Hey guys im new to the site but share the same interest as you and look forward to everyones advice. I have read many of the hrbt recent reports,so i fished there a couple of times in the last two weeks. hit many schoolies but nothing with any size. Last friday i lanched at hunington to try my luck at the jrb,to my surprize there was'nt a boat in sight (Maybe because of the weather). That was'nt the case for the striper!! We fished from 9:30 pm to 2:00 am, landed four fish over 21" in a matter of an hour, and landed one fish that measured 31" around 15lbs. Great catch but decided to release due to the new regs, was'nt sure if it was legal. Now none of these fish were caught around the lights of the bridge,they were caught around the piles of the the towers that follows the bridge. Although i am sure that they are at all of the towers, we fished the smithfield side in about 8' of water on an out going tide. Returned Sat night, many boats fishing the bridge but not one fishing the towers??? So i guess they thought i was a fool when i anchored next to one and started to land the big ones. lures of choice were berkley 4" peral gulp saltwater shad, also belive it or not the two bigest fish were caught dead sticking a red/white strech 25!!! Hope this helps and please save room for me at one of the towers LOL.

Thats good news. Thanks for the great post. I have thougth about going out in my boat but have not been sure if I could make it out. I have a 14' flat bottom jon and a kayak. What do you guys think? Again thanks for your post and I hope you continue to bring in big ones.

If it is calm you will be fine. The James being so shallow in most places, it can get bad fast if the wind picks up, just make sure the winds are not supposed to change when you go.

Check the weather, and go from there. The winds are the problem. No wind, no problem, high wind big problem. 14 ft flat bottom boat has no margin for error, anything over 1-2 ft is bad and no fun.

I agree, there is a spot on the hrbt that stays pretty calm where i have seen jon boats and kayaks. If you put in at sunset marina it is a short shot to the hampton side of the bridge and is good fishing. good luck!!

Great job!! Thanks for the report! Yeah..remember that in the bay you can keep no fish between 28 and 34 inches. Got get 'em again!

Welcome to the board Scott. You're living proof that you don't have to have a 30' boat and run 60 miles to catch fish! Pretty work on the stripers, but be careful out there. The James and Norfolk Harbor can be brutal stretches of water. It seems like every year I read about a 20+ footer getting swamped in there. The strong currents and deep water that shoals rapidly are a recipe for steep waves. Add shifting winds and it's easy to get in trouble. So stay safe and catch 'em up!

Nice post -- good intel. Might give it try Sun.

Welcome to the board!

I cant echo the other guys enough about the weather and a 14ft jon boat talk about guys you see out at the 4th when coming back in thinking it was rough in 20ft boat all the time and hear about people swaping boats at the cbbt espeacily around the m&m ant jrb. The hrbt can somtimes be more forgiving but still gets nasty watch the weather and the sky while your out there if you the sky getting black up the james get moving cause its coming. You can launch at willoby and its a short run and can stay out of the majority of big boat traffic behind the island stay smart or you will wind up a news story

evening , fshn here , i have fished the HRBT this year for the first time in a 16ft Jonboat and have enjoyed greatly the new area but havent Figured out just how to chatch the fish like i would like to. Thanks for all of the INfo you guys and gals bring to the board.!!!!!!