Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, October 28 Update:
As we approach the end of Rocktober we are seeing some of the best striper action of the year. The Potomac has been a hotspot with breaking fish and lots of bird action reported this week. The Tackle Box reports that the rockfish are in the Potomac in big schools on the Maryland side in the mouth of the Wicomico from Cobb Island to St. Clements Island and at Ragged Point. Boats finding the schools are casting paddletails and BKD’s on jigheads when the schools are breaking and dropping down the same baits to snap jig when the schools are holding deeper. Trollers have been doing well with tandems and smaller umbrella rigs along deeper edges. If you are trolling and come across breaking fish, try to work the outside of the school and not troll right through the middle as this can push the fish down and scatter them. In the shallows, boats and kayak anglers are catching quality stripers by casting to shoreline structure and trolling single bucktails. Most of the keeper fish being caught are 20" to 30" with the majority about 22" to 24". An important thing to note is that the Potomac fishery allows for two fish per day at a 20-inch minimum.
The Angler in Chief reports encountering some tough fishing in the Piankatank and Milford Haven last weekend, casting until his arm grew tired to score just one small speckled trout. Back at the boat ramp a survey of three other boats showed similarly lackluster results with two drum, a cutlassfish, two specks, and a flounder making for the combined catch of all the boats. Ouch! One of the local anglers did say that a few days earlier the bite had been much better, and a healthy mix of specks and reds had been hitting five-inch Electric Chicken ZMans. Reports this week from anglers fishing the Rappahannock and Corrotoman River’s showed decent speckled trout. One angler fishing the eastern branch of the Corrotoman caught specks into the low 20’s while working the bars and ledges along grass beds. If you aren’t having much luck, try searching for different shallow areas with grass and clean water. Now is a great time to get out and search for that gator trout.
Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, October 20 Update:
Fall is off to a strong start and has already brought with it a few cold fronts. The fronts have dropped water temperatures significantly in many places and made for pattern changes in the rivers and Bay. Anglers have been quick to take advantage of this and are reporting steady fishing in many regions of the Lower Bay. Contributor Eric Packard hit the lower Potomac via kayak and reported a mixed bag of rockfish up into the mid-20s, a couple under-slot redfish, and some black sea bass and lizard fish. He noted that the bite was best in the shallows up on the shoreline, along rip-rap. We also had a reader report come in from the Potomac of excellent action on rockfish in the mid-20s, hitting trolled bucktails near Colonial Beach.
The speckled trout fishing in the rivers of Virginia has been excellent as water temperatures have dropped. An angler fishing the Corrotoman river caught his personal best speck at 24 inches. The fish was caught under a school of feeding rockfish in 14-foot of water. Another angler fishing the Poropotank reported catching plenty of white perch and a 21-inch striper all on the fly. He said the puppy drum were there too but all were in the 14-to-16 inch range. On another trip targeting speckled trout in the Piankatank, he reported two 17 and a half inch keepers plus plenty of small stripers, puppy drum, flounder, and small black drum.
The Rappahannock River has also been great for those targeting rockfish this week. Fishermen are catching plenty of keepers by throwing lures in the shallows and by trolling umbrella rigs along the deeper edges of the river. There was a pretty cool sighting out of the Rappahannock this week as well - manatee was spotted and confirmed with video and pictures swimming about in the river. That’s something you don’t see everyday in a Chesapeake Bay tributary!
Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, October 14 Update:
After a slow start to fishing for the month famously known as Rocktober, we are getting back on schedule for some awesome fall fishing. Healthy fish in the 20- to 30-inch range with plenty of schoolies in the mix have been around. Anglers fishing topwater and the shallows near the mouths of the tributaries have been doing well and out deep in the mainstem Bay, trollers are catching fish anywhere from 25 to 40 feet of water along ledges and oyster bars. The deeper fish have been biting better during moving currents. Apex Predators Guide Service has been burning up the rockfish on the Potomac, using six-inch Sassy Shads paired with one- and one-half ounce jig heads. The rockfish have mostly been in the mid-20s and they have been catching some solid blue cats in the mix as well.
Those big red drum which were up the Bay seem to be on their way marching south and are prowling the waters in the Stingray Point area. One reader reporting success on bulls to 47 inches while casting bucktails, and another chalked up four over 40 inches and then a 48-incher a day later.
The Tackle Box reported that the white perch have been schooling up and that there were reports of boats boxing up to 60 fish in an outing. Jigging for them using small metal jigs has worked great but bottom rigs tipped with blood worm will do the trick too. The perch have also been stacked up in deeper water near oyster bars in the rivers and Bay for fishermen to enjoy.
Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, October 6 Update:
The aftermath of Hurricane Ian has left much of the Bay muddy from all the runoff creating tough fishing conditions. Guide Pete Dahlberg of Four Seasons Guide Service said early this week that despite missing a direct blow on our area Ian had caused more cancellations than any one weather event he could remember. He said he hadn’t fished for six days straight and was still waiting for the conditions to improve enough to get back out there and see what the fish were doing. The shorelines of the Lower Bay and its tidal rivers should be holding striped bass, puppy drum, speckled trout, and bluefish. Clean water is key for targeting these fish in the shallows so it may take a few days before conditions become favorable. Once they do, try casting topwater poppers, jerk baits, and paddle tails. If your paddletails are coming back with the tails bitten off, that’s a good indication that there are small bluefish in the area. Light tackle jigging along channel ledges will soon become a popular option as rockfish begin to school up in deeper water feeding on the baitfish that are pushing out of the tidal rivers as water temperatures drop. Prior to the blow the Apex Predators crew was out with Ken from Ken’s Marine in Stafford, VA fishing the lower Potomac. They reported rockfish up to 28 inches and plenty of schoolies caught on artificial lures. Virginia’s rockfish season opened on October 4 and will be open until December 31. The slot for rockfish is a minimum of 20 inches and a maximum of 36 inches and the possession limit is one per angler.
The recent rain and cooler temperatures have likely pushed most of the remaining mackerel out of Maryland waters but anglers fishing in the Virginia portion of the Bay still have time to get out and try their hand at the mackerel. Small gold Clark and Drone spoons trolled behind number one planers on a fast troll is a good tactic for the mackerel along channel edges. If breaking fish present themselves, cast metal jigs and spoons and reel as fast as you can for some fun action. The bluefish will likely hang around longer than the mackerel and will be found feeding on baitfish with the rockfish. The Rappahannock and York River have been providing some great speckled trout fishing for angler as of late. Cooler water temperatures have the specks in the shallows feeding hard. Multiple anglers reported days of 20 or more fish in the past week with most of the specks in the 12-to-20-inch range. Some puppy drum are being caught in the mix as well. The best lures have been MirrOlures and Gulp! Shrimp worked under a popping cork. Let’s hope for some good fishing this weekend and into next week!