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If you love or live to fish, the eastern North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland region is a great place to hone your hobby. Offshore and deep-sea fishing will let you snag some of the biggies: bluefin tuna, white marlin, wahoo, yellow fin tuna, and even mahi-mahi. Surfcasting and pier fishing are the most popular local fishing pastimes; you can expect to reel in bluefish, Spanish mackerel, flounder, striped bass, puffer, and red and black drum. If you choose to fish inland streams, rivers, and creeks, and you will likely reel in trout, catfish, striped bass, and largemouth bass.
May-October is the peak fishing season for the eastern North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland region, and crabbing season (best off the fishing piers) reaches an all time high during late summer and early fall. Wherever you choose to fish or crab, you will need to check local fishing regulations and, of course, obtain the relevant state fishing license. If you will be fishing on the Delmarva Peninsula, be aware that you may need the Delaware, Virginia, and/or Maryland fishing licenses. To fish in eastern Virginia or on the North Carolina shore, you will need to obtain a Virginia fishing license or a North Carolina fishing license, respectively. Respective to each state, the licenses can be obtained at the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife, Maryland Department of National Resources, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, or the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.
Fishing on the Delmarva Peninsula
Nearly every Delmarva Peninsula community from Lewes Harbor, Delaware, down to Ocean City, Maryland, and on down to Cape Charles, Virginia offers fishing resources, bait and tackle shops, and a vast assortment of fishing charters. Pier fishing is most popular on the Sea Gull Fishing Pier, off of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, in Virginia, considered to be one of the world's mightiest fish magnets, but there are other great pier fishing spots and sites along the Delmarva coastline.
- In Ocean City you can expect to catch snapper, bluefish, flounder, striped bass, weakfish, and offshore tuna near the Ocean City Inlet and shoreline jetties. Fish the bays for spot, croaker, tog, and striper.
- Surfcast off the beaches of Assateague Island, in both Maryland and Virginia, year-round for some of Delmarva's best fishing. Assateague Island waters offer summer flounder, Atlantic croaker, spot, kingfish, black and red drum, weakfish, striped bass, bluefish, and puffer. Red drum weighing in excess of 40 pounds are commonly caught during the late summer and early fall.
Here are some recommended Delmarva Peninsula fishing piers:
- Holts Landing State Park pier on the Inland Bay, Delaware
- Cape Henlopen State Park pier in Cape Henlopen State Park, Delaware
- Massey's Landing (Indian River Inlet) on Long Neck Road, near Dewey Beach, Delaware
- Oceanic Pier, 9th Street Pier, Shantytown Pier, and the Route 50 Bridge in Ocean City, Maryland
Eastern Virginia Fishing
Offshore fishing, surfcasting, and pier fishing are all equally good (and popular) in eastern Virginia. For a little more guidance, try the vast assortment of the charter companies concentrated around Virginia Beach, Hampton, and Newport News. Though just about anywhere you put in your line you'll catch something worth bragging about, here is a little information to help you get started:
- The lower (tidal) James River and its tributaries offer some of the best blue catfish, largemouth bass, and striped bass (rockfish) in Virginia. Try the areas downstream of the I-295 Bridge, the James River Bridge, or along the larger tributary creeks, particularly in fall.
- Fish near the shipwreck sites off the coast of Virginia Beach, the eastern shore creeks near the Lynnhaven and Rudee Inlets, and the Poquoson flats area. You will likely catch big speckled trout, puppy drum, big gray trout, horse croaker, or hardhead.
Here are some recommended eastern Virginia fishing piers:
- Buckroe Beach Fishing Pier in Hampton
- Grandview Fishing Pier in Hampton
- James River Bridge Fishing Pier in Newport News
- 15th Street Pier in Virginia Beach
- Lynnhavin Inlet Fishing Pier in Virginia Beach
- Little Island Fishing Pier on Sandbridge Beach in Virginia Beach
North Carolina Shore Fishing
North Carolina's coastal waters offer outstanding surfcasting, offshore fishing, and pier fishing. While it is nearly impossible to isolate hotspots (the entire Pamlico Sound could be considered one), the Outer Banks (particularly around Kitty Hawk, Hatteras, and Nags Head) are held in the highest esteem by local fishermen. Indeed, the areas between Bodie Island and Hatteras Island, Wrightsville Beach, and off the coast of Historic Beaufort teem with fish year-round, and deep-sea fishing charters, party boats, and cruises are located in nearly every town along the North Carolina shore. Wherever you sink your bait, you'll likely bring home something fresh for your frying pan.
- Try fishing from the rocks around Fort Macon State Park, near Morehead City and Beaufort. The confluence of the Newport River makes for a natural fish migration route, where you can catch flounder, trout, bluefish, and stripers.
- Oregon Inlet (near Hatteras Island) offers great fishing for spot, croaker, flounder, grey, speckled trout, bluefish, puppdrum, mullet, cobia, and sea bass. The period from Memorial Day-Labor Day is usually the best time to fish these waters.
Here are some recommended North Carolina Shore fishing piers:
- Johnnie Mercers Pier in Wrightsville Beach
- Carolina Beach Fishing Pier in Carolina Beach
- Kure Beach Fishing Pier in Kure Beach
- Kitty Hawk Pier in Kitty Hawk
- Avalon Fishing Pier in Kill Devil Hills
- Nags Head Fishing Pier in Nags Head
- Hatteras Island Fishing Pier in Rodanthe
- Cape Hatteras Fishing Pier in Frisco
Richmond, Virginia Beach, Williamsburg, North Carolina's Outer Banks
Fishing
Kitty Hawk Beach - North Carolina
Assateague Island National Seashore Beach - Maryland
Cape Henlopen State Park Beach - Lewes, Delaware
Assateague Island National Seashore Beach - Chincoteague, Virginia
Bald Head Island Beach - North Carolina
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