December offered some great opportunities, with a few nice warm spells, but it looks like January has much more cold in store for us. Tightly schooled fish are still feeding on the warmer days, and have moved deeper on the colder ones. Find a creek, mud flat, and deeper water close together, and you can find one of these schools better. The difference in temperature in the backcountry and out in the Bay can vary widely on the extreme days, so consider the tide when trying to follow fish to the warmest waters. All of this is relative, of course, and 50 degrees may be great after a bunch of highs in the low 40’s, but awful after a spell of days in the 60’s. Like last month, Lynnhaven, Rudee, both seaside and bayside on the Eastern Shore, and the western shore marshes all offer spots worth checking out. These fish are holding tight to the bottom and want a subtle fly/lure and a SLOW presentation. Once you're fishing painfully slow; slow down. I’ve been having success fishing with Zman’s Baby BallerZ, Mirrolure Lil’ Johns, and Ned rigs with the Tiny TicklerZ are all good options. Flies and fly leaders should also become more subtle. The water clarity we enjoy during the winter means natural colors should take precedence over the purple and chartreuse options that help when we are competing against an abundance of bait in the water. The 2/0 flies are staying in the box while 1’s, 2’s, and even size 4 flies are getting tied on. The cold has pushed me down to tying leaders for 7-weight line down to 10 lb. tippet, and 8 and 9 weight down to 12 lb. With that being said - warm days can turn on schooled redfish to the point they'll even swipe at topwaters. Former VCFA President Ed Pacheco likes to say, “If the fish are there and hungry, anything will work.”
We’re in the coastal season now for rockfish, and while they spent a little bit of time hanging out inside, it seems like this is another year of our striped bass hanging out beyond the 3-mile barrier. There have been some pockets of “schoolie” stripers in offshoots of main rivers, but these are few and far between. The 2024 spawn surveyed as poor for the sixth year in a row. The spawning index last season was at less than 20% of the yearly average, which itself is lowered by the inadequate numbers we’ve experienced for years now. I love the striped bass. In the recent past, it was the bedrock of this fishery and definitively such for local fly anglers. While the vast majority of my clients are catch-and-release anglers, we will occasionally harvest a fish or two. I’m pretty clear that the preference is letting any rockfish swim away, but as of January 1, 2025 – it is official policy that no striped bass will be taken during a VB Backwater trip moving forward. There are several steps that need to be taken for recovery, and there are many opinions about the basis for the problem. Until we see the recovery of this essential part of our fishery, please take great care with our striped bass, and let ‘em swim.
Speckled Trout are still biting, and the cold is finally starting to thin out the ridiculous crowds at the Elizabeth River launches. Depth is going to be dependent on relative temperature, and when it comes to trout, ledges are never a bad spot to spend considerable time exploring. Slick Lures and Paul Brown “Devils” remain this year's most popular, but the Paul Brown “Fat Boy” and a wide variety of suspending crankbaits work well, along with, not surprisingly, MirrOlures, like the 17MR. Topwater strikes are not as effective as they were, but on overcast days in a warm stretch, a strike that does come won't come from a small fish. Fly anglers need sinking lines (give it actual time to sink... not just after your cast, but at times during a retrieve) and patterns that can suspend with action. Large deceivers, EP patterns, and big articulated patterns are ideal. Again, with January temperatures having set in, fish deep and fish slow, but move up when the sun is heating up those shallows.
Bundle up and get out there! We’re lucky enough to live in a 12-month fishery, so take advantage of that when you can!
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