Phantoms of the Lower Bay: Fishing Legacies of Maritime Disasters in Virginia Chesapeake Bay and Coastal Waters (Chesapeake Bay Fishing Reefs)

Told by a former artificial reef manager, recreational boater, and sport-fisherman with a foreword by Lenny Rudow, this book provides a detailed look at wrecks and obstructions including natural formations in Virginia Lower Chesapeake Bay and coastal waters. It also covers all of Virginia’s ocean artificial reefs with annotated graphics showing site layouts. The narrative not only tells where to look for structure, but also includes extensive graphics from hydrographic survey data to show what is actually there to inform fishing strategies and selecting tackle. A selection of color graphics used to produce the greyscale images in the book are found on the Facebook page for this series, "Chesapeake Bay Fishing Reefs", and featured in previews and excerpts by the author found on the FishTalk Magazine Where to Fish webpage. Included are locations of bottom features with structure that makes them candidates as undocumented artificial reefs. A special chapter discusses boating and fishing safety in relation to commercial ships and tugs. Geographic coordinates for structures discussed are included. There is also a step-by-step illustrated guide for using the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration’s Bathymetric Data Viewer and how to use it to access Descriptive Reports that document results of hydrographic surveys. This book helps recreational fishermen find unique and unpressured bottom features that attract bait, sea bass, tautog, flounder, striped bass, redfish, cobia, and other predators. Read more