Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, August 26 Update:
Opportunities are plentiful in the Lower Bay; it may just take covering some water to find the fish. Spanish mackerel and bluefish provided a lot of good action this week. They have been all over the main stem of the Bay, but the best reports are coming from the eastern edge of the shipping channel from Buoy 72 down past the Target Ship. Windmill Point has also been a hotspot. The macks and blues are chasing bay anchovies and can be found breaking the water. The macks will rocket out after baitfish and can put on a real show. Schools of breaking fish can be casted on with Rain Minnows and Gotcha plugs or anglers can throw over the trolling rods with Clark spoons to pick up these toothy fish.
Catch and release fishing for bull reds has been rewarding anglers with some awesome fish this week. The Tackle Box says that the reds have been up around Buoy 72 and down past the target ship. Boats with the most luck recently have been finding them on their side scan or jigging under schools of macks and blues. The jigs being used are in the three-quarter ounce range rigged with soft plastics of eight inches or more. If you want to target these beasts, be prepared to spend a lot of time looking around. Sea Hawk Sports Center reports that the late summer red drum run has been giving anglers action in the areas east of Watts Island down to The Cell reef site, on the east side.
The waters of the Potomac are now open for rockfish again. The Tackle Box had good reports all week with most catches in the 20-to-24-inch range. Perch are big and eager to hit lures and bait in the tidal rivers. An incredible 14-inch white perch was caught by angler Al Hinkle near cedar point using a five-inch Yozuri swimming lure. The lower Potomac and Rap are good places to be for bottom fishing for spot, croaker, and perch. The schools can be found over oyster reefs. Peeler crab, grass shrimp and pieces of bloodworm are excellent baits for white perch, bloodworms work best for spot.
Cobia fishing continues to be subpar as it has been for most of the season in the Lower Bay, and most appear to be scattered sparsely until getting into the Way South zone closer to the mouth of the Bay. One reader reported sight fishing a cobia off a pod of cownose rays using a large, skirted jig, but after hooking up to the fish, it broke him off. We may see a big push of cobia in early September with cooling temperatures before they head south. Anglers hoping to target cobia will have until September 15.
Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, August 19 Update:
Now is the time where you can put a lot of fish on the deck of the boat. Mackerel and blues continue to be prime targets in the Lower Bay, and this week we had reader reports of some photo-verified trophy-sized fish including a 26-inch mackerel near Smith Point and a 27-incher caught out of Deltaville. The fish have been along the shipping channel ledges from New Point up to Point Lookout.
Bottom fishing has been on par for this time of year and the spot are really starting to get big. Anglers are also reporting catching kingfish and croaker in the mix. White perch are plentiful and hitting tiny spinners and bait in the creeks and rivers off the main stem of the Bay.
The bull red bite has slowed down slightly. The Tackle Box says they are still around but appear to be more scattered rather than schooled up. There’s still a chance to come across the big bulls breaking and if you do, try casting one-to-one-and-a-half-ounce jig heads at them. It is also a good time of year to try trolling large spoons or surgical hoses. The cobia reports have remained consistent this week. There are fish to be caught, but there are also many anglers who aren’t finding them and it may take some searching around. Sight casting with live eels has continued to be the most effective method, though it's worth noting that trolling with 18-inch tube hoses in pink, purple, or tan can produce hook ups. Angler in Chief Lenny Rudow noted that a foray to Point Lookout last weekend didn’t produce any of the targeted redfish, but he did find some flounder and for the first time in a long time saw a keeper-sized flattie (about 18”) in Potomac waters. White flukes on a one-ounce jig head fished in 15 feet of water or thereabouts had ‘em biting.
Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, August 12 Update:
Note: Maryland waters are reopened for stripers, but Virginia waters remain closed until October 4. The Potomac will reopen its season on August 22. Please remember to handle these fish with care when releasing them as hot temps and low oxygen are putting them under high stress!
