# Virginia Beach report



## sand flea (Oct 24, 1999)

Fished Chick's Beach and Sandbridge in the days leading up to Christmas. Saw blitzes three days in a row, catching as many as 40 fish in an hour or so.

If you have the time, get down to Chick's Beach with some topwater lures an hour before sundown. If you want bigger fish, visit Sandbridge, bring some spoons and stay mobile!

Here's some pictures and video I captured of the blitzes.


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## Eric G (Nov 15, 2000)

Very nice!!! Love the video. Gotta get down there some day.


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## Joey (May 27, 2001)

Thanks for the footage and tips Matt! Might have to make a trip soon.


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## sand flea (Oct 24, 1999)

It really was an outstanding day! The water temp in Va. Beach is still high enough that this action should continue for a while--if you can get away, it's the place to be. And if you want a few more specific spots that I left out of the report, drop me an e-mail 

I should have gotten video of them slamming my topwater plug, but by the time I started fishing there was no way I was going to stop to shoot video! It was absolutely brutal-the second the plug would hit the water they'd start smashing it. It was a brand new plug on day #2, but within an hour all the paint was knocked off and the plug looked like it'd been in my surf bag for years.


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## Conway (Nov 24, 2000)

Sand Flea-Please let me know if the action continued thru Friday.The pics and video you posted are too tempting for me to not to make a trip to VA Beach on Saturday.Thanks for the info!


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## sand flea (Oct 24, 1999)

It was consistent the whole time I was down there. That doesn't mean that it won't turn off at a moment's notice, but if you stay mobile, you should hit into them. I'd start at Sandbridge early in the day, then head north towards the resort strip. Try to finish up your day around 3 p.m. between Lynnhaven Inlet and the Bridge-Tunnel and fish until nightfall.

A northeast wind will blow them into the surf at Sandbridge, though that screws up any topwater action at Lynnhaven--you want glassy water for that. Also, hope for overcast days--stripers are much more reluctant to come into the shallows during the day when it's sunny.

Good luck and post a report when you get back! I might make another trip down there in January as long as the water temps don't drop below 47 degrees.


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## DC (Aug 2, 2001)

Hey Sandflea,

I was out at Sandbridge in a boat on Christmas eve - as a matter of fact that might be the boat I was in in the picture. When we got to the birds we were the only boat out there (morning 9-10 maybe). There was a bluefish blitz going on out there - we caught a bunch up to 12-13 pounds. We saw you guys on shore and wondered if you were catching anything but the way the fish were hitting in close (6' of water) and the bunker were jumping we figured you were. I caught a 12# bluefish on light tackle and even two on the same stretch 18 on a boat rod! We must have caught 60 fish total! Before that we caught some stripers trolling and then later on. The rocks were up to fifteen pounds but no real hogs. All in all a great day though, as attested to by your video and pictures. I may go out to Chick's beach on Sunday and try the fly rod from the surf if the wind isn't too bad.

Thanks for the info,

DC


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## sand flea (Oct 24, 1999)

Chopper blues? Dammit I got there too late! I didn't arrive until 11 or so.

Thanks for the report. Anybody else out there lurking that's had some great action lately but isn't telling?


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## landlocked (Jun 10, 2001)

Any thoughts as to where these fish are headed??Down the coast or up the Va river systems??


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## sand flea (Oct 24, 1999)

Down the coast and into the surf of Sandbridge and the Outer Banks, further out if it gets brutally cold.

They won't head back up the river systems until next spring when they'll be spawning.


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## TexacoRide (Jul 19, 2001)

Aw man I've 'gotta get down there!


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## sand flea (Oct 24, 1999)

Oh! One more thing I forgot to add that I thought was odd--one of the stripers I caught the first day that I took home to eat was full...razor clams!

That means he was just leaving the estuaries, a good sign for anyone hoping that this action will continue for a while. There are probably tens of thousands still pouring out.


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## landlocked (Jun 10, 2001)

The reason I asked about migrating is I read a report that more stripers winter over in the James River than originally thought. Similar to the wintering over in the Hudson up north.


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## DC (Aug 2, 2001)

I heard from a friend of mine that they were catching bluefish like the ones we caught last week down in Hatteras this week. They do a gradual circle migration - out to sea, back in to eat, and then further south. They may hang around Sandbridge a little while longer but with this recent cold weather I would suspect that they are heading south.

DC


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## longcaster (Oct 3, 2000)

Hi "sand flea",
I loved your article. The pictures were Uuuh La La!


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## sand flea (Oct 24, 1999)

SONOFA!!! Well, that's the last time I do video. So many people watched those clips that I blew my bandwidth and got charged $50. Crap!

I'm temporarily sticking them up on Geocities--we'll see how long they'll give me free bandwidth before they boot me!


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