Photo by Ron Sinfelt

By midsummer, most game fish species will have settled into their normal feeding and foraging patterns inside of Virginia's coastal inlets. For almost 80 miles, from the Maryland/Virginia state line south to the mouth of the Chesapeake, there are numerous seaside inlets that feed into expansive back bays and tidal creeks. It's in these areas that anglers have a shot at some of the most popular inshore gamefish this region has to offer.

These fish -- spots, croaker, flounder and seatrout -- are not heavy pullers like rockfish or redfish, but what they lack in strength they certainly make up for in accessibility and table fare. They truly are crowd pleasers for the thousands of anglers who descend upon the Eastern Shore of Virginia each summer.

Spots, croaker, flounder and seatrout are all migratory fish. And like all migratory species, specific factors including seasons, water temperatures, spawning, and food drive their movements. These variables dictate the time of year they arrive and how long they plan on staying. And by the time July rolls around along the coast of Virginia, these fish will have established their traditional summer haunts. So once anglers know their migration schedules, catching fish on a good day is just a matter of locating their summer feeding areas. But sometimes it's not that easy, since though each fish may overlap in biotic needs, their specific demands on tides, temperatures and food are not always the same for any one location.

FISH FINDER
Species like spots and croaker are school fish and the temperamental seatrout is supposed to be, though he doesn't always act that way. These fish tend to travel in large groups and will infiltrate areas that have accessible forage food. Thus, when you catch one spot or croaker, usually their friends are right behind them.

Seatrout will also school up in age-classes, but this normally won't occur until the late summer when they begin to stage for their annual migration out of the inlets. But big trout tend to feed as singles or in small groups and hold in cool water areas throughout the summer.

On the other hand, flounder, which are bottom predators, are more individualistic and usually are found in groups only by proxy.

To find the fish, the first step is to look at the morphology of the fishing areas. We're talking about the numerous inlets that line the coast of Virginia's Eastern Shore. Each one opens into back bays and channels, which in turn are fed by tidal creeks. In these areas, tides are the most influential variable in determining where fish position themselves, and anglers must consider the tide phase when targeting sport fish. Tides flush through the inlet twice a day, fluctuating on new and full moon phases. On the incoming tide, cool water and food will be swept into the inlets and game fish will be there to meet them. Outgoing tides pull fish food out of tidal creeks, sand flats and marsh drainages.

Water temperatures of midsummer will dictate where sport fish are and when they will feed. During summer, fish such as seatrout and flounder will stay in deep holes and channels, feeding primarily during the cool times of early morning and evening. And during long hot summers, flounder will actually move back out into inlets to find deep, cool water.

Spots and croaker will stay in deep channels and holes to feed. And in a season of heavy rain, fish will seek areas of higher salinity. So in order to catch these fish, anglers need to understand both their water temperature comfort and optimum feeding locations in any given area.