Rockfish season has arrived in Virginia but has been a little slow. But no need to get disgruntled, the fish are on the way. My buddy went on October 17^th and did very good. One fish tipped the scales at 25 lbs. And the best part is that the hot spot was inside of the First Island. They wireline trolled the pilons in the morning and produced some nice fish ranging from 8 - 25 lbs. The best advice I can give is take a lot of different types of gear when you go. A couple wireline poles and some medium action casting rods. The strength of the tide and the depth where the fish are feeding will determine the weight of the jig head or bucktail to use. When I go out I like to take everything from 1/4 oz. - 3 oz. I generally only use the 1/4 oz. when wireline trolling or if the fish are feeding on the surface. My favorite lure is just a plain leadhead jig with a 5 1/2 inch Fin-S rubber tail. Be sure to carry plenty of the Fin-S tails because the fish tear them up pretty quick. When I was the First Mate on the head boat there was many times when the fish weren't feeding all that strong and the fin-S still caught while nothing else was producing. Another good one to have when the fish are feeding on top is mirror lures. As far as wirelining goes it's best to have someone show you how to do it if you have never done it. I like to use 12 - 20 oz. of weight with about a 20 ft. leader to a 1/4 oz. bucktail with a porkrind and bump along the pilons of the bridge tunnel. It can get to be a big mess if your not familiar with it so try to find someone to get you started. It's definately a good presentation to know and is very effective for big stripers when other methods just don't produce anything.

Later in the fall when the big stripers are out at the 4A bouy and out at the Ocean Front it's vital to have a large assortment of trolling lures. I generally have Mann's stretch 15, 25, 30, and now the monster stretch 50 for deep water and very big fish. There's a whole assortment of other lures that would be good to have in your tackle box. Last year they came out with huge rubber baits that look just like menhadden,(the main diet of Rockfish), I haven't had the chance to use them yet but I will give them a shot this year. There is a quite a variety out there and the best idea is to stop by the Tackle Shop and get the scoop on whats hot and pick up a few here and there. That way when it comes time to go you don't end up spending a bunch of time and money all in one day to get geared up. It's never a bad time to get to your local Tackle Shop and buy some fishing gear, don't wait till the last minute when it's a pretty night and you haven't got enough tackle and the bait shops have already closed. I've been there before and it's a bummer to hear that the bite was hot and I was at the dock scrambling to scrounge up tackle only to get there when they turned off. So remember to keep your tackle boxes well stocked and be ready to go at the drop of a hat, you'll be glad you did. Good luck and I hope to see you out there tearing em' up some night.

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