Best Fishing Spots in Virginia

Virginia is a long way from Sussex County, but it rewards the trip. The state runs from the surf and bridge-tunnel water at Virginia Beach to wild-trout rivers in the mountains, with smallmouth rivers, big striped bass lakes and tidal catfish water in between. This guide is the starting point. It sorts the Virginia waters we have written up by region, gives you the rules that matter most and tells you where to find the details. Rules change, so each fact on the linked pages shows the date we checked it and the official source.

Two agencies, one state

Virginia splits fishing between two agencies, and it helps to know which one you are dealing with.

• The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) manages freshwater fish, freshwater licenses and the lakes and rivers. Its waterbody pages are the best source for access and local rules.
• The Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) manages saltwater fish and the free saltwater registration. It also sets striped bass, shad and herring seasons on tidal rivers, even where DWR runs the water.

A few places, such as the tidal James River, sit on the line between the two. Each page we wrote has a badge at the top that says which agency’s rules lead. The full picture is on the Virginia license and rules guide.

Pick a region

Coast and the Bay

• The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel is boat water for cobia, red drum and other species around the pilings. Read the bridge-tunnel guide for what we could confirm about access, which is less than you might expect.
• Virginia Beach has the Little Island pier at Sandbridge, Rudee Inlet and the oceanfront. See the Virginia Beach guide for the pier hours and fees the city publishes and the license rule that differs between the pier and the beach.

Central rivers

• The James River at Richmond is a rocky smallmouth river above the fall line and a trophy blue catfish river below it: the James River guide.
• The Shenandoah is a wading and floating smallmouth river with limited public access: the Shenandoah guide.

The big lakes

• Smith Mountain Lake is the bass and striper lake near Roanoke: the Smith Mountain Lake guide.
• Lake Anna is the closest big lake to Richmond and Fredericksburg: the Lake Anna guide.
• Buggs Island (Kerr) is the crappie, striper and catfish lake on the North Carolina line: the Buggs Island guide.
• To compare all three before you choose, read the Virginia lakes roundup.

Mountain trout and the New River

• The Jackson River and Lake Moomaw make up the state’s best-known wild trout tailwater: the Jackson River guide.
• The New River is a smallmouth, muskie and walleye river with several dams that matter for safety: the New River guide.
• For streams, licenses and limits side by side, start with the Virginia trout guide.

The rules in one minute

Virginia has a freshwater license from DWR, a saltwater license from VMRC and a free registration for saltwater anglers who hold no saltwater license. Trout need an extra license, but only in designated stocked trout waters from October 1 through June 15. The resident fees we verified are on the rules page. Non-resident fees are not shown, because the sources we read disagree, so use the DWR license page when you buy.

Three rules deserve a warning here.

• Bass rules change from river to river. The James, the Shenandoah and the New River each have a different slot, and the big lakes have their own. Read the rule on the page for the water you plan to fish.
• Striped bass have separate rules for the Bay, the coast and each lake. The lake rules even change with the season. See the Virginia striped bass guide.
• Cobia may not be gaffed. The season runs June 15 to September 20, one fish per person with a 43 inch minimum.

Fish by species

If you start with the fish instead of the water, these guides cover what Virginia’s rules say and where to go.

• Striped bass: the Bay and coastal seasons and the lake rules are on the Virginia striped bass guide. For how to catch them, read the striped bass how-to and the landlocked striped bass how-to.
• Smallmouth bass: the Virginia smallmouth guide and the smallmouth how-to.
• Cobia: the season and rules are in the bridge-tunnel and Virginia Beach guides, and the cobia how-to covers the fish.

Seasonal planning

These dates come from the 2026 rules we checked. They change from year to year, so confirm them before you plan.

• Winter: Lake Anna and the coastal striped bass season. The coastal season runs January 1 to March 31, then reopens May 16. Smith Mountain Lake also has a winter striper slot from November 1 to May 31.
• Spring: shad and herring run in the tidal rivers, but American shad are catch and release only, and river herring may not be kept. DWR names March through May as a top time for New River smallmouth, and stocked trout waters receive fish from October through May.
• May 16 to June 15: the Chesapeake Bay striped bass spring season, with a 19 to 24 inch slot.
• June 15 to September 20: cobia season. In summer, DWR asks striper anglers on the big lakes to handle fish carefully in hot water.
• October to December: the Bay striped bass fall season opens October 4. The trout license window opens October 1. Free fishing days for 2026 were June 5 to 7 and September 25 to 27. We do not publish 2027 dates until DWR announces them.

Safety

• Below dams, water can rise fast. The Jackson River and the New River both have dams upstream, so check the flow guidance on those pages before you wade.
• On the water, wear a life jacket when you float a river or fish from a boat.
• On the coast, surf and inlet conditions change quickly.
• Fish consumption advisories exist on several Virginia waters, including the tidal James. We have not published current advisory figures. The Virginia Department of Health keeps the list, so check it before you eat what you catch.

Nearby: Maryland and Delaware

If you are driving down from Sussex County, the Atlantic coast is the closest link. Ocean City and Assateague Island in Maryland are on the same stretch of coast, and the rules differ across each line. Compare the state guides: Best Fishing Spots in Maryland and Best Fishing Spots in Delaware.

Rods for Virginia water

Virginia rewards more than one rod. A light spinning rod covers trout, panfish and river smallmouth, and a fly rod suits Mossy Creek and the Jackson. A bass casting rod is the choice for the big lakes, a heavier catfish rod covers the tidal James and Kerr, a bay and pier spinning rod covers Little Island, and a 10 to 12 foot surf rod covers the ocean beaches. Tell us where you fish and what you target, and we will build a rod for it. See the rod links on each page.

Where this guide comes from

Every Virginia guide cites its sources and shows the date we last checked them. The main sources are the 2026 Virginia Freshwater Fishing & Boating digest, pages from DWR and VMRC and the City of Virginia Beach. When we could not confirm something, we say so on the page instead of guessing. See how we research for the method.

What is not here yet

Some Virginia waters and stories are not written up. Our pier roundup and the month-by-month guide wait on sources we could not read, and several Dock Tales are still being researched: see Virginia Dock Tales.