Any tips for Virginia Beach/Norfolk Area?

[JustinLee_19]

Hey everyone! I'm a new bass fisherman out of Virginia Beach.  I know this has been posted several times in the past but It seems like there are no posts about this area in the past several years.  I've been striking out everywhere the past few weeks, visiting everywhere I've tried multiple times, trying for multiple hours, trying different lures, and am quite out of ideas.  I've tried residential ponds in Ocean Lakes, private pond near Mt.Trashmore, Lake Windsor and Lake Trashmore, Lake Smith/Lawson, King's Lake, and another private residential lake I'm unsure of the name.  Any body have any tips or spots to try?

 

Thanks!

I also do not have a boat/kayak

[Choporoz]

Been a number of years, but I was there (Navy) for a couple years without a boat.  Very challenging.  I had my best luck on golf course ponds and on some of the bases. Google Earth is your friend....any number of small spots (like the ones you've been working) may hold decent bass.  Getting off the banks will be your best bet, of course.  Until you get a yak or boat.... I think I was able to rent boats at Cohoon, as well as Newport News Rez, Lee Hall, and Waller Mills up on the peninsula. 

[sc1978]

if you want to yakfish, you can rent kayaks @ wild river outfitters, day rentals for hobie pedal system I think is around $60. right off virginia beach blvd (rosemont area). hit up back river, NNres, or hit up lynnhaven or rudee inlet for some salty fish (flounders, pups, or croakers) plenty of species on the buffet menu....

[Sam]

Justin, I have send an email to wdycrankbait as he lived in Tidewater and fished a lot of the lakes and other places.

 

I will also contact Sean who lives in Virginia Beach and ask him to reply.

 

All I can do is direct your attention to the Bass Pro Shop in Hampton where you can pick up your free copy of the 2017 Freshwater Fishing and Boating in Virginia booklet from our Game and Inland Fisheries department.

 

It will have places to fish all over the state.

 

Good luck.

[DKennedy]

We have been having success in this hot weather by slowing down the presentation snd finding deeper water. Curly tail worms texas rigged or weightless. We've had the most luck on Lake Meade, Harwood Mills, and Cohoon. You can rent boats on all three lakes. Harwood is weekend rental only. I fish most of the time out of a yak, getting off the bank is key.

[WdyCrankbait]

Justin, yes send me a message with your email address please as Sam said.  He, Sean is really the guy to talk to, in fact from what it sounds like you guys might actually be fishing the same water.  He lives in VA beach and his backyard ends to a lake that is private.  Also, from what he says, it is crazy clear.  Sean is not on here much, working, going to engineering school at nights, and his wife is having health issues.  But, I can send him an email and let him know you are requesting some information.

 

Dont worry, we will get this figured out for you.  Fishing down in that area can be difficult, but once you got it, yeah........(just saying.)  (There are two main problems there, the color of lures seem to play a more important role in VA beach, and the fishing pressure can be ridiculous.)

 

Wdy

[StinkyBass]

Thanks Sam and Wdy...

 

Hey Justin,

   you're right, it is tough here in VA Beach! but its also summer and tough to be shore stomper. the bass go deep and stay there most of the dog days of summer. I have a theory and i've never been wrong about it. "if there is a pipe leading to a small pond, there's bass!" i had the same bad luck fishing in va beach when i moved here as you did. heres some really important things ive learned in the past 9 years.

 

1-skip the crank baits and every other hard bait until you find fish. like Wdycrankbait said, im really busy, so i keep a rod in my car with maybe 3 soft plastics at the most. shaky head worms, senkos and 1/4oz swim jigs. slow down, minimize tackle, and downsize bait. there is a reason i only use 1/4oz swim jigs. i also use a 7ft rod with no more than 8lb line (i dont care what people preach, mono works fine for me and i fish super clear water a lot, but the majority on here here will preach flouro. its a personal call youll have to make)

 

2- MOST of my soft plastics are  green pumkin, black/blue fleck and maybe watermelon red or black in color. dont waste your time trying to find the latest color KVD or Ike is using, THEY DONT FISH VA BEACH  . if you truely want to get to the nitty gritty of color, do so AFTER you find fish...but then you found them, so maybe youre already there

 

3-GO TO BAITS- 7in Roboworms in Aaron Marins Magic (its dark green on top and has a purple line down the middle) rigged shaky head (1/8th - 1/4th oz VMC Jig head hooks)

BPS Stick-0's in 5-3/8in in black/blue fleck and green pumpkin (most people hate stick-o's, and prefer Yami's, but im cheap and  theres 20 to a pack and they are still just as good IMO. good for starting off anyways)

