Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, May 29 Update:
The Tackle Box let us know that Memorial Day weekend brought a fleet of boats onto the water and anglers were rewarded with plentiful bites. Stripers are heavy throughout the region, from the open Bay to the tribs. The Rap was a stand-out spot this week, producing fish up to 26 inches, plus throwbacks. Anglers trolling white and chartreuse umbrella rigs in the lower river had the most luck. Anglers casting the shallows with six-inch plastics (again, white was reported as a top color pick) were also rewarded with some stripers plus a few speckled trout. The lower Potomac and area off St. George’s island are singing the same tune — the Tackle Box reported a mix of specks and stripers in these areas, as well. Farther down the Bay the first couple reports of (single) Spanish mackerel and bluefish in the Lower Bay have come in. While we’re excited to hear about them, all reports thus far have been isolated catches. They certainly don’t seem to be around in numbers large enough to target just yet, so most anglers remain focused on the stripers and specks. We heard from several readers, however, that bait fishing has become all but impossible thanks to the influx of rays. Some anglers reported that it has been impossible to cast at times due to their abundance, with Mobjack a particularly problematic area where large number of anglers were momentarily fooled into thinking they had a nice fish on the line, this week.
The Tackle Box also let us know that white perch are biting in the deeper creeks and in the rivers. They’re taking bloodworms and grass shrimp on bottom rigs, and should begin to move into the shallows in greater numbers as the water warms. Spot are increasing in numbers up and down the western shore; everyone we heard from this week found bait-sized fish, not eating-sized spot. Readers also reported a croaker or two had been caught as far up as Windmill Point, but not in numbers nor size.
Crabbing report: There are enough in the tribs to make it worth baiting the trot-line, but keep your expectations in check. A commercial trot-liner told us he was working hard to get a couple bushels working three lines, which means most recreationals should be happy to get half a bushel or more.
Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, May 22 Update:
Full Disclosure Warning! High winds and poor conditions forced anglers to stay land-locked for most of the week, through much of our area. Due to these circumstances, most of the info in this week’s report comes from over the past weekend and early in the week. If you get the chance to head out, shoot us an email at [email protected] and let us know how you did!
The Tackle Box let us know that the lower bay has been a hotspot for striped bass fishing this week, with plenty of fish coming in at all sizes. Trollers in these areas using umbrella rigs and tandems in varied colors (especially chartreuse and white) have brought up the most fish. Throughout the lower Potomac and off St. George's Island, trollers and jiggers are catching stripers of all sizes. Jiggers are having luck off mostly on smaller fish, working in 20 to 30 feet off Point Lookout and off Smith Point. White has been the color to use, in all cases. The fish are popping up everywhere, and ranging from undersized to trophies. Yes, some of the photos flying around FaceBook right now are real!
In Virginia water, of course, any trophy-sized fish that get reeled in need to be released, with the 28-inch ceiling on striper size. As a result, smaller lures are the norm with four- and six-inch tandems and umbrellas doing the trick for trollers. The waters off Smith Point have been good in the 20- to 30-foot range, some fish are also being found by light tackle anglers casting the shallows in the lower Rappahannock, and we had a reader report of a speck/striper mix while casting white soft plastics in Fleet Bay.
The bottom fishing scene is also taking off in Virginia waters as well and should soon make its way up into Maryland. Catfish, perch, stripers, bluefish, croakers, spot, and also some trout are all showing up in the river mouths for bait-dunkers, including the lower Potomac as well but getting better as you move south. Most have been on the small side (with the exception of the catfish) thus far but hopefully this action will crank up soon. Bloodworms on bottom rigs are the top bet for bottom fishers.
Crabbing report: It’s on, in the Lower Bay. Potters are still doing better than trot-liners can with the cool water, but trot line action should pick up as things warm up.
Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, May 15 Update:
Striper fishing in the Lower Bay has been picking up, though the trophy action off Point Lookout hasn’t been quite as good as in Middle Bay areas and fewer small fish than might be expected are showing up. The Tackle Box reported that most of the big stripers are 45 inches or better, truly trophies. As expected, umbrella rigs, large bucktails, and tandems has been the ticket to the fish. White has been the color of choice lately. Catfish have been stealing most of chummers baits. They’re especially abundant in the Potomac. White perch seem to have slowed down for now, but should pick up again as the water warms up and clears up.
