Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, June 24 Update:
Reader reports of good cobia catches are coming in, people! Chummers working just outside the Rappahannock have been doing well in 15 to 25 feet of water off Windmill Point with several fish in the 40- to 50-inch class hitting the decks this week. The Tackle Box mentioned that one boat hitting Windmill Point this week hooked up on seven cobia. No word of sight fishing success since the weekend, but that’s no surprise considering how riled the waters were early and mid-week. We also heard reports of cobia from Wolf Trap and the Target Ship. The Tackle Box echoed this, noting that cobia have advanced to the Middle Grounds, Cut Channel, and to the lumps below the Target Ship. If you’re planning on chumming, make sure to bring extra, extra, extra backup bait. Reports of everything from catfish to sharks to skates in chum slicks are on the rise, and ya sure don’t want to run out of bait because of those critters.
There were tons and tons of spot and plenty of white perch being caught throughout the creeks and tribs this week. The favorite for perch this week was Beetle Spins, followed by Perch Pounders, but FishBites on a bottom rig were working plenty well too and grabbing the spot at the same time. Off the St. Mary’s College of Maryland waterfront, there were plenty of perch mixed in with spot this week. While many were small, they were highly active in the hours just before the sunset. During turbulent weather early in the week, they were on and off depending on their mood.
The catfish bite up the tribs is also excellent right now. Night fishermen are getting the best end of it, reporting that cut baits are driving them wild in the dark.
Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, June 18 Update:
We had some reader reports of a pretty good bull redfish bite on peeler and soft crab baits fished in the vicinity of the Target Ship, with one angler catching three fish around 40 inches each. Rays are a problem, however, so if you want to target these fish plan on bringing plenty of bait. If you’re headed out for the start of cobia season, the same is true. Sea Hawk had the first reports of cobia caught as the season opened this week, with anglers fishing with bait hooking up, although we didn’t hear anything about the sight fishing bite. This could just be a gap in the info we gathered this week and isn’t indicative of sight fishing not being a tactic worth trying. Sea Hawk reported that one boat hooked up and landed two large keeper cobia, while a few other boats reported a single catch. The Tackle Box checked in, mentioning that trollers will typically be using big surgical eels from the Target Ships south. Chummers will grind alewife and drift chunks of cut bait or live eels into the chum line in hopes of catching a cobia, although again, rays can become an issue.
As for the stripers, the Tackle Box reported that there are plenty in the Potomac (still in season in the river until July 6) for trollers and lure casters in the shallows and the deep. Jigging the channel edges is common. However, the major schools seem to be heading up the river all the way to Port Tobacco. Despite there being plenty of fish in the Potomac, they’ve been a bit scattered and nailing them down will require some movement. Live spot has been the prime bait and we haven’t been hearing of many trollers doing well. The Tackle Box also reported that this week carried a rumor of Spanish mackerel and bluefish marching up the Bay, caught by trollers and casters.
Anglers below the Potomac will now be focused on species other than stripers, which went out of season in Virginia waters on the 15th. Unfortunately, speck reports took a (hopefully temporary) dip this week. We heard about some onsies-twosies, but not of any really solid results on the western side of the Lower Bay this week. Cobia, however, are moving in to fill the gap and since a few have already been caught as far north as the state line since the June 15 opening, fingers are crossed that it’s game on.
Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, June 10 Update:
The Tackle Box reports that while there was a lull in the number of fish caught this week, there still were plenty for the taking. Anglers who trolled the shipping and Potomac channel edges weren’t getting steady bites, but they were catching fish. Trolling deep with umbrella rigs was common. The Tackle Box let us know that tandem rigged bucktails and swim shads were producing further up top. Trollers were frequently dodging live-liners who had also set up on the channel edges and along the drops off St. George’s Island — they’re reporting a stronger bite, although they’re also hooking more undersized fish. Up-sizing the spot is a good way to avoid dinks on the line. Oddly enough, the most productive tactic this week seemed to be casting the shallows. Although the bite was still thin, guys who visited the Tackle Box did report that they were reeling in a mix of stripers and specks. Most of the week it was a battle to actually get a keeper fish on the line, but for the most part, anglers who intended to keep fish weren’t running in with empty coolers.
The speckled trout bite has been a little finicky and somewhat hit or miss. Anglers reported that when they got into them, they were hot, but other times the grasses and points were quiet. The usual four-to five-inch paddle or twisty tails are producing best, and pink or white are stand-out colors. The Piankatank has been mentioned as a hotspot in the reader reports for a month solid, and remains about the most reliable bet we’ve heard about.
If you headed to the Target Ships right now, you’d find a fleet hunting for reds and waters full of soft crab chunks. Some absolutely massive bull reds were caught and released there this week and the bite is not lacking. Reports of reds up to and occasionally exceeding 50-inches came in throughout the week, even on poor weather days. The cownose rays are a problem though, and interfering with anglers’ ability to keep lines meant for drum in the water. One kayak angler this week reported multiple catches of puppy drum on the Rappahannock early in the week, before heading out to the Target Ships late in the week where large bull reds hit peeler crab, although the reds were seriously competing with skates.
In the rivers, white perch fishing remains excellent. The Tackle Box suggested using bloodworms or grass shrimp on a bottom rig for them.
Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, June 4 Update:
Readers checked in from the Piankatank this week to confirm that the speckled trout that set up shop there a few weeks ago are still present and biting. The winds have made it tough fishing at times recently, though, and we note that Contributor Eric Packard spent a morning casting the shallows this week to no avail. The Tackle Box was excited to let us know that the specks are in the shallows throughout the area, often mixed with small rock, with better catches now coming as far up as in the lower Potomac. Anglers returning to their shop reported multiple caught throughout the day, many of which easily surpassed the 20-inch mark. Four- to five-inch pink, pearl, white, and chartreuse paddle or twister tails were all producing. However, four-inch pink was the hottest. The Tackle Box also had reports of rootbeer-colored paddle tails working later in the week.
From most of the reports we had from readers this week, Lower Bay anglers hoping to take home stripers seem to be doing better by fishing the shallows and river mouths in many cases, as opposed to working the open Bay. We did hear from a troller who caught a few in the lower 20s in the Smith Point area this week, but much better reports came from the guys catching the specks. Without exception they’ve been getting a mixed bag and although many of the stripers are small, a 20-plus just about always pops up at one time or another.
Perch enthusiast Ryan Gullang reports that white perch are around shoreline structure and he landed a bundle fishing the docks in St. Mary’s. The bite was absolutely excellent, with a perch hitting every cast but the bite happened and then died off quickly during an increase in pressure. A chartreuse and black Beetle Spin produced all the fish while reports editor Mollie Rudow tried out a deep purple shad dart and was out-fished 10 to zip!