"THE WALMART SPECIAL" Strike King 1/4oz Swim jigs in green pumpkin. as a starter, i bite off 1/2 of a zoom super fluke paddle tail (in watermelon red color) and put the remaining 1/2 as the trailer. OR you can put on a green pumpkin strike king baby rage craw as the trailer in rocky/weedy spots.  reel in slow, or pop the bottom. one of my best secrets (not anymore i guess  )

 

4-quick wins - Barkley Meadows near TCC Va Beach. there is a drainage canal that routinely holds 1-2 lb bass there. use a black/blue fleck weightless senko and throw under that tree...its a rough day if you cant pull at least one out of there. (driving on independence, its on the right. pull in the neighborhood and park "out of peoples way". the people are nice as long as you dont create an issue for them. the canal is public property, so you can fish there. i walk through the cul-de-sac on the left and between the houses and then to the tree on the other side of the canal.

TCC Va Beach Student Center Lake - there are definitely some good fish in here. fish the back side of the building, near the pipe and under the building. if you have a TCC id, youre good, if you dont, they may ask you to leave, but since i go there, i havent had any problems with security.

Bass Pro Shops in Hampton - Sam mentioned going there. while youre there, texas rig a red worm or black spinner bait and fish your way around the lake. that lake has been there since my mom was little and ive caught more than i can remember there growing up.

 

Dont waste your time on Mt Trashmore's lake. i've wasted time that i'll never get back there. its shallow and gets too hot for good bass in the summer, and hard to not get pestered by grounds keepers who think they are security. the secret is to fish the lake next to it. there is a point where the trail leads to. usually there are a ton of people all trying to fish that spot, but ive caught a few small ones out of there. mostly too busy for me though. i know a few guys who have said they caught some nice ones, but i just dont waste my time at the point. try to walk around and fish it.

 

BEST TIMES TO FISH - This goes for any where so this is no secret, but for shore stompers without a boat or access to lilly pads for shady bridges, the bass come shallow to feed in the early morning and in the evening. The last decent sized bass i caught was in 1 foot of water chasing baitfish. (See the pict). i am a pale skinned red head who burns when he thinks about the sun, so you wont catch me fishing local ponds in the middle of the day in the summer. (never mind that im at work). The only time i fish in 98 degree heat is on tournament day. THINK ABOUT IT, bass are the same way, its hot outside, (water temp is high) they look for shade. ie, pipes, logs, deep water, run off from a recent storm etc. if you are fishing in the heat of the day, look for where water temp will be cooler, even just 1 or 2 degrees.

 

Good luck, i wish i had more time to say we could meet up, but im trying to wrap up my summer semester in the next 2 weeks. Hang in there, youll figure it out. PM me and i'll shoot you my email address.

All the best,

 

 

[MassYak85]

I'm new to the area this summer too and it's been frustrating for me as well. I have a kayak but I haven't figured out any of the suffolk reservoirs yet, I keep getting skunked or only getting one. Oddly enough, the best luck I've had is in the small drainage canal behind Hooters. Give it a try. I had good luck on worms fished slowly. 

[JustinLee_19]

On 7/23/2017 at 4:32 PM, StinkyBass said:

Thanks Sam and Wdy...

 

Hey Justin,

   you're right, it is tough here in VA Beach! but its also summer and tough to be shore stomper. the bass go deep and stay there most of the dog days of summer. I have a theory and i've never been wrong about it. "if there is a pipe leading to a small pond, there's bass!" i had the same bad luck fishing in va beach when i moved here as you did. heres some really important things ive learned in the past 9 years.

 

1-skip the crank baits and every other hard bait until you find fish. like Wdycrankbait said, im really busy, so i keep a rod in my car with maybe 3 soft plastics at the most. shaky head worms, senkos and 1/4oz swim jigs. slow down, minimize tackle, and downsize bait. there is a reason i only use 1/4oz swim jigs. i also use a 7ft rod with no more than 8lb line (i dont care what people preach, mono works fine for me and i fish super clear water a lot, but the majority on here here will preach flouro. its a personal call youll have to make)

 

2- MOST of my soft plastics are  green pumkin, black/blue fleck and maybe watermelon red or black in color. dont waste your time trying to find the latest color KVD or Ike is using, THEY DONT FISH VA BEACH  . if you truely want to get to the nitty gritty of color, do so AFTER you find fish...but then you found them, so maybe youre already there

 

3-GO TO BAITS- 7in Roboworms in Aaron Marins Magic (its dark green on top and has a purple line down the middle) rigged shaky head (1/8th - 1/4th oz VMC Jig head hooks)

BPS Stick-0's in 5-3/8in in black/blue fleck and green pumpkin (most people hate stick-o's, and prefer Yami's, but im cheap and  theres 20 to a pack and they are still just as good IMO. good for starting off anyways)

