Sport Fishing – Virginia Beach lures anglers to its waters this winter with four tournaments

Virginia Beach, Va. – Anglers visiting Virginia Beach this winter will still find a firestorm of activity in the waters of the mighty Atlantic Ocean and food-rich Chesapeake Bay. Virginia Beach is famous for being home to enormous schools of striped bass, also known as rockfish.  About 80 percent of East Coast rockfish are spawned in the Chesapeake Bay and are so abundant that Virginia Beach has rightly earned the moniker “Striped Bass Capital of the World.”

For the most up-to-date coverage on how the fish are biting as well as fishing tips in Virginia Beach, visit www.vbfun.com. The site includes fishing reports, as well as contact information for local marinas, boat ramps and fishing locales. Additionally, visitors can read the ShoreLines Virginia Beach blog penned by local fish expert, Mike Halperin. Halperin, a Virginia Beach resident and Virginia state record-holder, writes of the biggest catches, best bites and brightest tournaments coming down the pipeline.

Local Tournaments

The Million Dollar Rockfish Challenge, the largest cash fishing tournament in Virginia, will be held Dec. 26-30 out of the Marina Shores Marina. The premise of the $1 million challenge is simple: if the catch is big enough to break the Virginia state record, then its angler will bring home $250,000. If any angler breaks the world record for the largest rockfish caught, they will bring home a $1,000,000 payday!   For more information, including how to enter, and rules and regulations, visit www.milliondollarrockfishchallenge.com.

The annual Waterman’s Mid-Atlantic Rockfish Shootout is one of the largest rockfish (a.k.a. striped bass) tournaments in the country. This year, the ninth annual shootout will be hosted out of Virginia Beach’s Rudee and Lynnhaven Inlets from January 6-8, 2011. Last year, 169 teams participated and the total tournament payout was more than $136,575 in cash and prizes.  Visit www.midatlanticrockfishshootout.com for more information.

Finally, the second annual Rockfish Frostbite Challenge will be held January 13-16, 2011. Brought to anglers by the same organizers of the Virginia Beach Sport Fishing Bluewater Classic, this is a three-day event where teams may fish up to two days out of the three, Captain’s Choice. The tournament will end with an Awards Banquet held on Sunday, January 16 at 7 p.m.. For more information and for rules of entry, visit www.vbsf-hookedup.net.

Sport Fishing – Virginia Beach lures anglers to its waters this winter with four tournamnets