My wife has been hired by the Eastern Virginia Medical School, so our family will be relocating to the Chesapeake, VA area this June (from West Virginia).

I have always fished rivers for smallmouth bass and musky, but now that we are moving, I thought I would try speckled trout fishing.

I don't have a boat, so I will have to fish from shore or wade.

Any suggestions or advice on equipment, locations, and techniques would greatly be appreciated.

Thanks and best regards,

Marc
Co-founder, www.riversmallies.com

A great cheap way to trout fish is to get a canoe or kayak and fish rudee inlet and owls creek. Grubs work good in there. good luck and welcome to the area.-Jeff

Lynnhaven has some spots that are accessable from the shore, namely at the Lesner Bridge and the Narrows back on 64th street at the Beach. You can wade and cast from the shore there. And the mouth of Rudee Inlet can be pretty good as well, but crowded.

Welcome Marc. The "Hot Ditch" is a very popular spot for bank and boat fishing. I actually see more people fishing from the bank than from boats. If I am not mistaken the biggest Spec caught this year was from there in Jan. or Feb. Maybe we can work a deal, you show me the right way to catch em and I will provide the boat.
Gil

Thank you all very much. I truly appreciate your suggestions.

I have never fished for speckled trout, so would spinning gear be alright to use? If so, what type of artificial lures can be used?

Pro Line Gil, what area is the "Hot Ditch" located?

Again, thank you all for the advice and suggestions.

Marc

It is at the southern branch of the Elizabeth River near the Dominion Power facility. Get yourself an ADC map at the 7-11. It is the best way to find your way around and you can look up alot of nice fishing spots too.
GIL

aint much to fishing the ditch......all you need is time, patience, and knowledgeof using a float or bobber. the key is the depth you set the bobber...you can also use jigs with soft plastics or grubs. if you have a boat.....cast net some big mullet and use them. bigger the bait, the bigger the fish. I dont have a boat so im limited to using gudgeons and shiners....still caught many citations

I've lived in the area for only a couple of months, but have trout fished a lot on the OBX. Down there I like to use a spec rig with a piece of squid on the trailing lead head with a slow retrieval. Anywhere you can find a drop off from the shallows, you'll come across something.