JAMES RIVER

Lonnie at Castaway Sporting Goods (804 706-9100) reports the following catches:

Tracie Davis, Chester, 8¼ pound flounder out of Chesapeake Bay around buoy 42.

Kaye Sirles, Richmond, 8½ pound bass in a private pond.

Results from this week's competition in the mini-series at Osbourne Landing:

1 . Jimmy Armes and Vickie Armes, 10.79 pounds, big fish, 3.32 pounds

2. Dean Cobb and Cody Cobb, 8.17 pounds.

3. Jesse Johnson and Jeremy Dillow , 7.88 pounds.

The next tournament is on Aug. 18th at Osbourne Landing.

Tournament results from Saturday:

1. John Mansini and Michael Martinz , 21 pounds

2 (tie). Greg Cooper and Rodney Mutter, 16.35 pounds and big fish of 6.1 pounds

2. (tie) Gary Smith and Thomas Harter, 16.35 pounds

4. George Vaughn and Mitch Blankenship , 15.85 pounds

5. Carl Johnson and Michael Saunders , 12.1 pounds

Lonnie also reports the fishing is good on saltwater side and spot are being caught using bloodworms. Croaker also are being caught. Flounder are being caught and that action is picking up.

On the freshwater side, catfish are pretty decent, and a lot of brim are being caught using crickets.

Mike at Pat's Sporting Goods (804 748-4165) reports catfish are starting to bite again in the deeper sections of the James River, past the power lines. Shad and eels have had great success.

Flounder are plentiful in the Bay, but very few keepers are being caught. Early morning/late evening bass fishing has been good on buzz baits, jitter bugs and weedless frogs. Croaker fishing is still good, but the fish are still on the small side.

Spot are showing up and, as always, bloodworms are the best bait.
CHICKAHOMINY
LAKE/RIVER

Conway's River Rat Guide Service (804 746-2475) out of Ed Allen's Boats and Bait reports:

Chickahominy Lake mid-day water temperatures were in the mid 80's on Wednesday. The lake level was well below full pool. Some bluegill, crappie and a few nice yellow perch were still around the creek mouths and on main lake weed flats. Moderate numbers of bass were scattered in the creeks and out on the main lake flats early in the mornings.

Wright Bait Co. two-inch curly tail grubs, tubes, swim baits, and live minnows were the most effective baits for crappie and yellow perch.

Mark Ingram reports he caught a citation 42½ inch gar at Riverside Camp 2, and Steve Kromer caught a citation 41¾ inch gar. They were using minnows.

Jill O'Brien-Jones of Eagles Landing (804 966-9094) reports:

The water level still is down one foot, but is fairly clear with temperatures in the upper 80's to low 90's.

Tournament Results:

Mid-Week Individual Bass :

1 . Mike Korth , Newport News, 5 fish, 15.96 pounds and big fish at 5.33 pounds.

2. Ray Hogge , West Point, 3 fish, 5.98 pounds.

3. C J Wood, Glen Allen, 4 fish, 5.38 pounds.

Team Bass tournament:

1. Paul Shattuck, Lanexa, and Mike Korth, 5 fish, 11.75 pounds, including big fish at 4.84 pounds.

2. Paul Brock, Mechanicsville, and Robert Brock, Aylett, 5 fish, 11.49 pounds.

3. Chad Hall and Dean Hall, Glen Allen, 5 fish, 7.49 pounds.

The next team bass tournament is a two-day event on Aug. 14-15.
CHESAPEAKE BAY/OCEAN/
OUTER BANKS

Dr. Ken Neill III reports:

There is a reason that all of the billfish tournaments are going on now. Billfish action is good and should continue to get better. There are a lot of dolphin around. What yellowfin that are caught are a nice class of fish. There are not many but they are averaging around 60 pounds each.

A few wahoo are also joining the mix. Offshore bottom bouncers are catching tilefish and rosefish.

Amberjack are plentiful at the southern towers. Some can also be found closer to home around the Chesapeake Light Tower and nearby wrecks.

Jack crevalle are possible in these same locations and schools of large crevalle have been encountered near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. Spadefish and sheepshead are available at the CBBT. Flounder fishing has been very impressive at the CBBT and up around the Cell.

There is a decent bite happening at the Hampton Bar. Spanish mackerel are available along the coast and throughout the lower bay. The real challenge is getting by all of the little bluefish that seem to be everywhere.

Cobia action has been fantastic for sight-casters when conditions are good. Schools of large red drum have been encountered at the mouth of the bay and out in the coastal waters.

Notable catches this week were:

Mike Hurst, Gloucester -- Norfolk Canyon, white marlin, catch-and-release.

Bernie Sparrer, Gloucester -- Norfolk Canyon, blue marlin, catch-and-release .

Hunter Southall , Poquoson -- Norfolk Canyon, spearfish, catch-and-release.

Dr. Julie Ball reports:

As summer presses on, many favorite species are available within the Mid-Atlantic waters. The biggest news is the escalation of the already-hot flounder bite. Anglers are filling coolers with plenty of keeper sized flatties and heading to the scales with dozens of trophy sized doormats.

Most fish are ranging from 3to 5-pounds, but several fish pushing from 8to 11-pounds are thrilling flounder pounders. Most any method is working right now, but the bigger flatfish are coming from the four islands of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel using both live bait, and jigs donned with plastics or stripped bait.

Drifters are finding good luck along lower Bay channels, deep water drop-offs, near the Cell, and off the Concrete Ships.

