October Way South and Virginia Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report 10/27/2017:
The southern part of the Bay has experienced a significant change in the fishing as the weather has cooled down, prompting many species to begin migrating back south. Spanish mackerel and cobia have pulled a disappearing act and redfish are still present but their numbers are down as well. Fortunately, flounder have continued to stick around the CBBT, and have primarily been hitting jig heads near or bounced off bottom. Oceans East suggests using white tails, for the best results. In addition to the flounder, sheepshead are holding bayside as well, and are also in the inlet. Sand fleas fished on bottom rigs close to the structure is the best bet and will produce some tog at the same time. Rudee is producing some flounder, some speckled trout, and a red here and there. Again white jigs are doing the trick and it never hurts to use GULP as opposed to regular plastics.
In the ocean, flounder have also continued to hold around the wrecks, where they’re mixed in with the sea bass and tog catch. Tog are biting best on green crab and peeler crab. To focus on the flounder, drift Fluke Killers dressed with GULP Swimming mullet in white and pink. Bass have re-opened and are being caught in good numbers, still on clam baits, and also by some anglers dropping jigs on them.
Inshore trollers are catching blues on spoons, but the mackerel are gone.
Up inside the Bay there continues to be a decent shallow water bite for both speckled trout and small rockfish on topwater at daybreak, then jigs and Mir-O-Lures as the sun comes up. We didn't gather any new site-specific intel for that specific bite this week but previous reports have indicated Poquoson and the mouth of the Rappahannock for several week's running. We did hear from one reader with a report (unconfirmed) of breaking stripers under working birds near Smith Point.
October Way South and Virginia Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report 10/20/2017:
The CBBT has been holding a fair amount of flounder this past week, according to Oceans East. Flounder have primarily been taking jigs drifted along bottom, as well as cut bait. Finding them has been hit or miss, and Bishop’s reported it’s been taking a few drifts to locate them. Rudee is holding a mix of specks and reds in decent, but not huge, numbers. Anglers fishing outside the inlet have been finding a few larger redfish including a few over the (46-inch) citation size. Fishing live spot, mullet, and/or soft crab on bottom has been a top way of getting them on the line.
Bayside, this year is still seeing a strong run of sheepshead. Green crab and sand fleas have been bait of choice, however we did have reports of success using clam. Mixed in with the sheepshead catch have been a taugtog which are becoming more and more common lately, and even some redfish. Keep your baits very close to the structure to get the sheepshead and tog. In addition, some bluefish are still hanging out in southernmost areas of the bay and along the beach, and have been hitting small trolled spoons.
The shallows of the western shore river mouths and bays are still producing a decent bite for jiggers and topwater anglers chasing small stripers and some speckled sea trout. MirrOlures keep getting mentioned, as well as the usual plastics. White, pearl, and silver colors continue to be top producers and Poquoson and the mouth of the Rappahannock were again mentioned as top picks.
Fishing the surf has allowed for anglers to continue catching kingfish, however as water cools down they’re moving south. Tossing sand flea into the surf has proven to bring those in, as well as some undersized bluefish.
Offshore remains a disappointment, just like the rest of the season, but there are still small mahi on the balls and a wahoo or billfish popping up here and there. See the Coastal report for more oceanic info.
October Way South and Virginia Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report 10/13/2017:
Not much action has been occurring on the ocean front, according to Oceans East Tackle Shop. A few flounder are still being caught around the bridges, however most are drastically undersized, around the nine to 13 inch range - as seems to be the case throughout much of the Chesapeake region. Targeting flatfish on the inshore wrecks and reefs is a better option, if you want to find some keepers and if the weather allows. Five and six inch GULP swimming mullet in white and chartreuse is a top bait choice. Redfish have been hit or miss in the inlet, and seem to be sticking around channel edges.
Inshore anglers are finding some drum while fishing bait, and trollers picked up bluefish and Spanish mackerel on spoons this week. Offshore is still looking pretty thin. The weather has kept most of the boats from running out to the deep lately, and those that have made it out have found little more than chicken dolphin on the lobster pots and flotsam.
Some reds have been mixed in with the surf catch, where anglers have been throwing out bait. Heavier cut mullet and spot baits have tended to produce some sharks, rays, and the red drum, while smaller baits like bloodworms and squid are bringing in kingfish and some small snapper blues. Buckroe Pier has also been producing some bottom fish and snapper blues for anglers casting the same baits, and a reader checked in and said the same was true of the area around the Cement ships, where a mix of spot, small founder, croaker, puffers, and kingfish was caught on bottom rigs baited with bloodworms.
Inside the inlet and around the jetties a sheepshead bite has been productive, with most taking sand flea and green crab baits. Tautog are around the jetties and bridge areas, too, with a few keepers in the mix. Anglers hitting the CBBT fishing close to the pilings and rocks are scoring a few of those legal tog and sheepshead (use sand fleas to have a good chance for both species) and there are also a few reds being reported from around the bridge.
October Way South and Virginia Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report 10/6/2017:
Weather the past few weeks has made it hard to catch fish, and (catch and release only) cobia fishing has died down significantly, as has most offshore activity. Those who can make it out to the canyons are finding plenty of mahi, a few wahoo, and fewer tuna. Inshore, Spanish are thinning out and it's mostly bluefish for trollers and flounder for anglers working the wrecks and reefs. Oceans East has had some reports of red drum near Lynnhaven , as well as Spanish Mackerel. Both species are taking mullet. Flounder are scattered throughout the inlet, however the vast majority of those being caught are undersized. In addition to the flounder, small speckled trout are hanging around the inlets at Rudee and Lynnhaven, and are hitting MirrOlures and soft plastics.
Surf fishermen have encountered spot, a few kingfish, and snapper blues when the waves have been small enough to hold bottom.
Bottom fishermen throughout the area are catching plenty of spot, a few kingfish, and a flounder here and there, mostly using bloodworms or peeler crab on bottom rigs. Close to the structure at the CBBT sheepshead are also in the mix, if you have some sand fleas or peeler crab for bait. Bottom fishermen working near Cherrystone and Kiptopeke are still encountering some decent croaker, mixed in with the spot.
A bit farther up inside the Bay, speckled trout have been mixed in with (mostly small) stripers for anglers casting soft plastics like Bass Assassins, in white and pearl. MirrOlures have also been effective. They're being caught over the flats at Poquoson, and recently at shallows and shoreline edges around the mouth of the Rappahannock, up to the mouth of the Corrotoman, and in Fleets Bay. J & W pegged the mouth of the Rap as the best bet. At daybreak topwater has been effective, too, but it's best to switch to sub-surface once the sun is in the sky.