r/FishingRVA

🎣 What a day on the James River! 🌊
A huge thank you to our incredible guests for joining us out on the water. You all fished hard, and the river definitely rewarded you with some absolute monster blues! 🐟💪
A massive congratulations on landing those trophy catfish! There is nothing quite like the thrill of reeling in a true James River giant, and you handled it like pros. 🏆👏
Want to see all the action and find out exactly how the day went down? Check out the full fishing report on our website now! 👇
🔗 https://www.goobertimeguideservice.com/post/trophy-graduation-giants-james-river-blue-catfish-fishing
#GooberTimeGuideService #JamesRiver #BlueCatfish #TrophyFishing #CatfishFishing #VirginiaFishing #LifeOnTheWater #CatchAndRelease

Fished the Potomac today and only managed to catch these nuisance fish. I thought the snakeheads were supposed to outcompete them! /s

I did manage to break off a dragon of a snakehead but sadly only caught largemouths.

Ended up getting a decent one before the storms today

I had about 30 minutes between training and chow to run over to one of the ponds on Fort Pickett and make a few casts. I landed my new PB and If I had to guess a weight it was 5-6lbs.

Hey everyone, just wanted to share a quick trip recap from this past weekend. Had an awesome crew—Brian, Cole, and Amanda—out on the boat to celebrate Father’s Day and a birthday.

The James River blue cats definitely showed up for the party. We ended up staying out late and found a really solid bite pattern once the sun went down. Always great introducing people to the kind of heavy-tackle action we get out here, especially for a family milestone.

I just put together a full breakdown of the trip, including the late-night action, patterns, and photos. If you're interested in how the bite is shaping up right now on the James, you can read the full report here:

https://www.goobertimeguideservice.com/post/james-river-blue-catfish-fishing-report-trophies-birthdays-and-late-night-action

Tight lines!

🐟 PSA for anyone who cares about the Chesapeake Bay: there's a silent threat lurking below the surface.

The Blue Catfish was introduced to Virginia rivers in the 1970s as a sport fish. Nobody told it to stay put. It's now found in nearly every tidal river in Maryland, it can live 20+ years, grow to over 100 lbs, and eat basically everything in sight — blue crab, menhaden, American eel, you name it. Watermen are noticing. Scientists are alarmed. And the Bay's ecosystem is under real pressure.

On June 25 in Easton, MD, Lectures on the Shore is hosting an evening with two people who are doing something about it:

🔬 Dr. Noah Bressman — marine biologist at Salisbury University, researches invasive species in the Bay, works with MD DNR and USGS
🦞 Nick Hargrove — waterman from Tilghman Island who built a seafood processing plant specifically to catch, process, and sell blue catfish commercially. He literally got a Congressional Record Citation for it in 2024.

The idea: if you can create a market for the fish, watermen have an incentive to pull them out of the Bay. It's not a perfect solution, but it's a real one — and it's working.

Reception with speakers at 5:30 p.m. ($60) | Program 6:30–8:00 p.m. ($40) | Livestream also available if you're not local

📍 Temple B'Nai Israel, 7199 Tristan Drive, Easton, MD
🎟️ https://chesapeakeforum.org/course/lectures-on-the-shore-the-blue-catfish-dilemma-threat-or-opportunity/

Questions? Reach out to info@chesapeakeforum.org. This one's worth the drive (or the stream)!

Looking for a decent place to kayak fish the Chesapeake Bay on the Virginia side with my hobie revo. My target species is Flounder, Rockfish, Sheephead, Speckled Trout, and whatever else that is delicious. I typically fish the upper and middle bay at Sandy Point State Park, Solomons, and Point Look in Maryland so I can handle some rough water. I don’t want to go all the way south to VA beach to try to keep it a little closer since I live in Northern VA. I have my sights on Ingram Bay since there is a marina there and looks like a lot of piers to cast towards. This would be a 2.5 hour drive so I want it to be worth it meaning higher chances of catching fish. Any thoughts or better places? Eventually I’ll build enough confidence and experience for the CBBT.

Places I’m looking at and is about the same distance to me.

Ingram Bay
Fleets Island
Deltaville
Gwynn Island