Anglers in smaller boats have the option of working the pilings along the bridge or the rocks surrounding the four islands. Here, anglers can use motors, anchors or both to hold their position over productive structure. For security reasons, it is now illegal to tie up to the bridge pilings, so many anglers will anchor on top of bottom structure that includes ship, vehicle and equipment wreckage, along with discarded bridge pilings and tons of boulders that protect the islands and pilings. All of this structure offers ideal ambush points for big flounder.

"Action is especially good behind the fourth island," Wray said. "The large pilings in the deep water at the High Rise are also very good. If you don't have live bait, strip bait on a 3- or 4-ounce jighead will work here, too."

Strip baits should be hooked once near the wide end to ensure that they flutter steadily in the current. Check and clean them often to make sure they retain their action. Flounder show little interest in a lifeless chunk of weed-covered bait.

As productive as the CBBT complex can be, Wray keeps close tabs on other locations that can also be hot.

"I sometimes found bigger fish at Cape Henry last year," said Wray, who was among those still pulling up big flounder from the Cape Henry Wreck well into winter. "Just fish a three-way rig straight down into the structure."

When flounder move off the CBBT during their fall migration, they will often linger along the Baltimore Channel that runs from the northernmost tunnel to the mouth of the bay. Wray suggests drifting the channel edges using rigs employing skirts and blades to attract the flounder's attention. For bait, he'll use tapered strips of squid and bluefish or flounder belly tipped with a gudgeon. The channel will hold flounder all summer, too, though not usually as large as the ones inhabiting the CBBT.

Depending on water temperature, flounder usually leave the bay by November, but die-hard fans will follow them to a number of wrecks off Virginia Beach, where late-season trophies remain available.

TACKLE AND TIPS
Fishing for big flounder around deep-water structure in the bay calls for sturdy tackle. Strong tides and currents will require heavy sinkers to hold bottom. A fairly heavy-action 6- to 6 1/2-foot graphite rod matched with a quality reel is needed to do the job.

A baitcasting or level-wind reel will provide better control of your line and a better feel for strikes than a spinning outfit. You can leave the reel out of gear and hold your thumb on the spool to quickly let out line as the bait drops deeper or to slow down a drift. You can also respond immediately to the tug of a flounder, dropping the bait back to give the fish time to work its way up to the hook. The wait time is less with live bait, but it's still imperative to resist the temptation to set the hook right away.

Thirty- to 50-pound-test braided line provides the strength needed to horse a reluctant flounder out of deep structure, and its no-stretch quality facilitates hook setting. Its thinner diameter provides the sensitivity to feel a flounder pick up the bait.