The winners of the Cobb's Marina Flounder Tournament dominated with a stringer of flatfish weighing to 34.96 pounds. The winning team included Malcolm Covington of Petersburg and his son in law, Andy Rothenberg of Richmond. Their team worked the CBBT north of the 4th island with live bait.

Big red drum continue to patrol the lower Bay and the ocean front in large schools. A husband-and-wife team, Captain Danny Davis and Melissa Davis of Portsmouth, both released red drum pushing over 54 inches on a cast bucktail.

The folks at Long Bay Pointe Bait and Tackle report that puppy drum are still a sure thing within Lynnhaven Inlet, with many pups pushing to well over 27 inches. Cut mullet is working well as bait, along with artificial plastics. Small to medium croaker are still everywhere from the HRBT to the CBBT.

The folks at Chris' Bait and Tackle report that the bite out of Oyster continues to yield coolers full of medium to large-sized hardheads from the deeper part of the channel.

Medium-sized spot are still hitting near Ocean View, off the Concrete Ships, near the 1st island of the Bridge Tunnel, and in Rudee, Lynnhaven, and Little Creek Inlets. Nice roundhead are also coming from near the Concrete Ships, as well as within Fisherman's Island Inlet.

Sheepshead action is still good along the CBBT this week. Several fish pushing to over 13 pounds are taking fiddlers, blue crab, and clams along most any part of the span of the Bay Bridge Tunnel complex.

Triggerfish and spadefish are mixed in with the sheepshead in many of the same areas along the CBBT. Most spadefish are still small, but the larger spades are located near the high-rise section. Many triggers are pushing to 2-pounds.

Trollers are finding some accommodating Spanish mackerel along the oceanfront and near the Chesapeake Light Tower and reef area. Small gold and silver spoons are the best lure for these fish.

Die-hard king mackerel anglers are still waiting for the king bite to materialize, with only a few kings to show so far. A good presentation of sharks along Virginia's coastal waters is attracting attention. Be sure to review the regulations before targeting these gluttonous hunters.

Deep dropping action is good. Reports indicate several big blueline tilefish, along with some hefty golden tiles, nice blackbellied rosefish and seabass are keeping droppers content. Amberjack are still available on several wrecks and navigational towers. Plan an early morning trip to avoid the heat.

Bluewater anglers are still experiencing good billfish action, which should continue to improve over the next few weeks.

The marlin bite is spread out, but many fish are coming from near the 300 to 400 line, in around 40 to 150 fathoms. Scattered 70-pound class yellowfin tuna, nice gaffer dolphin to over 30 pounds and a few wahoo are mixed in.
LAKE CHESDIN

Lindsey at Whippernock Marnia reports the following catches:

Aaron Simpson, Portsmouth, 4 pound catfish, 23½ inches

Chris Overby, Matoaca, citation largemouth bass, 5.8 pounds, 22½ inches

Brian Keene, Church Road, citation largemouth bass, 6. 1 pounds, 22 ¾ inches

Rick Smart , Chesterfield, two largemouth bass, both citation: 6.1 and 23 inches and 7.5 and 23.5 long
LAKE ANNA

Jim Hemby of Lake Anna Striper Guide Service (540 967-3313) reports striper fishing has been hotter than the weather.

August fishing should be as good, but stripers will be working their way to shallower and more oxygenated waters.

A few patterns are very reliable this month. Concentrate efforts from Sturgeon Creek in 20 to 40 feet of water and above 208. Fish will be active in 10 to 30 feet of water.

Fish will move toward the backs of creeks and further up the lake following the bait migrations, especially if we experience cooling rains.

There are many schools of stripers breaking on the surface.

Most bait will catch these fish, but Pencil Poppers and Pop R's will work best.

The deep bite is on and once you locate the fish on the depthfinder, you can troll Deep Diving Redfins, drop rigs or umbrella rigs to catch fish.

You may have to use lead core line to get down to the fish -- downlake the fish are suspended between 30 to 40 feet. If you plan to troll up lake, keep baits running about 20 feet deep. Some days stripers will move right up on the bank to feed, especially in low light conditions.

The fish feed well until about 9 a.m. then shut off until the afternoon. Use herring on downlines when the fish are deeper and gizzards on boards to catch larger fish.

There are two basic patterns to rely on this month that will put largemouth bass in the boat. Main lake points, humps, roadbeds and bridges hold bass with numerous techniques catching fish.

Deep-diving crank baits work well with 10-to-12 inch worms rigged either Texas-style for cover or Carolina-style for covering larger areas.

If you prefer shallow-water fishing, bass are feeding heavily in the backs of the creeks on humps, rocks, stumps and ledges. The fish will be extremely shallow up rivers and creeks.

Shallow-running crankbaits and spinnerbaits work very well in these stained waters.

Bass will be on the flats when aggressively feeding and will pull back to the ledges of the creek or river channel in adverse conditions. The baitfish will tell you where the bass are; find the bait and bass will be nearby.

Nice crappie are being caught on bridges, ledges and deep docks that have brush underneath them. At night, crappie are all over docks with lights on them.

Later in the month, the fish will move very shallow and can be caught in 4-to-10 feet of water. They will feed on threadfin shad about two inches in length. Keep baits small this month to imitate the shad they are feeding on.

Catfish are everywhere, feeding on everything in sight. Simply use a fish finder rig with either live minnows, cut bait or stink baits fished on the bottom. They love this water temperature.

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