"THE WALMART SPECIAL" Strike King 1/4oz Swim jigs in green pumpkin. as a starter, i bite off 1/2 of a zoom super fluke paddle tail (in watermelon red color) and put the remaining 1/2 as the trailer. OR you can put on a green pumpkin strike king baby rage craw as the trailer in rocky/weedy spots.  reel in slow, or pop the bottom. one of my best secrets (not anymore i guess  )

 

4-quick wins - Barkley Meadows near TCC Va Beach. there is a drainage canal that routinely holds 1-2 lb bass there. use a black/blue fleck weightless senko and throw under that tree...its a rough day if you cant pull at least one out of there. (driving on independence, its on the right. pull in the neighborhood and park "out of peoples way". the people are nice as long as you dont create an issue for them. the canal is public property, so you can fish there. i walk through the cul-de-sac on the left and between the houses and then to the tree on the other side of the canal.

TCC Va Beach Student Center Lake - there are definitely some good fish in here. fish the back side of the building, near the pipe and under the building. if you have a TCC id, youre good, if you dont, they may ask you to leave, but since i go there, i havent had any problems with security.

Bass Pro Shops in Hampton - Sam mentioned going there. while youre there, texas rig a red worm or black spinner bait and fish your way around the lake. that lake has been there since my mom was little and ive caught more than i can remember there growing up.

 

Dont waste your time on Mt Trashmore's lake. i've wasted time that i'll never get back there. its shallow and gets too hot for good bass in the summer, and hard to not get pestered by grounds keepers who think they are security. the secret is to fish the lake next to it. there is a point where the trail leads to. usually there are a ton of people all trying to fish that spot, but ive caught a few small ones out of there. mostly too busy for me though. i know a few guys who have said they caught some nice ones, but i just dont waste my time at the point. try to walk around and fish it.

 

BEST TIMES TO FISH - This goes for any where so this is no secret, but for shore stompers without a boat or access to lilly pads for shady bridges, the bass come shallow to feed in the early morning and in the evening. The last decent sized bass i caught was in 1 foot of water chasing baitfish. (See the pict). i am a pale skinned red head who burns when he thinks about the sun, so you wont catch me fishing local ponds in the middle of the day in the summer. (never mind that im at work). The only time i fish in 98 degree heat is on tournament day. THINK ABOUT IT, bass are the same way, its hot outside, (water temp is high) they look for shade. ie, pipes, logs, deep water, run off from a recent storm etc. if you are fishing in the heat of the day, look for where water temp will be cooler, even just 1 or 2 degrees.

 

Good luck, i wish i had more time to say we could meet up, but im trying to wrap up my summer semester in the next 2 weeks. Hang in there, youll figure it out. PM me and i'll shoot you my email address.

All the best,

 

 

Thanks for the advice!!!! I didn't even know about a few of those spots! and You're talking about the Bass Pro in Hampton? I didn't even know there was a lake by it.  Thanks again! I'll try out those tips and spots and hopefully I can end my dry spell!

Thank you for all of the help every one! I really appreciate all of the help and support yall have given me! Alot of the guys I know are super uptight about everything and have pointed me in spots that have seemed to be total duds.  Thank you again!

[StinkyBass]

7 minutes ago, JustinLee_19 said:

 You're talking about the Bass Pro in Hampton? 

 

Alot of the guys I know are super uptight about everything and have pointed me in spots that have seemed to be total duds.  

Yes, BPS in Hampton has a small pond next to it

everyone has their "spots" that they keep tight lipped, but its a shame that they take the fun out of fishing by not helping guys get started. thats how i got started, wdycrankbait and Sam both showed me some things until i got on my feet. i also put a lot of hard work, goose eggs, and frustration into it and have learned a lot! LET US KNOW IF YOU GET INTO SOMETHING! Good luck

 

[SteveConrad]

Kempsville lakes have alot of nice bass and crappie.  Best time is Spring and early Summer. If you're lazy like me buy a couple dozen decent sized minnows and let them swim around under a decent sized bobber. Last time I went me and my daughter caught over a half a dozen 5lbers plus. We catch and release because it's just fun to catch them. 

[Matt Phagan]

Does the pond in front of corporate landing middle school have bass?

[Darren.]

Hi @Matt Phagan, and welcome to the forums!

 

This thread was quiet for a while until January of this year.

If no one answers, your best bet is to fish the pond, so long

as fishing is allowed there. You can call the middle school and

see if it's ok, assuming they have staff there during the COVID

19 pandemic.

 

We've got ponds up here in Yorktown that are in the Nat. Park

service and off limits for fishing, despite it being a public place.

[Ryan Sarko]

The pond at corporate landing definitely has bass, decent ones at that.  All four at that intersection hold fish.