David Siskind | Sunday, 19 April 2026
Let’s start with the ugly. I have an EARLY flight to Los Angeles tomorrow morning and reserved a room at the Airport Econo Lodge at ORF (Norfolk, VA). I returned my rental car and called for the 24 hour shuttle. Contrary to their bookers website they don’t have one. Despite their near airport location the round trip uber will be $50. Fuck. I got the room. Without getting graphic lemme just say it’s the worst room I’ve ever rented. This includes a hotel I stayed in once in 1969 that had sand floors, cots to sleep on and bamboo slat walls with animals. Maybe that was worse but somehow excusable as it cost $4 per night and came with two meals. I’m going to sleep in my clothes.
Captain Zack Hoisington urged me to sample the sublime fishing for big bull reds in Chesapeake Bay so we booked two days. He’s taken me out for cobia two years running. This time was supposed to be peak redfish. The weather was solid enough but the reds were late nosing into the bay. Bad. I had to settle for finicky stripers.
And the good? The stripers put on a show. They were almost all 40” plus and schooled up in water two to three feet deep. And they were tailing. It was quite a sight. We think they were chowing down on peeler crabs. They weren’t looking up but I got enough eats but tide and wind suppressed my conversion rate. They were plentiful, fast and strong.
I brought my HT10 because I love it and practice with it. I fished with it for half a day but found It little too light for the big flies Zack ties for this fishery. It handled the big fish easily but I cast better with the 11 weight Hardy one-piece. I think I need to get one more rod (an 11wt or 12wt) if I’m going to fish the big flies everyone uses in the North East. Funny how the tarpon and reds in the gulf eat flies half that size.
This trip opened my eyes to the variety of opportunities and habitat in Chesapeake Bay. When fishing for cobia we fished along current seams often in 50-60’ depth. But there are also extensive shallow water bays 1 to 4 feet deep. And in every habitat there are seasonal shots at big fish on a fly.
Problems loom. While the area is the nursery of 90% of east coast migrating stripers, the spawns recently have gone poorly and younger fish numbers are wanting. I’m hoping the spawns rebound. This is a great place to fish.
Keep hope alive,
David Siskind