Way South Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, March 27 Update:
Well anglers, we’ve been advised to stay home and keep at least six feet away from other people. Tough, right? We’re already feeling a little cramped up. But, we’ve got some groovy weekend plans that allow us to heed directions from our all-powerful, all-mighty regulators while getting off of the couch and onto the water. Is there ever a reason you should be fishing within six feet of another person anyway? Heck no! And is there ever a reason your boat should be passing six feet within another? HECK no! As long as we’re sticking by long-mandated water-going etiquettes – and only heading out with our families – fishing is a green light. And as Monthy Python reminds us, you’ve gotta look on the bright side of life!
We spoke with the folks at Ocean’s East, and they’re open for business but limiting the number of customers in the store to 10 at a time. With bait still readily accessible, anglers this week hit the water in full force. There have been great reports of largemouth bass and white perch hanging around the rivers, but what’s got us really excited this week are new reports of some black drum and flounder beginning to make their way into the area. This week, a large black drum was caught off the beach and a couple more are showing up in locations deemed top-secret. We did manage to learn, however, that peeler crabs are the bait right now.
Also being caught on crab chunks: plenty of tautog. Areas with big, beautiful structure like the king of them all, the CBBT, and the cement ships should be your destination; get those baits down on bottom tight to the obstructions, and hang on tight. We can confirm the flounder reports (just one fish) as well, but our source was unwilling to give up their location. The flounder reported was a keeper caught in shallow water. As more begin to move into the inlets and up the Bay, bouncing white, chartreuse and pink soft plastics off bottom is a great way to target them. Drifting cut baits is a solid bet as well.
No word from those chasing specks in the Elizabeth this week, but speckled trout fishing should be on the bounce throughout the area - stay tuned.
Way South Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, March 20 Update:
Yes folks, we know we’re all tired of hearing about CV-19, but we need to mention that due to the current situation we had a tough time getting a hold of some of our usual contacts this week. We apologize for the somewhat abbreviated reports. The good news? For as long as it remains an option, the best way to practice social distancing is to go fishing!
Water temps have busted past the 50-degree mark and even climbed into the mid-50s this week people—it’s time to grab some crab baits and head for the CBBT! The tog have been active and they should only continue to pick up steam for the immediate future. Remember to check out Rigging for Tautog: Precision Matters if you haven’t done so already, since it digs into the many of the specifics you’ll want to know when fishing around the CBBT for the tog.
We didn’t hear any chatter on red drum (at least, not north of NC) this week. However, anglers casting four- and five-inch plastics and MirrOlures in the lower Elizabeth are still finding some trout here and there. The bite isn’t by any means “easy” and it’s been taking some hunting to find the fish, but they are there and they will bite.
Way South Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, March 12 Update:
With warming waters (now hovering at the 50-degree mark at the CBBT) we’re continuing to see an uptick in the numbers of taugtog coming out of the area, as well as a continued revival of the speckled trout fishery. Ocean’s East reported that the tog bite has been on around the CBBT, with plenty of fish hitting crab baits in deep water and around drop-offs where there’s structure. These baits have also been turning up the occasional puppy drum, although their numbers haven’t increased in the past week. While the bite is good, it hasn’t been consistent, and anglers should anticipate moving around and working with the tides to cash in.
The speckled trout bite has been scattered, but riprap in the Elizabeth remains fairly steady and there are some fish being caught in the inlets, as well. MirrOLures, plastics, shiny spoons, and occasionally bloodworms have been bringing them in. Considering how warm the winter has been and how this fishery has more or less held up, this could well prove to be a banner year for specks!
Meanwhile up the tribs, as with elsewhere around the dial the perch run is a GO! Dropping bottom rigs with small minnows and grass shrimp has been key to taking them home, but Beetle Spins and similar small spinner lures are also effective at times.
Way South Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, March 6 Update:
First off, as with the rest of the region the news of the week is that the yellow perch run is officially ON! All of the traditional perch run hotspots offer a fair shot at the action, and readers report finding them in holes, bringing them to the surface on bottom rigs with small minnows and grass shrimp baits. But there's also a lot more diverse action developing in this neck of the woods right now. Oceans East reported that the bite around the CBBT has been steady this week, with speckled trout, puppy drum, stripers, and tautog all available. The tautog bite has been rapidly getting better as the waters warm up (in the upper 40s but not quite hitting 50 degrees just yet, at last check), with peeler crab enticing them. Some surprise puppy drum are popping up for anglers fishing crab baits in the area, as well. Ocean’s East also let us know that while the specks have been a bit more scattered, their sporadic bite has popped up again and particularly in the Elizabeth River has been surprisingly productive in the past week. They urged anglers to hunt for them before giving up, as many long days are ending in Facebook-worthy catches when anglers who have been searching hard and stayed with it eventually found success. MirrOLures, plastics, shiny spoons, and also bloodworms are enticing them.
The stripers have made their presence known as well this week, though it's been a somewhat sporadic bite with no real hotspots to point out. Most have been small, but Ocean’s East had a couple confirmed reports of determined anglers jigging soft plastics this week finding fish that broke the 20-inch mark.