April 2025 Fishing Report

Spring bringing the marsh back to life

Just a week and a half ago, we were still in a winter pattern, with the primary concern of most of our fish simply finding warm water, but spring has sprung!  Several warm days to close out March have moved thoughts to spring fishing, and inlet water temperatures in the upper 60s have the targets thinking the same way.

The spring transition for redfish can be one of the most difficult times to pattern the fish, but they’re much more likely to feed opportunistically.  Water temperature will tell you a lot about where to look, and pay close attention to the tide in regards to this.  In the backcountry, the outgoing tide can be considerably warmer than the incoming.  With that, fish are more likely to be found over sandy bottoms rather than mud during the warmest stretches, and the angler should adjust accordingly.   Conventional anglers can take a page out of the fly fishing handbook by trying to “match the hatch”.  When over mud bottom, small (this is the only time of year I throw a 2.5” to 3”) minnow and shrimp lures are your best bet, while crabs are going to be what redfish over a harder bottom are expecting to see.  Texas rigging a Zman Kicker CrabZ can be deadly for shallow reds prowling shell/sand bottoms or out on flats.  When sight-fishing, the Savage Gear crabs are a fantastic option, and Buggs lures have been making quite a stir, as well.  Fly anglers can opt for a Merkin Crab (the strong arm variant being my favorite) or Flexo Crabs.  Local (world-record holding) fly angler Kevin DuBois is a big fan of Giacobba’s Blue Claw.  For those in the know, the usual areas are already starting to see some of the early season bulls showing up.  While not the numbers that we’ll see when the droves come from the south in May and June, tower boats and skiffs were starting to get their first tastes during the warm spell at the end of March.

Spring trout are usually my favorite to chase.  Unfortunately, the winter kill has me less than optimistic about the prevalence of specks heading back out of their winter holes.  If you’re keen to target them regardless, overcast days and grass lines on an outgoing tide make a fantastic time to walk the dog on a topwater lure.  The lures that worked in the fall will still work in the spring, and larger baits usually tend to do better.  This year, I think smaller baits might make these trips more reasonable.  Shrimpy colors white/pink/tan are good options, and fly anglers might consider using large but lightly weighted fly patterns when looking for trout sunning against a grass edge.  Any fish you see should be led by a good margin, allowing the fly or lure to swing to the waiting trout (easier said than done).

April is also the month when we get an influx of bluefish moving up from the south, and again, rumors of early arrivals abound.  Many folks who remember the good ol’ days of bluefishing in Virginia Beach have their fingers crossed that this year will be a repeat of the last.  Hordes of boats flock to Rudee Inlet, but when they arrive, they don’t all turn in to check out our aquarium.  Lynnhaven saw good numbers of large blues last year and certainly a population of fish every year.  Taylor blues (the colloquialism for the smaller variety) are not picky and can be taken on hard baits, soft plastics, topwater lures, and flies imitating baitfish.  Ensure that the leader is particularly heavy, or even wire, if you plan on using a favorite or moderately expensive bait.  They can certainly tear things up.  These aren’t lippin’ fish.  Moreso with Chopper Blues (the colloquialism for the other end of the spectrum).  Choppers are still aggressive and can be more particular, but they have a penchant for noise.  Lures with rattles should certainly not be overlooked.  The older fish also tend to shy away from wire leaders, so fluorocarbon in the 40- or 50-pound range is recommended.  Finally, while I don’t offer Blues anything expensive, when throwing soft plastics, I will be using Zman.  The elaZtech unquestionably lasts much longer when it comes to the brutal attacks that Blues offer.

Most of our big rockfish have moved up towards Richmond, Fredericksburg, and DC right now, and hopefully, we will finally get a solid class of fish from this year’s spawn.  Hanging out halfway between Cape Henry and the Gulf Stream protected them from how brutal January was in Virginia, and perhaps this fall will show a good number of Striped Bass to target. 

Spring is here, and so are actively feeding fish of all sizes.  Get out there and enjoy it.  There are still trips available during April, so if you’re looking to get on the water and get a head start on the season, give us a call or book a trip!