Virginia’s bays provide great Flounder and other action!
The small town of Chincoteague, VA, looms large when it comes to fishing. The town sits on Chincoteague Island in Accomack County on the Delmarva Peninsula, giving access to inshore and offshore waters.
The Assateague Channel separates the island from Assateague Island. Assateague runs about 37 miles through Maryland and Virginia along the Atlantic Coast and includes Assateague Island National Seashore that covers the entire island.
Chincoteague Bay and its associated waters cover about 99,000 acres. And the waters here bay averages 5–9 feet in depth.
Ideal Location: Inshore and Offshore Access
“We can fish in various habitats, including open bays and the Atlantic Ocean,” advises Tim Walch of Chincoteague Bay Adventures. He runs out of Curtis Merritt Harbor in Chincoteague. “We have shifting shoals, sandbars, marsh, marshy creeks, and small bays. Some channels drop to 30 feet deep. Out to the Atlantic through Chincoteague Inlet is about 3 miles from where I launch.”
Near Wallops Island, Chincoteague Inlet opens to the Atlantic. The system holds abundant oyster reefs, making ideal habitat for Summer Flounder, Redfish, Speckled Trout, and other fish.
“Chincoteague Bay is known for its oysters,” reports James Cooper with Shore Chaos Charters in Chincoteague. “I fish around the islands, the bay, and little creeks. I mostly target Summer Flounder and Sharks, but sometimes we fish for Sheepshead, Drum, or other fish.”
Also called Fluke, Summer Flounder live in the Atlantic Ocean from Nova Scotia to Florida. These Flatfish commonly move into creeks, bays, and estuaries from late spring through early winter. They normally eat small fish, shrimp, crabs, and other morsels.
“This area has great habitat for Flounder,” Walch opines. “A live minnow makes things happen when fishing for Flounder. I use a 1 oz jig with a plastic twister tail on it and a live minnow bounced along the bottom.”
Most Flounder measure 15–20 inches long and average 1–3 pounds. But they can exceed 26 pounds! Virginia’s state record weighed 17.50 pounds, though.
“In 2025, we caught seven Flounder exceeding 26 inches,” Cooper recalls. “They were in the 5–7-pound range. The largest Flounder we ever put on my boat measured 31 inches and weighed 12.75 pounds.”
Summer Flounder in Spring
The waters start to warm in spring. Shallow waters warm quicker than deeper waters, especially flats sitting in the sunshine. Flounder gravitate to that slightly warmer water. They typically show up in the bay by late March or early April. Many anglers drift along the flats, small islands, or little channels bouncing Gulp! baits or live minnows on the bottom.
“In the spring, Flounder stay at the edges of shallow flats where the sun warms the water,” Walch says. “When the tide starts going out, Flounder try to catch whatever comes out with the tide.”
To catch Flounder, many people use a tandem rig with a hook on top and one on the bottom. Walch puts a sinker on the bottom. About 16–18 inches above the sinker, he ties a leader and adds a single 4/0 hook.
“When I started using that rig, my catch ratio went up because the lower hook wasn’t caught on the bottom all the time,” Walch remarks. “I fish that rig all year long.”
About mid-May, the fish start leaving the backside of the island and start dispersing. By mid-July, Flounder go out to the wrecks in deeper water, but the area gets a run of Drum and Striped Bass. These fish mostly stay in the surf zone. People catch Sheepshead and Drum around any hard structures with barnacles. Sheepshead love shrimp, sandfleas, and mole crabs. They eat fiddler crabs, too, if anglers can find any. As summer begins, Sharks also move into the area.
Sharks Move in Before Summer
“In early June, we start catching Sharks,” Walch states. “We mostly catch Dusky Sharks, Hammerheads, and Blacktips. Some people catch Sand Tigers and Bull Sharks. We put out a live bait and drift. We’ve caught Sharks weighing more than 200 pounds, but most average 30 to 50 pounds. We always release them.”
Also in the summer, bottom fishermen enjoy catching Spots, Croakers, and Kingfish, especially the youngsters. Drop a shrimp, clam, or piece of squid to the bottom in 7–30 feet of water in the channels between the islands. These fish make excellent live or cut bait for Sharks.
“For Sharks, I usually put out a chum basket and fish the bottom,” Cooper states. “We sometimes use live bait for Sharks, but most often, it’s cut bait on a fish finder rig with a 3′ steel leader and a 10/0 circle hook.”
A Real Mixed Bag in Fall
As water begins to cool in the fall, the Flounder bite heats up again. Speckled Trout and Redfish also show up, and some Trout exceed 22 inches. Anglers can catch all three species with popping-cork rigs. Dangle a jig sweetened with shrimp from a cork. In late summer and fall, giant “Bull” Redfish cruise the surf, too.
“From mid-August to mid-October, we can sit on the channel edges in Chesapeake Bay in the evenings and can catch Red Drum with cut spots, kingfish, or whatever we can catch for bait,” Cooper explains. “The Flounder bite usually gets really good again in October. After October 31, I go to the Chesapeake Bay side and start chasing Striped Bass and Trout until mid-December. I’ll cast grubs and other lures. I like to fish a 1 oz jighead with about a 5–6″ bait.”
Many people fish around the shoreline rocks and rocky jetties for Striped Bass – known locally as Rockfish – with large topwater baits. The Stripers hang very tight to the rocks, so anglers need incredibly accurate casting. In the right spot, the big “Line-sides” explode on topwaters.
Winter Doesn’t Slow Down
While other people throw topwaters, Cooper jigs on the bottom for Bass when the water turns cold. He bounces a 1-ounce jig off the bottom where Stripers see fewer lures.
In the Atlantic, anglers might catch Spanish Mackerel and Bluefish. Cobia cruise within 3–7 miles off the beach and linger around bigger shoals. Farther out, anglers catch Bluefin and Yellowfin Tuna, White and Blue Marlin, Sailfish, Wahoo, and Mahi Mahi.
In January and February, 200–400 lb Bluefins come just 2–3 miles off the beach. For big-game action, the Baltimore, Poor Man’s, and Washington Canyons are all within 30 miles of each other. Farther south, you can try fishing the Norfolk Canyon.
During the winter, Walch guides waterfowl hunts in Chincoteague Bay and marshes to the south. The bag mostly includes bufflehead, bluebills, black ducks, scoters, and long-tailed ducks.
Housekeeping: Rules and Regulations
Most of Chincoteague Bay sits in Maryland. When fishing with a charter captain possessing the appropriate Virginia and Maryland licenses, guests don’t need to buy a fishing license from either state. The captain’s license covers everyone in the boat.
When in the Area…
Watch for the famous Chincoteague Ponies on Assateague Island. They often stay on the beach side of the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. According to legend, a storm in 1750 sunk a Spanish galleon off the island and their horses swam to shore, where their wild descendants still live today! Other stories put the arrival of the ponies in the 17th century.
At the southern end of the system, keep an eye on the sky over Wallops Island. The NASA Wallops Flight Facility launches high-altitude balloons and unmanned rockets to support the US Navy and other government organizations. All in all, there’s plenty to keep you occupied!
Have you ever been fishing in Chincoteague, VA? What did you catch? Get in touch in the comments below!
The post Chincoteague, VA, Fishing: An Expert Guide for 2026 appeared first on FishingBooker Blog.
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