Chasing Cobia and Sheepshead Through the Chesapeake

Fishing is a big part of the story in Virginia Beach, with late spring and summer offering shots at myriad migrating species.

Northern and mid-Atlantic species travel as far south as Virginia Beach waters in the cold months, while southern Atlantic species head north to Virginia Beach in the warm months. This makes spring a cloverleaf interchange for a variety of gamefish, including cobia and sheepshead. Last May, creators Tyler Wald and Ryan Morie with Salt Water Sportsman Adventures towed Morie’s Ranger 2600 Bay some 800 miles to fish with Capt. Andy Kim of Sashimi Sportfishing. 

Chesapeake Bay sheepshead
The Chesapeake Bay is known for bigger-than-most sheepshead. Jon Whittle
Sheepshead teeth
As their human-like teeth reveal, sheepshead feast on a mix of crustaceans, which made blue crab the ideal bait. Jon Whittle
Sheepshead ready for cooking
Sheepshead is also delicious; Kim says he would take sheepshead over cobia any day of the week. Aside from sheepshead and cobia, yellowfin tuna and golden tilefish are among the other Virginia Beach species that go great on a plate. Jon Whittle
Large cobia caught off Virginia Beach
Virginia Beach is often called the sight-fishing capital of the Northeast, thanks in large part to the cobia’s predilection for swimming and scavenging at the surface. But this trip started with overcast skies, turning the Chesapeake into a dense haze. But on day two, the sun returned. Kim set up shop a short distance from the CY buoy, just west of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, where the crew tossed eels, hardhead croakers and spot croakers. Kim landed this trophy 52-pound brown bomber on a 1-ounce cobia bucktail jig, arguably his biggest jig fish ever. Jon Whittle
Large cobia on the boat
In Virginia, a minimum size of 43 inches total length is required for cobia, and gaffing is illegal, so the tool of choice is typically a big muskie net. Jon Whittle

Read Next: Wintertime Trout Fishing on the Chesapeake

Pier in Virginia Beach
An hour from Richmond and three and a half hours from Washington D.C., Virginia Beach is a classic coastal town with the requisite pier, boardwalk, staple seafood joints and oceanfront real estate. Fishing is a big part of the story, with late spring and summer offering shots at myriad migrating species. Cobia use the shipping channel like a highway, and cruise north through the Chesapeake to eventually spawn. Jon Whittle

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