Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, December 2020

Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, December 25 Update:

Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and welcome to the final fishing report of 2020. Considering how this year has been we’re thrilled to see it finally end, and we’re wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2021 filled with bent rods and slimy coolers. Due to the holidays (and some pretty lousy weather), gathering intel was difficult this week and the reports are a bit abbreviated. But rest assured, we’ll be back in 2021 ready to fish hard and bring you all the how-to, where-to fishing information possible. Thanks for staying tuned to FishTalk, and if you see the chance to do some fishing in the near future…

little rockfish
Rockfish are still the target, in the Potomac and Lower Bay. Photo courtesy of Eric Packard

Contributor Eric Packard got out on the Potomac this week, braving some very chilly conditions and doing quite a bit of running around up and down from Piney Point. They did see some birds and caught plenty of fish on jigging spoons, but all were all undersized. Reports from father downriver remain better, with fish up to the 30-inch class striking deep jigged lures off Smith Point. Many anglers are also opting to add some heavy weight to the lines, and troll umbrellas, tandems, and Mojos.


Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, December 18 Update:

Warning: almost all of our reports came in pre-storm. Naturally, we're expecting that the conditions will have deteriorated a bit in some areas. Reports from Smith Point continue to headline the striper fishery in the Lower Bay. We had a reader check in to say the fish were stacked up in deep water in the channel, however, he also noted that it was tough to get them to bite and as a result, it was a relatively slow pick. Another reported that fishing the lower Potomac also produced fish for the box, but again, he had to work for ‘em and getting bites on six-inch BKDs fished on 1.5-ounce heads and jigging two-ounce Crippled Herrings took a lot of work. The Occoquan River also got a mention as producing stripers for anglers fishing drop offs.

lower chesapeake fishing
Ryan put this one on ice!

Throughout the Potomac, big cats are continuing to bite. Some reported this week easily cleared 40 pounds. As the stripers begin to clear out, we’re expecting catfishing to become more popular; there are plenty of opportunities to catch them from shore and boat throughout the winter. As water temps are dangerously cold, here’s our annual winter-time reminder to wear a PDF wherever you’re fishing from anything but a shoreline!


Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, December 10 Update:

When it comes to stripers Maryland’s waters may now be closed for business, but the Potomac River and Virginia’s portion of the Bay are still rockin’ it up. The Smith Point area remains a target zone with trollers catching on umbrellas, tandems, and Mojos, and jiggers looking for birds and casting plastics on one-ounce jigheads. While gusty winds have put a crimp in effort levels recently, we heard from one reader who made it out on the lower Potomac Monday and caught football-shaped fish in the 20- to 25-inch class on white Bass Assassins, and another who trolled above the Rt. 3 bridge in the Rap and caught a handful of fish in the same size class.

lower chesapeake bay fishing
Whites, pearls, and off-whites have been top producers.

Striper numbers have also been on the upswing farther south, though thanks to the weather it’s become tough to find anyone who fished recently. We did hear another interesting report of sea bass in the Bay, however, mirroring those from the Middle Bay zone. Find a wreck in the 50- to 80-foot zone, drop metal jigging spoons baited with a squid strip or Gulp! on a jighead, and serious numbers of these fish can be encountered. We heard about dozens of fish in a day with five keepers among them, and while the exact location wasn’t given away, we note that there are a number of charted wrecks close to Smith Point that lay in the right depth range that would certainly be worth exploring.

Anglers heading up the James, Rappahannock, and Potomac continue to report awesome blue catfish catches, mostly on gizzard shad and other cut fish. We did hear, however, that many upriver areas were a bit turbulent after all the rainfall and fishing for other species up the rivers was a lost cause early in the week. By the time this weekend arrives, hopefully the water will have settled out.


Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, December 4 Update:

Catch reports continue to pick up from the Smith Point area, especially for anglers trolling deep with weighted parachutes, tandems, and Mojos. Jiggers are also getting in on the fish, usually when gulls or gannets give away their location. Several anglers have now reported that along with the usual plastics, vertically jigging metal or resin spoons in 35 to 45 feet of water is also proving effective when fish are spotted down deep on the meter; white and silver are the top producing color across the board. The Tackle Box also reported good action near Smith Point, with working birds in the area and the presence of 28- to 30-inch rockfish with sea lice. Reports from the mouth of the Bay are picking up for rockfish, too, so it seems that a body of fish decided to turn left right at the CBBT – let’s hope more decide to follow ‘em in!

working birds over rockfish
Here's the sight every Chesapeake angler hopes to see. Photo courtesy of Eric Packard

Readers checking in after fishing lower Western Shore tributaries this week included several catches of upper-20-something-inch rockfish in the Potomac just south of Colonial Beach, in the mouth of the Rap, and also from the lower James (though more small fish there dominated the action there). Trolling Mojos, umbrellas, and Stretches has been the ticket. Trolling has also been effective in the open Bay along the channel edges with covering a lot of ground important to locate the fish, but gannets and gulls sometimes marking areas you’ll want to circle back on.

We didn’t speak with or hear from anyone who caught specks or reds north of the James this week, but this may be a function of the tough weather putting a damper on effort recently and there could still be a few around for those willing to work at it. One reader who had his fill of stripers and went up the James (Dutch Gap area) instead of going downriver reported catching a MONSTER blue catfish this week, estimated at over 70 pounds, on cut gizzard shad.