Lower Bay Fishing Reports

Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, June 12 Update:

Both bull redfish and cobia have been reported moving north of the Way South zone, and boats running out of the Rappahannock have been able to spot fish in the past week. We even had a couple reports of cobia spotted in Maryland waters on the east side, though none confirmed with pictures as of yet. Anglers trolling spoons out of the Rappahannock are reporting that Spanish mackerel are starting to show up with an increasing number of bluefish as well. One boat reported that they caught both fish while trolling at between buoys eight and 10 in around 35’ of water. Schools of bluefish have been reported to be hanging out around the Target Ship and one reader wrote in to let us know they got in on some breaking fish at the beginning of the week and pulled a 31” bluefish out of the mix. Trollers are doing well working depths of 20’ to 30’. As water temperatures approach 80 degrees, more Spanish mackerel should continue to move up to Lower Bay waters.

Contributor Eric Packard spent a few days fishing the main stem of the Potomac River this week. Packard reported that the fishing is in prime form with several locations producing fish for him and a few other anglers on board. Their crew spent most of their time jigging on structure in open water with several rock piles at 20’ depths producing fish. One day they caught around 60 fish and another day they landed close to 30. Most were around the 19 to 24” slot with some unders and overs in the mix too. The Potomac River seems to be where one of the better striped bass bites is happening in the Bay this month. The speckled trout bite is improving as these fish are in mixed stages of their spawn. Some fish being caught are spawned out, while others are still ripe with roe. We had a report from the Rappahannock of an angler catching a half dozen specks up to 27” while fishing over grass beds. The Corrotoman River has also been productive for speckled trout and a few puppy drum. Topwater lures are working well in low light hours and paddletails are getting bites throughout the tide during a moving tide. Popping corks are a tool you should have in your tackle box as they are especially effective for speckled trout when fishing over grass.

Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, June 5 Update:

The Tackle Box reports that schools of bull red drum are moving up the Bay, and cobia are on their heels. The big drum have been found in the shallows of the Eastern Shore. These fish are still shallow as water temperatures are still on the cooler side. Large paddletails, topwater lures, and jerkbaits are working well. Cobia are just starting to enter the mouth of the Bay around the CBBT but will move north when larger schools arrive. The season for them opens on June 15th. Bluefish have returned and are being found around wrecks and reef sites, with some scattered schools pushing bait in open water. When anglers have located these fish around structure, they have been very willing to hit topwater bites and shallow diving cranks. The Tackle Box said there were big catches of two-to-three-pound bluefish below the target ships in the Bay last week.

On the Potomac River, light tackle anglers and trollers are still finding rockfish in the area from the 301 Bridge down to St. Clements Island. Trollers working ledges between 20’ and 30’ are pulling in fish, and the shallows are holding rockfish in areas with shallow structure and strong current. Down on the Rappahannock, the bite has been tough at times, but redfish, stripers, and speckled trout have been found cruising the shallows. Redfish have been harder to come by this year, but specks have been found over grass flats. One angler fishing last weekend caught a few speckled trout on topwater spooks and a few stripers on paddletails. Some rockfish have also been caught by those jigging around the pilings of the Norris Bridge.

Contributor Adam Greenberg wrote in to let us know he had some good luck fishing in D.C. recently. He fished the Potomac last weekend and caught a few small rockfish and largemouth bass on white curlytail grubs and a pink jerkbait. Anglers fishing in the area of Fletchers Cove are still reporting that good numbers of schoolie striped bass are still in the area, though the river has been difficult to fish at times with the bumps in flow from recent rains. An angler fishing at the Tidal Basin in D.C. said snakeheads have been more active, and he caught a 10-pounder on a swimbait this week. Apex Predators reports that the snakehead bite on the lower Bay tidal rivers has been consistent, though some days are taking longer than others to find fish willing to bite. Their anglers have landed several nice fish recently. On an undisclosed Potomac tributary, an angler reported a successful day on snakeheads, catching fish up to 14 pounds. They took home eight snakeheads and also caught some bass using Tactical Fishing Company drag n pop lures.