Way South and Virginia Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, 12/28/2018 Update:
Hey there FishTalkers, and welcome to the final fishing report of 2018! Don't worry - despite the chilly weather and difficult conditions the next few months will hold, we'll keep bringing you current reports right through the winter. They may be shorter at times and the options may be a bit more limited, but we know there are plenty of die-hard anglers out there who will want to wet a line whenever the opportunity presents itself. Come rain, sleet, or snow, let's keep on casting!
We heard of fewer big stripers this week than last, but that's likely as much a reflection of the holidays as of the fishing. And reports still include fish of well over 40 inches and one topping 60 pounds last week. Trollers have been pulling Mojos in white and chartreuse on sunny days and purple and gray when the light is low, umbrellas, and slow-trolling live eels.The hottest zones still seem to be around The Cell, the nearby channel edges running north-south, and off Cape Charles. The areas around The Cell have, however, turned into a parking lot on nice weather days and some anglers are saying the traffic has had an effect on the bite, so you may want to consider heading for uncharted (or at least less crowded) waters as you get in your last licks for the 2018 season. Catches usually range from zero to two or three big fish with the best we've heard of sitting at five fish.
Anglers working the rivers farther north in the final days of this year's striper season report a slower bite than in recent weeks. There are some fish in the mouth of the Rappahannock and off Smith Point, but up-river areas are still suffering from poor water quality thanks to all the runoff. Jiggers and trollers alike have been catching mostly schoolies in these areas, with an occasional trophy-sized fish popping up.
With most folks focused either on stripers or the holidays, we didn't hear many reports regarding other species this past week. But water temps have come up a bit at the CBBT, and as we publish this week, are hovering between 46 and 47 degrees. That slight warm-up should make for a better shot at tog around the islands - if, that is, you aren't too tempted into eeling and/or trolling for the big stripers that are around in these final days of the season.
Way South and Virginia Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, 12/21/2018 Update:
Merry Fishmas, to all you anglers! Stripers of course remain the main target and more B-I-G fish have showed up. Don't get us wrong, it's not like some years, but 40-plus-inchers are hitting the docks on a regular basis with some boats finding only schoolies but some others trolling up one, two, three, or possibly even more monsters. The portions of the Bay from marker 58 down to 40A and through The Cell has been the best zone for the bigger fish. However, they have been on the move and one day to the next the hottest spots change. The usual Mojos, tandems, and umbrellas are doing most of the catching for trollers, who definitely seem to be doing the best. White and chartreuse are the hottest colors most days, but when the light is low and especially in fog (which has been an issue at times recently) gray and smoke colors seem to take over.
Breaking fish have been harder to find than in the recent past. Anglers heading out of the Rappahannock are still finding some schoolies, but usually later in the day and not in the numbers of the last few weeks. Anglers trolling the lower river (where lipped crankbaits have been working as well as the usual shad-body lures) and those working jigs at the Route 3 bridge are reporting on-again, off-again catches.
Down at the CBBT and Cape Charles, everyone's still thoroughly distracted by the presence of big stripers. Trollers are catching fish down this way too but eelers are also reporting some solid success. The numbers aren't great - plenty of boats are going bite-less and three or four hits is considered an excellent trip - but fish well in excess of 40 inches are not unusual and a few have hit the scales at 50-plus pounds.
We didn't hear from anyone who went tog fishing this week, but that's probably more a sign of anglers shifting focus to stripers than it is an absence of togging potential. They're doing great on tog out on the wrecks, and lower Bay temps are in the mid-40s, still in the fishable range. Try putting some crab chunks or sand fleas down next to the structure of the islands, and we'd bet there's a very good shot at catching decent numbers of shorts plus some keepers here and there.
Way South and Virginia Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, 12/14/2018 Update:
Virginia's water continue to be an excellent bet for anglers looking to put some stripers in the cooler - the best throughout our region, for sure. The Smith Point to Wolf Trap zone is still hot, mostly for school-sized fish, although bird action is getting sparser as the fish spend more of the tidal cycles hunkering deep. The 35 foot mark should be considered more or less minimum operational depth, with fish found on bottom down to 45 feet and in some cases beyond. The mouth of the Rappahannock from the Rt 3 bridge down, and the open Bay in the vicinity of buoys 41 and 42 have both come up as hotspots. Smith Point is in the mix too, but with more small fish recently.
Some big migrators have been taken in some of the more southern areas (especially the buoy 42 zone). Fish are being taken by both trollers (six and nine inch shad and umbrellas, weighted to run deep, in white, pearl, and chartreuse) and jiggers working with a mix of soft plastics and, when tight-lipped clusters of fish are spotted on bottom, jigging spoons. Some anglers are also now dropping live eels, which were responsible for a few 40-plus-inchers this week. Farther down near the CBBT we continue to hear a steady trickle of reports of big fish taken mostly by trollers (also some eelers) pulling big umbrellas and MoJos, with some of the fish reaching into the mid and upper 40s. Their numbers aren't great but there is a very real shot at a monster, with scoring boats usually bringing in one to three big fish. Fortunately, there are also schoolies around to keep the rods bent on a regular basis. Eels are an excellent choice if you want to target the trophy-sized fish, only, but remember that you don't often catch smaller stripers on live eels, so other methods are a safer bet for a wider range of sizes. Light tackle/small boat anglers have been scoring on schoolies in the mouth of the Elizabeth, as well.
Also around the CBBT, there are some (mostly small) tog to be had. But truth be told, with the striper bite lighting up most people have had their attention sufficiently diverted. Same goes for other species - it's striper time, and that's what most folks are focused on right now - little wonder!
Way South and Virginia Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, 12/7/2018:
It’s been a long time since we’ve been able to say this, but striper fishing in the Virginia portion of the Chesapeake now out-ranks the bite in Maryland waters – by a long shot. Between falling temperatures and extremely low salinity water to the north, the stripers are enjoying the Bay’s southern zone and fish in the 20 to 30 inch class, with lots of throwbacks and a few bigger fish mixed in, have been fairly thick from the mouth of the Potomac down through the Bay to Wolf Trap. The 35 to 45 foot range has been a good bet and there’s often bird action, mostly later in the day when things warm up a bit. Jiggers who locate the flocks are having little trouble hooking up while casting six-inch plastics or jigging spoons. Small boat anglers and kayakers are also enjoying action especially in the Rappahannock, mostly from Urbanna down and around the bridge. Trollers pulling traditional weighted umbrella rigs with chartreuse shads and Mojos are also doing well.
On the Eastern side stripers are also around from off Silver Beach down to the Cell, again heaviest in 35 to 45 feet of water. As you move south the average size of the fish does seem to go up a bit, but almost everything being reported is under 35 inches – these aren’t the big fish coming from up north, which according to most reports are still off Jersey. However, some of those big bruisers have been caught at the mouth of the Bay (including the 52-pounder that had Facebook on fire all week), if not in huge numbers. Still, if you want to spend a day pulling umbrellas there’s now a decent shot at catching a true trophy fish or two especially in the Cape Charles zone.
The speckled trout run’s best days are now past, but they can still be caught in the inlets. The best bet is to fish later in the day after the sun has had a chance to warm the water a bit; four to six-inch plastics in chartreuse and white are a good offering. Redfish? What redfish? Flounder? What flounder? Relatively thin numbers of both were a disappointment this fall and we can’t expect those bites to improve from here on out. Togging at the CBBT, on the other hand, should only get better. Decent numbers are being caught on crab baits, the problem right now is that the majority are small, mostly throw-backs. Still, work at it and put in your time around the islands and close in to pilings, and you should be able to take home dinner.