Virginia Saltwater Fishing for Fun and Recreation

Do It in an Inflatable Fishing Kayak!

If you’ve always believed that you need a big, expensive boat to reel in delectable saltwater fish like flounder, sea trout, striped bass, and mackerel, think again. Saltwater fishing in Virginia gives you plenty of opportunities to catch the most delicious and sought-after fish without needing anything more complicated than an inflatable boat.

How is this possible? Virginia is the home of some of the most protected and easy to traverse saltwater waters in the nation, thanks to the beautiful Chesapeake Bay. Created by the movement of glaciers thousands of years ago, the Chesapeake is a warm and shallow bay where fresh water from the many rivers and streams that flow into it mix with the saltwater from the Atlantic.

Virginia Saltwater Fishing – Safe, Fun, and Productive Fishing for Inflatable Boats

The result is a fisher’s paradise, with a huge range of different species of fish and shellfish providing year-round fishing opportunities. Virginia’s Chesapeake is known for being one of the richest fishing locations for striped bass and blue crabs, and other saltwater fish such as sea trout, croaker, flounder, white and hickory shad, and bluefish also abound.

But not only is the Bay an amazing place to fish in general, it is also ideal for people who use an inflatable fishing kayak, because it offers a safer environment to catch delicious saltwater fish.

The two arms of the Chesapeake Bay provide protection from the big waves on the Atlantic itself. Although the Chesapeake’s waters can get choppy, they are much easier to handle in an inflatable boat than the open seas. Furthermore, the Chesapeake is only 30 miles across at its widest point, which means that help is not far away, should you require assistance in the case of an emergency or a storm.

The Bay provides a number of interesting choices of fishing locations for inflatable boats. For example, the 17-mile Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (CBBT) system was constructed on a number of man-made islands which quickly became a draw for fishermen of all types, and with good reason. The catch can be astounding!

The Chesapeake also has a number of small inlets, wandering creeks, and tranquil put-ins where an inflatable fishing kayak is really perfect. You’ll be able to enter locations where deeper, heavier boats would quickly run aground.

Virginia Saltwater Fishing on the Atlantic – Excitement in an Inflatable Pontoon Boat

Virginia also offers saltwater fishing opportunities outside of the Chesapeake Bay. For example, if you head farther south toward the Virginia Beach/Hampton Roads area, you can find deep waters full of wreckfish, sea bass, and mackerel. Some might prefer an inflatable pontoon boat for this type of fishing, since they tend to be more stabile, allow you more freedom of movement for reeling in huge fish, and let you carry more tackle and refreshments along with you.

Virginia Saltwater Fishing Safety – How to Tell if You’re Ready for the Ocean

How can you tell if you’re ready to go on the open seas with your inflatable boat? It’s always a good idea to start small. If you don’t have much experience with salt fishing, start in the protected waters of the Bay and test your ability to handle your boat in the waves.

Once you are confident that you are having no problems in the inner Bay, head down to the mouth. Here, the waters of the Chesapeake meet the Atlantic, the waves grow, and your skill will be called into question even more frequently.

If you feel secure of your skills and of the capabilities of your inflatable at this point, you can move to saltwater fishing a few miles into the ocean. Remember that you want to stay close enough to the shore that you can get help if necessary.

Many fishers take inflatable pontoon boats as far as 20 miles offshore. Remember to be sure that you have the necessary navigational and emergency equipment with you, and to check the weather and water advisories for the day. Just because the conditions look good in the Bay, you can’t be sure that the same is true of the Atlantic, so be careful.

Virginia Saltwater Fishing – An Inflatable Boat Fisher’s Dream

Virginia provides a wide range of unique opportunities to satisfy the skill set and fishing goals of saltwater fishers of all levels from beginner to professional. Enjoy environments from protected shallows to deep sea fishing, and catch more than 300 different species of fish, plus shellfish and other seafood. If you haven’t tried it yourself, make it a point to take a Virginia vacation and see why it is truly an earthly paradise for inflatable boat fishers.

About the Author:
Andrew Thomas is a successful author both on and off the Internet. He is a regular contributor to best-inflatable-boats.com.