The macks and blues have pushed into the area with greater numbers and appear to be more widespread. Trollers using planers and small Drone, or Clarke spoons are catching fish along the shipping channels from Point Lookout down to the mouth of the Rappahannock. Contributor Eric Packard reported good action (and nice sized mackerel) in the vicinity of the Targets on Thursday. Look for the birds and schools of bait on the surface. Even if birds are sitting on the water, it may mean fish are in the area, so keep a close eye out there. Big schools of bull reds are also cruising around the Lower Bay and have been making for some epic days on the water for anglers who can locate them. The Tackle Box let us know boats have been catching them blind trolling big spoons or bucktails when the fish haven’t been on the surface. If you are lucky enough to find a school breaking, approach slowly and cast to them from the edges with bucktails or large jigs. Sight fishing these beasts will be sure to get your blood pumping! Cobia are still scattered around but the summer heat and spawn hasn’t made them want to act right. Those chumming with cut bait and live eels have been bringing in some fish. The action should improve towards the end of the month when the fish are done spawning and the heat backs off.
Bottom fishing has been great for those wanting to target jumbo spot. The Potomac has been loaded with them and anglers are using lugworms, bloodworms, fish bites, and squid to catch them. If you are looking for some steady action, drop down a bottom rig tipped with one of these baits and get ready to set the hook. There were reports of black drum caught at the Point Lookout Pier this week. Red drum have been also hanging around inside the mouths of most rivers in the Lower Bay. Targeting slot drum is a shallow-water game so look for points with current, rip-rap, and other structure. Gulp! Jerk Shad and Swimming Mullet are go-to baits for many anglers.
Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, August 5 Update:
We have a new Fishing Reports editor, folks! FishTalk welcomes Dillon Waters to the team, an angler who has sent in reader photos in the past that have made us thoroughly jealous — stripers, specks, and reds that any of us would be thrilled to catch. Dillon says:
“I’m a lifelong resident of Maryland. What an awesome state for fishing, right? I’m an avid outdoorsman and my main hobbies include fishing, hunting, and photography. If I have any free time, you will either find me on the water or in the woods! I graduated from St. Mary's College of Maryland in 2021 with a B.S. in Biology and Environmental Studies and currently have a full-time position with the Department of Natural Resources Wildlife and Heritage Service working as a wildlife response technician. My favorite freshwater fish to catch is crappie (St. Mary's Lake has been very reliable) and my favorite saltwater fish to catch are speckled trout (the Tangier Sound is a beautiful place to target them). One of my other big interests is baseball — go O's! I look forward to being able to provide detailed and accurate reports to FishTalk’s readers moving forward.”
Welcome aboard, Dillon!
Maryland waters are reopened for stripers, but Virginia waters remain closed until October 4. The Potomac will reopen its season on August 22. Please remember to handle these fish with care when releasing them as hot temps and low oxygen are putting them under high stress!
Good numbers of big bull redfish have showed up from the Target Ship zone up to the mouth of the Patuxent, pouncing on jigs (pink is a hot pick!) offered up by anglers finding bait then jigging down deep under it. Not everyone is finding them, but when a school is located there’s often a bona fide epic-level frenzy going on and it hasn’t been unusual for everyone aboard to hook up. If you are lucky enough to find a school of breaking reds, work the edges because running your motor too close can push the school back down deep. A few scattered cobia have been reported (and photo verified) mixed in at the frenzies.
A reader checked in after fishing the humps just southwest of the Target Ship last weekend, failing to spot any cobia (his main mission) but cranking up five mackerel and four bluefish on spoons behind number-one and two planers. If you are picking up mostly blues, kick up your speed to around seven to eight knots and you should see more mackerel on the end of your lines. Another reader confirmed that action with a nearly identical report. And, we heard from a third who fished the same areas and then went to Rappahannock Spit and reported plenty of blues and macks but a scarcity (absence!) of the cobia he was targeting.
Contributor Eric Packard fished in the Potomac off Piney Point briefly and accidentally caught a couple of rockfish when they were still closed, but a couple other anglers who had gotten an earlier start had caught three speckled sea trout up to 21-inches, a puppy drum, and some white perch. Another who fished it a day earlier reported catching five specks and a flounder. Four-inch plastics were doing the trick, and one of the anglers had success while tossing a Clouser Minnow on the fly rod.