters target | | | | Along the edges are lobster traps which are marked |
| tuna, sharks, dolphin, billfish and other species. The | | | | by orange buoys or "lobster balls". The buoys attract |
| area is world famous for its saltwater fishing. | | | | dolphin fish which in turn attract the larger marlin, |
| One well known fisherman is Captain Keith Harlan | | | | swordfish and sharks which feed on them heavily. A |
| who fishes the Mega Bite out of Virginia Beach. He | | | | trip by a buoy can be uneventful, or one or more |
| has fished local waters from the Eastern Shore, | | | | lines might be attacked by mahi mahi, tuna, marlin or |
| Chesapeake Bay, and Virginia Beach to Cape | | | | other fish. |
| Hatteras for over 30 years. Captain Keith's vast | | | | Late August and September often feature the best |
| fishing experience also includes the waters of | | | | fishing with anglers seeing larger numbers of tuna as |
| Barbados, Turks and Caicos, Bahamas, Bermuda, | | | | well as an influx of wahoo and bull dolphin. Offshore |
| Jamaica, Puerto Rico and Key West. | | | | fishing continues into October, when windy weather |
| In the summer months, offshore fishing from Virginia | | | | and falling water temperatures make fishing less |
| Beach is excellent. Captain Keith described Virginia | | | | productive. |
| offshore fishing saying, "Nothing is etched in stone | | | | After the offshore season winds down, Virginia |
| with fishing around here but chasing yellowfin tuna | | | | anglers enjoy excellent striped bass fishing. Known |
| thru much of the summer is our main activity". These | | | | locally as rockfish, these delicious fish migrate down |
| tuna like deeper water for the most part, often | | | | the East Coast and congregate in the lower |
| being caught in water from 30 to 100 fathoms. "We | | | | Chesapeake Bay and coastal waters from November |
| watch the satellite shots to get a general idea of | | | | thru March. Anglers sometimes catch monster |
| how far north or south the tuna are" explained the | | | | rockfish, exceeding 50 lbs. The Virginia state record |
| Captain. Fishing spots include the Norfolk Canyon, | | | | rockfish has been broken many times recently, with |
| Cigar, Weather Buoy, Wayne's World and others. | | | | some of the biggest fish being caught out of Virginia |
| These hotspots range up to 75 miles out of Rudee | | | | Beach Virginia. |
| Inlet. In addition to yellowfin tuna, anglers catch | | | | These beautiful gamefish love cold and windy |
| bluefin, bigeye, skipjack and longfin albacore tuna, | | | | weather and feed in immense schools along the |
| dolphin fish, wahoo, billfish and sharks. | | | | coast. Local charter boat captains such as Captain |
| Of interest to many anglers are the trips that reach | | | | Keith of the Mega Bite keep watch on local fishing |
| the Norfolk Canyon. Just before reaching the canyon | | | | and are usually able to find the fish reliably when a |
| walls are slopes that are often very productive areas. | | | | winter weather window of opportunity becomes |
| Near the canyon walls, the bottom becomes steeper | | | | available. |