Mouth of the Chesapeake Fishing Report

Way South Chesapeake Fishing Report, September 27, 2019 Update:

The CBBT remains a focal point for the action, and Contributor Chuck Harrison reported catching plenty of speckled trout and bluefish around the islands of the CBBT this week. Specks have been eager to take pink, white, and chartreuse soft plastics bounced off the bottom or small spoons. Bluefish have been getting bigger and hungrier. The pesky small ones are still wreaking havoc on anglers targeting flounder, stripers, or specks with soft plastics, but some decent sized fish up over five pounds have been showing up and are eager to snatch up metal lures jigged or casted and retrieved. They’ve also been wicked pesky for anglers drifting bait, however, and cobia anglers out of Cape Charles have reported that chumming is very difficult. Setting out live eels and reeling in half-eels is common. As a result, sight fishing and trolling red and pink hoses has been a better move. Speaking of trolling: deploying spoons and planers will lead to a mix of blues and Spanish mackerel throughout this zone. We heard from anglers who had spectacular action but we also heard from a few who didn't find the mackerel, so it does seem the fish have gathered into more concentrated pockets and covering lots of water until you locate fish is the move. If you spot birds, obviously, head for 'em.

specks in lower bay
It's that speckled time of year!!

More specks have also been reported from Lynnhaven, including fish over five pounds. The past three weeks the speck bite has only been getting better and better, so we’re now calling it official: yes people, we do have a speck run on. Soft plastic paddle tails in the four to five inch range in white, pink, and chartreuse are top offerings.

Some red drum are also around and can be caught jigging under working birds, around the channel edges, and near the islands. The bite has generally been slow, but the fish have been large. Though many go bite-less, anglers who find the right spot at the right tide have managed to catch up to a half-dozen in an outing.

Striper fans should note that the organizers of the 17th annual Mid-Atlantic Rockfish Shootout have announced that the tournament is a go, but rule changes are expected due to the striper season changes and interested parties should stay tuned as more info develops.


Way South Chesapeake Fishing Report, September 19, 2019 Update:

The Spanish mackerel bite is staying steady, and anglers trolling the channel edges have been doing wonderfully. With that being said, it hasn’t mattered too much where you’ve been as long as lines are in the water. Ocean’s East assured us that pulling small Clark spoons, small Drones, and pink, orange, or yellow Hard Head Custom Baits Bombers behind number-one planers is still the best way to catch them. Many boats hitting the docks have been reporting that bluefish and a few ribbon fish were mixed in with their catch. And, good news – more of the blues are eating size these days. Aside from catching them trolling, many anglers casting metal spoons under birds are landing them.

spanish mackerel on a spoon
Spanish mackerel? What Spanish mackerel? Has anyone around here seen a Spanish mackerel this season?

What’s around other than the mackerel and blues? Where to begin… where to begin… Yes, there are still lots of cobia around scattered across the mouth of the Bay (though more throwbacks than keepers recently, and wind and clouds have made things tough some days). Sure, big reds are popping up with increasing frequency. But perhaps of more interest to a wider range of anglers, it looks like this year we’re in for a for-real speckled trout run. We don’t want to say that the fish have completely recovered from the kill a couple winters back, but numbers are up across the board and reports from the HRBT, Kiptopeke, the islands of the CBBT, and the inlets are all steadily improving. Some larger fish of five-plus pounds have been caught, too. Four- to six-inch soft plastics in pink and white and white/lime paddle tails are good bets, and one reader reported success with red/white MirrOlures.

Anglers traveling to the CBBT, meanwhile, have also enjoyed catching red drum, flounder, and some stripers. The large bull reds have mostly been taking big spoons on the troll, but can pop up just about anywhere on anything. The flounder are eager to hit soft plastics and Gulp!, primarily in chartreuse, white, and pink. Bouncing them off bottom has been a great tactic. Although they aren’t exactly “abundant,” if you work at it you can put a few in the cooler.


Way South Chesapeake Fishing Report, September 13, 2019 Update:

Keeping with the trend of recent weeks, a great variety of fishing opportunities are being presented in the southernmost parts of the Chesapeake. Perhaps most notably, the Spanish mackerel bite has persisted and is continuing to provide absolutely stellar fishing. Ocean’s East let us know that the method of going after them hasn’t changed much: small Clark spoons, small Drones, and pink, orange, or yellow Hard Head Custom Baits remain common behind number-one planers. Typically these should be trolled between eight and 10 knots. The channel edges just inside the Bay are still the best areas to stick to, but it doesn’t really seem like you can go wrong. They’ve been all over the place and eager to eat, and boats that left the dock with the intention of landing mackerel are returning with bluefish (thay’ve been getting larger lately, too), as well as some ribbonfish. Although the bigger ribbons are mostly being caught just outside the Bay, spoons and swimming plugs are providing enough action on fish large enough to keep to fill a cooler.

cobia fishermen and their catch
Chris Powell and crew, after a very successful day of cobia fishing out of Cape Charles. Photo courtesy of Matt Boomer

What about the cobia bite? After the storm passed the bite picked up steam day by day, and is back into form. Many of the fish are throwbacks, but one in three or one in five or so makes it into the cooler. As usual, live eels are the top offering.

Some anglers who have tired of catching mackerel after mackerel are switching over to targeting red drum, which are near structure and scattered in deeper water under schools of bait. Working around the CBBT and just south have been good areas. Also around the CBBT, the flounder bite picked up a bit the past week. Although many are undersized, they’re still a welcome sight. Most boats have been landing them by bouncing pink and white soft plastics off bottom or drifting squid chunks. Those tossing jigs around the islands and at the HRBT are also picking up specks with increasing frequency.


Way South Chesapeake Fishing Report, September 6, 2019 Update:

The mouth of the Bay is providing a number of exciting fishing opportunities these days. Spanish mackerel continue to headline the action with trollers also still putting a dent in the ribbonfish population, but an eclectic mix of flounder, speckled trout, drum, bluefish and some stripers have been around the CBBT and are highly active. The flounder bite improved this week, too, with many boats reporting up to a half-dozen keepers on a trip. Hampton correspondent Chuck Harrison reported hooking up throwback flounder, small spadefish, a couple decent specks, puppy drum, and Spanish mackerel on a recent trip to the second island. He also had a bull red attack, but snap the line off.

spanish mackerel caught on a spoon
Will the Spanish mackerel invasion ever end? Yes - but hopefully not for a while yet.

The best ways to go after flounder have been bouncing pink and white soft plastics off bottom or drifting squid chunks. Many flounder have been smaller in size, but still put up a good fight. Spanish mackerel have been eager to eat spoons and many anglers are trolling small gold Clarks and Drones. Eight to 10 knots has been prime speed. Anglers trolling spoons around the CBBT are also hooking up bluefish. The ribbonfish reports were a bit thinner this week, possibly due to angler effort more than and major shift in the fishery, but the better quality fish are still coming from the sea-side while smaller ribbons are chewing on small spoons and plugs inside the CBBT and up to the HRBT.

Anglers targeting cobia have found it a bit tougher to find keeper-sized fish this past week; the fish are around in decent numbers but a large proportion caught recently have been under the 40-inch mark. Live eels remain the number-one temptation but more folks are trolling hoses these days; orange and red have been the top colors recently.