Lower Chesapeake Bay fishing report, November 25 Update:
The lower Potomac River is a favorite destination for anglers in the late fall and we have seen plenty of action to support the hype this past week. Schools of rockfish are being found on both the Maryland and Virginia sides of the river along the main channel. Most of the fish have been holding close to bottom so depending on water depths it may take some heavier weights to get baits down to where the fish are suspended. The Tackle Box reports that good schools of rockfish have been concentrated between the 301 bridge and the mouth of the river. Light tackle jigging is an exciting way to target these fish. Soft plastics like BKDs paired with jigheads of an ounce or more is a common set up that works well. Keep an eye out for bird action while on the water as any concentration of birds may indicate schools of fish are close by.
The Rappahannock River has been providing plenty of action this week as well. A reader checked in after a day of dropping cut bunker in the Rapp near Leedstown, reporting that the blue catfish are feeding hard to fatten up for winter and five- to 25-pound fish hit every five or 10 minutes for two hours solid. Another boat fishing on the Rapp near the Norris Bridge reported catching their limit of rockfish with plenty of schoolies to keep them busy in between bigger bites. All of their fish were caught on storm shads or white bucktails paired with white soft plastic curly tails. White baits work particularly well this time of year as clean water provides improved visibility for feeding fish making bright colors stand out.
This season, let’s remember to be thankful for every opportunity we get to go fishing. Regardless of our successes, it is a blessing to enjoy the beauty and bounties in the outdoors of Delmarva. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Lower Chesapeake Bay fishing report, November 18 Update:
The Potomac has been a big attraction for anglers in the Lower Bay over the past few weeks as the rockfish bite continues to be excellent there. Boats trolling and jigging have had plenty of opportunities for hooking up on the rockfish in open water. Trolling is a good option for to get down where the fish are suspended close to the bottom. Pulling umbrella rigs with heavy inline sinkers works well to get baits into deep channel areas. White teasers and trailers have been favored this week with clear water conditions. Tandem rigged bucktails are also popular but will need heavy inline weights to get them down deeper.
One angler fishing the Potomac this week gave a report from his morning trip on the water. They trolled at two and a half knots near Herring Creek on a ledge between 25 and 35 feet of water using umbrella rigs with green, blue, white, and chartreuse six-inch shads. Their inline weights ranged from no weight to 20 ounces. Over the course of three hours, they caught 20 rockfish with most in the 14- to 19-inch range and two meeting keeper status at 22- and 24-inches. The Potomac is favored by many anglers this time of year due to its two fish recreational limit and a 20-inch minimum. The Tackle Box reported that schools of rockfish have been spread from the 301 bridge down to Point Lookout. The bite isn’t always wide open and depending on the day the fish tend to bite better during a certain tide or time of day. If you find a school with lockjaw, it may take some patience to wait for the bite to turn on but don’t give up. The action can start at any moment.
We didn’t have any reports this week of specks nor reds from the Lower Bay tribs, possibly because of a drop in effort or possibly due to the abrupt drop in water temperatures, both of course due to the weather. Surface temps fell like a rock in recent days and is now in the low 50s after being in the mid-60s just a week ago, so the temperature-sensitive species are likely changing their patterns in a big way; looking for fish around drop-offs and channel edges leading to 10-plus feet of water will probably be the move until and unless we get a bounce in the temps.
White Perch have retreated to their deeper water wintering areas and can be caught using bottom rigs baited with bloodworms. Oyster bars, shoals, and lumps between 20 and 40 foot of water will be holding fish. If you don’t want to bottom fish, jigging shad darts or small metal jigs is very effective at catching them in deep water. Make sure you have enough weight to get down on the school and you should be able to catch plenty for dinner.
Lower Chesapeake Bay fishing report, November 11 Update:
The striped bass fishery in the Potomac is providing some of the best rockfish fishing of the year. The Tackle Box reports that a better class of fish seems to be in the Potomac waters as fish into the upper 20s to low 30s are becoming more common. Most schools of fish have been in deeper water along channel ledges. When conditions are right these schools will push baitfish to the surface and break on them in a frenzy. Light tackle jigging is the most common tactic for these fish, but trolling tandems and umbrella rigs works well too. Tandems or single bucktails rigged with sassy shads work better in shallower areas and umbrella rigs with heavier inline sinkers work better in deeper waters where fish are holding close to bottom.
Lower Potomac areas such as Cobb Island down to St. Clements and Breton Bay have been producing good bites. An angler fishing last weekend had excellent trip for rockfish while out on the Potomac. All their fish were caught jigging along channel ledges between Cobb Island and the 301 Bridge. Their total haul for their efforts was 38 stripers, 10 of which met keeper status. (Remember the rockfish regulations in the Potomac is a two fish limit with a 20-inch minimum for recreational anglers versus one fish in MD waters and a fish in the slot in VA). They reported that the first hour of each tide cycle was when the best action took place. The hot lure was a three and a half ounce, eight-inch Ben Parker Magnum Flutter Spoon.
The white perch have moved out of the tidal rivers and into their deeper water areas for fall. They prefer hard bottom, especially oyster bars in water as deep as 40 feet during this time of year. Traditional bottom rigs baited with bloodworm work well for the perch. If you find a school of them, you will likely find plenty of large perch to put in the cooler.
We didn’t get any word from the lower Western Shore rivers this week but specks and puppy drum should still be a possibility along with the rockfish, with the water temps hovering around 60-degrees. Fingers are crossed that the incoming stormy weather doesn’t rile the waters and shut things down for a while.
Lower Chesapeake Bay fishing report, November 4 Update:
The Potomac has been providing some of the best striper action of the year right now. The Tackle Box reports that areas above the 301 Bridge to Ragged Point on both sides of the river have action with some schools holding fish in the 24- to 32-inch range. The fish are being caught on shallow water structure and out deeper into 30 feet of water. The shallows are more productive in the early mornings and the open water fishery gets better later into the day. Some anglers have been favoring the Potomac over points south since their regulations allow recreational anglers to keep two fish at a 20-inch minimum.
The blue catfish bite is also now very active in the Potomac. Mallows Bay has been a productive area to fish throughout the year and the blues can be caught casting or trolling lures and by baitfishing. The larger fish tend to prefer fresh cut menhaden fished on the bottom while smaller blue cats love to ambush chatterbaits and other artificial. Contributor Eric Packard confirmed the catfish bite is as strong as ever in the creeks off the Potomac this week, with enough aggressive blues around that he and a friend caught well over a dozen while casting chatterbaits (plus some on bait including one fattie around 30 pounds). Fall and winter is a great time to get out and fish for the monster blue cats that lurk in the Potomac.
A reader checked in after fishing Indian Creek with Electric Chicken paddletails on half-ounce jigheads, which attracted the attention of a number of stripers in the 14- to 22-inch class plus a redfish and a small flounder. He noted that drop-offs from five to 15 feet provided much of the action.
What about those big bull red drum that have been hot the past few weeks? Reports seem to have tapered out, at least for the time being. We'd still expect them to show up here and there but the best of the fall action may be behind us.
We should soon start to see sea bass show up in the lower Bay for the late fall bite, and it’s not too early to go looking for them. Most of the schools will be undersized but the last two seasons in a row there were reports of keeper sized fish mixed in, so if the same fish return there should be more for the taking. The sea bass can be found on reef and wreck structures. The best gear to use for them is jigging spoons and high-low rigs baited with squid.