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Virginia Beach fishermen take advantage of Tropical Depression

Posted at 4:43 PM, Aug 30, 2016
and last updated 2016-08-30 17:52:52-04

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.  - While the Outer Banks is already feeling the effects of the Tropical Depression off it's coast, some effects are also being felt in Virginia Beach.

For local fisherman, that is a good thing.

"It's like the perfect storm of fishing, " explained Hoyt Duff, an owner of the Lynnhaven Fishing Pier. "When the weather gets right, it makes the fish bite."

According to Duff, the fish have been biting non-stop since Monday night. Some fisherman say they have been able to reel in two fish at a time, and it's all thanks to the change in currents and wind associated with the Tropical Depression.

"That's our best fishing weather, when we get a northeast wind over 15 miles per hour and with some wave action to keep the bottom stirred up," said Duff.

The Tropical Depression off the coast of the Outer Banks is causing these exact conditions in Virginia Beach.  It's one reason why Mark Brown says he drove up from North Carolina Tuesday morning.

"The guy was saying that they were pulling up fish two at a time and I wanted to jump up and leave right then," said Brown.

Although Brown says his home and town have been damaged before in Tropical Systems, he continues to look at them in a positive light, because the fishing that comes with them are so good.

Duff says the pier stays open even during storms so that fisherman can reap the benefits. In the 60 years the pier has been open, it has only closed a handful of times due to severe weather.