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SEVEN CASTS
Coastal Companionby Seven Casts · Coastal Virginia

Species field guide

Seventy-nine plates.

The fish of coastal Virginia, organised by the water they live in — surf and pier, the Bay, the tidal rivers, freshwater, and offshore — each with field marks, the pairs anglers confuse, seasons, tackle, rigs, and where it is documented.

Red Drum (Sciaenops ocellatus)
Red Drum Sciaenops ocellatus

Illustration: Duane Raver / USFWS, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — Public domain

Season

79 species

Freshwater

Lakes, reservoirs, ponds, and the non-tidal reaches — a Virginia freshwater licence applies.

Plates 01–15

Offshore

Blue water well off the beach — wrecks, the shelf, and the canyons. Boat and crew required.

Plates 16–41

Surf & pier

Caught from the sand, the rocks, and the pier rail — the most accessible saltwater fishing here.

Plates 42–55

Inshore & Chesapeake Bay

Flats, grass beds, oyster reefs, bridges, and the lower Bay itself.

Plates 56–75

Tidal rivers & creeks

The brackish middle ground — tidal rivers, marsh creeks, and the water between fresh and salt.

Plates 76–79

Groups are derived from each species' own habitat and water records — freshwater, offshore, surf & pier, inshore & chesapeake bay, tidal rivers & creeks — so a fish that spans several waters lands in the most specific one. No size limits, seasons, or creel limits are published here; those come from VMRC and DWR.