Lake Rudee Fishing in City of Virginia Beach, Virginia

• Overview

  Virginia holds Lake Rudee, in City of Virginia Beach. It sits 1.9 miles in from the sea. It runs to roughly 103 acres — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. Size puts it in the front rank of our City of Virginia Beach list. The town to know is Virginia Beach, 1.5 miles out. Chesapeake lies 17 miles off, Norfolk another 17 miles. This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Lake Rudee

  The records we hold are silent on depth, so plan to find it yourself. Salt or brackish and tidal: fish the flow, rest at slack, and watch the mud on a falling tide. Oyster and old piling give the only hard structure in sight. Tide runs this water, so time the session to the flow. Records held for City of Virginia Beach cover silver mullet, bluegill, common carp, pumpkinseed and striped bass. Records at this level tell you what is in the area. Fish Lake Rudee to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 79°F in July and bottom out at 41°F in January. Cold never closes this one. Late winter and spring fish steadiest here. April and May are the settled weeks, with October close behind. It sets the rhythm of the year at Lake Rudee. The first frost of the year slows things for a few days.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. A launch point is recorded some half a mile off. Public data has parking about 150 yards from the shore. Mapping shows a jetty some 80 yards off. Mapping records toilets within half a mile. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. Lake Wesley sits 0.2 miles off and takes the overflow. Confirm access to Lake Rudee locally before you travel.