As VA anglers get their gear ready for the May 16 opening on slot fish (one per person, 20 to 28 inches) most anglers are getting prepared to search open waters with trolling gear; thanks to discolored waters from runoff and the stall in the spring warm-up, the shallows and river mouths don’t look like the best bet early on. A few stripers have been reported from the lower Potomac and in the mouth of the Rap, but not the numbers one might hope for. On the flip side of the coin, however, specks have disbursed through the region and reader reports of pairs and triples of keeper-sized specks have come in from as far north as Smith Point and even Point Lookout this week. Finding areas of clean water and tossing four-inch soft plastics or sub-surface plugs like MirrOlures has done the trick.
We didn’t get any reports of good bottom fishing in the Lower Bay as of yet, but spot and some croaker have been showing up in the pound nets recently so dropping bloodworms may well put some fish in the cooler. A few puffer fish have also been in the nets.
Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, May 8 Update:
Let’s start to the north with Maryland waters and the Potomac, since the trophy striper season has a good number of folks pumped to fish: the majority of opening trophy week’s catch came primarily from those trolling the channel edges and off of Point Lookout, and a few fish came from the lower parts of the river. The Tackle Box reported that while the bite was very hit or miss, guys pulling umbrellas, parachutes in tandem, and large bucktails were the ones catching. They oftentimes had to cover a lot of ground. Better reports came from points north, in the Chesapeake Beach to Bloody Point range, but of course fish in that area should be working their way southward. We note that for MD anglers, as of Thursday, May 7th at 7:00 a.m., recreational fishing activities including catch-and-release fishing opened up again. But anglers are expected to abide by social distancing guidelines, and maintain family groups with fewer than 10 individuals while on boats. Fishing tournaments remain prohibited, but the Department of Natural Resources has reopened fishing piers that had been closed and social distancing must also be practiced while fishing from piers or shore. All normal rules and regulations regarding fishing must be followed, including creel limits, gear restrictions, and seasons. Below the MD line, Virginia anglers are looking forward to next weekend’s May 16 striper opener, when they’ll be allowed one slot fish between 20 and 28 inches.
Up and down the western shore water clarity was fair out in the Bay, but the rivers have remained muddied for much of the week due to constant rain and runoff. While this hasn’t been great for numerous other fisheries, the cats done seem to mind it. Anglers hitting the tributaries have been reporting consistent dinner-sized catfish catches. Most are hitting menhaden and chicken livers fished on the bottom in the usual channels and holes.
The first reader reports of speckled trout moving up into Mobjack/Piankatank areas of the Bay came in this week! The numbers were still low (we heard from one angler with one fish and another with three, but two were undersized). This should change rapidly, however, as the waters clear up (assuming we get a break in the rain!) and continue to warm. It'll only get better from here on out, folks!
Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, May 1 Update:
Standard COVID-fishing disclosure, folks: wherever you live, there are probably some restrictions in place and some waterways made inaccessible. Our Social Distancing While Fishing page has links to the different state authority webpages with the latest info and updates on when, where, and how fishing can be done. With many businesses still closed, again we say thanks to all you readers who sent in reports and pictures. Please keep them coming to [email protected].
The Tackle Box reported that the bulk of reports coming in right now are from anglers fishing for catfish and white perch. While stained water put a bit of a damper on the white perch bite early in the week, anglers have been catching both nearshore and in open water using bloodworms and grass shrimp on bottom rigs. The catfish bite, however, continues to steal the show — multiple readers this week reported (photo confirmed) catches of catfish topping the 30-pound mark. While they wouldn’t disclose exact locations, most came from anglers fishing the Potomac using clam snouts, cut menhaden, and chicken livers on the bottom. Unfortunately, the recent rainfall will almost certainly shut down upriver areas of all the western shore tribs in both Virginia and Maryland to all options beyond catfish, for the immediate future.
What about stripers? Yeah, tomorrow is opening day for Maryland waters and we have zero intel, since no one’s been able to fish for them for a month… it’s looking a bit like a shot in the dark at this point. That said, pound netters have certainly been finding stripers in their nets so hopefully, they haven’t all bolted just yet. One thing we’ll note: with all the rain and mucked-up water, southern sections of the Lower Bay would certainly seem like the best bet.