Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, October 25, 2019 Update:
Although the season is wrapping up, the Middle Grounds is holding the last Spanish mackerel of this year. J&R’s let us know that trollers have been doing so-so this week, primarily sticking to small Clarks, small Drones, and Hard Head Custom Baits Bombers pulled along the channel edges. The mouths of the Potomac and the Rappahannock continue to be hotspots for anglers looking to fish working birds, which are holding a mix of mackerel, blues, and small stripers. Many anglers are finding that the best way to land a mix right now is casting metal lures through boiling baitfish and reeling quickly. Bluefish in these schools have been chunky and eager for a fight.
The Tackle Box let us know that the blues should continue to stick around when the mackerel have headed south, so keeping that metal spoon on hand is a good option. Stripers are around the shorelines and in the Bay and rivers, with the best bite early and late in the day. However, with low water recently, the Tackle Box also reported that the shoreline bite has been suffering. High tides, although infrequent as they have been, are essential for the bite. In all the Western Shore rivers some specks are still mixed in with the rock, but most are on the small side.
Along the channel edges and in the rivers, trollers, jiggers and lure casters are doing great but the liveling bite has slowed by the thinning of spot numbers. In the coming weeks, we’ll also begin to see perch become inaccessible from shore as they leave creeks and shallow water for their winter homes. Anglers planning to hit the Bay during the coming frigid months should keep in mind that white perch will be hunkered down in holes in 30 to 40 feet of water throughout the rivers. Double hook bottom rigs and bits of blood worm will still manage to get perch to the surface.
Crabbing report: Trot-liners are still getting some nice fat fall crabs, working in deep water (15 feet and more) while moving very slowly.
Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, October 18, 2019 Update:
We’ve had a Spanish mackerel bite better than anyone could have anticipated, and the next week or so is probably the final opportunity to wrap up a great season. The Middle Grounds are still holding a healthy population that trollers are enjoying plenty of action from. Sticking to small Clarks, small Drones, and Hard Head Custom Baits Bombers has been a popular choice. Mackerel (plus blues and smallish rockfish) also continue to be caught under breaking fish and working birds that are peppering the mouths of the rivers, especially the Potomac and the Rappahannock. Many anglers are seeing the bulk of their action coming from casting metal lures through the mix and reeling quickly. Bluefish have been in these schools as well, and the Tackle Box reported that many of them have been chunky. Plenty of schoolie stripers can be found in the mix here too, but are also located across edges in the shipping channel.
The St. Mary’s, Piankatank, and Mobjack Bay have provided exciting action for anglers looking to get in on the speckled trout bite without heading to the eastern side. Although most have been small, they’re scattered throughout the rivers and accessible to anglers slow-trolling with small white bucktails or casting plastics to submerged points and structure with good current. Smallish stripers are peppered through these areas, too.
White perch action remains consistent along shorelines across the tribs, however, perch are beginning to move into deeper water. The perch bite is extending after the early hours of the morning now, making going after them quite a bit less painful. Bloodworms on a bottom rig are still a great way to get them on your line.
Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, October 10, 2019 Update:
Plenty of fall action is still available in the Lower Bay, and it shows no signs of slowing down. The Spanish mackerel bite remains stellar for anglers trolling the channel edges and the Middle Grounds. Boats hitting the docks are reporting still catching their limit. Most are sticking to pulling small Clarks, small Drones, and Hard Head Custom Baits Bomber spoons. Trollers are advised to keep an eye on the horizon: working birds have been strewn throughout the Bay, and fishing under them is producing a variety of species. Trolling through working birds or casting a metal lure and reeling fast is a quick way to get a mackerel on the end of your line. Bluefish are being landed this way as well, and many have been eating size. The folks at Machodoc Creek Marina checked in to let us know that mackerel are still being found south of the Colonial Beach zone, in the Potomac. They also noted that striper fishing in the river has been producing a better class of fish recently, and in the creeks white perch are still snapping on perch strips and night crawlers. We also had more reader reports of trout in the lower Potomac this week, though the bulk are on the smaller side. Stripers are also being caught in the area between St. Georges Island and Piney Point; liveliners are doing well in the area, and this week the Tackle Box had a few reports of anglers catching keepers in this zone. Finding spot before heading out remains an easy task, as they’re still holding on most hard bottoms and in the rivers.
Jigging large soft plastics or spoons under schools of baitfish in open water is also producing red drum (and lots of soft plastic purchases, whenever the blues and mackerel are around). Anglers looking to target drum in specific should consider heading over to the Target Ships and Middle Grounds – much of the drum action has been centered around these areas, and the fish can be located with binoculars, a depth finder, and some luck. The bite on redfish is also accelerating farther south at the mouth of the Bay; see the Way South report, for the details.
Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, October 4, 2019 Update:
Well, all the turbulence over striper regs for Virginia anglers may have put a damper on things but at least now the season's officially open and you can keep a fish between 20 and 36 inches in VA waters. There are schools of breaking fish in the open Bay, though many are far under the minimum size. Anglers in the Potomac are finding keepers while live-lining and/or jigging in the lower sections of the river, and in the Rappahannock from Tappahannock down. Often the best bite in the rivers has been in the shallows, casting topwater at daybreak and sunset. There does seem to be a better class of fish inside the tribs than in the main-stem, with stripers in the mid-20s more common than they are breaking in open water. Still, however, considering the mood Spanish mackerel fishing remains a saving grace for many anglers in the Lower Chesapeake, with trollers getting their share of action and coolers often being filled early in the day. Their numbers have dropped to the north and as the cooler weather moves in expect the mackerel to become tougher and tougher to find. The vast majority of trollers have been pulling small Clark spoons, small Drones, and Hard Head Custom Baits in bright colors behind number-one planers, while jiggers are casting one- and two-ounce spoons and ripping them along under birds. The area around the Target Ships and the Middle Grounds has been particularly productive, however, the fish are throughout the vast majority of the Lower Bay. More and more reports include mention of decent-sized bluefish up to three pounds becoming more and more prevalent among the breakers. We also heard from The Tackle Box that anglers trolling spoons down the shipping channel are finding plenty of action.
Many anglers spotting birds have been jigging deep under the school with two-ounce spoons and 10-inch plastics, a tactic that’s been producing more and more monster red drum - and in many cases they’ve been huge. The Middle Grounds down to Occohannock Rock zone has been productive.
Speckled trout have invaded many shallow water hotspots of the Lower Bay, especially the Tangier and Pocomoke sounds (see the Tangier and Lower Shore report for more details), but they’re also popping up in the lower Western Shore rivers from the Potomac clear down to the Elizabeth in increasing numbers. Most of the fish on the Western side north of the Piankatank are on the smaller side, though. Both the Tackle Box and reader reports indicated that many areas like the St. Mary’s and Rappahannock had large numbers of 10- and 12-inch fish, with keeper specks on the rare side.