Way South Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, August 26 Update:
The fishing opportunities are endless in the southern reaches of the Chesapeake Bay. Some of the best fishing will come from the end of this month through September. The best cobia fishing in the region continues to come out of Virginia Beach and up to Kiptopeake. Sight fishing with live eels for these gamefish has been the most productive. Those opting to use chunks of cut bait have been picking up a few fish along with some drum. Several boats reported cobia exceeding 50 pounds last week. In the coming weeks, the cobia will prepare to head south and should provide outstanding sight fishing action until the season closes on September 15. Spanish mackerel, bluefish, and ribbonfish trolling remains very productive.
The Angler in Chief reports making a venture to the Concrete Ships in search of sheepshead late this week, and says they caught just one nice five-pound sheep (on sand flea, right up against the ship) but the action was nonstop and fishing shrimp and fleas produced a wide variety of fish including (small) flounder, kingfish (the roundhead kind), keeper-sized croaker, and some nice gray trout, with the catch highlighted by a 24.5-inch slot redfish. He also said a nice class of Spanish mackerel up to 24 inches with a few blues mixed in was busting water just outside the ships and at times within casting distance of the ships themselves, providing nonstop action until everyone’s arms grew tired. The breaking fish were favoring three-inch olive and white spoons and were also hitting silver, but strangely, ignoring some other standard colors like white/pink and chartreuse.
Big red drum are still roaming about around the shoals of the barrier islands in the southern Bay. Virginia Beach Sport Fishing expects the reds to start showing up more around the artificial islands of the CBBT. They recommend using fresh cut bait for these bullish fish. We checked in with Oceans East for the flounder report. Catches of the flatfish are improving along the coast and throughout the Bay. The CBBT pilons, the rocks that cover the tunnels, and coastal wrecks have been sheltering the most fish. Rudee Creek and Little Creek have also been hotspots. The inlets and bay-side creeks of the Eastern Shore have been holding good numbers of speckled trout and puppy drum.
Way South Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, August 19 Update:
We are starting to get into some of the best fishing of the year as we move later into summer. Cobia fishing is peaking in the southernmost areas of the Bay. We checked in with Virginia Beach Sport Fishing who reports that many charters in the area are catching limits on their trips. Sight casting with live eels has continued to be the most effective method, though it's worth noting that trolling with 18-inch tube hoses in pink, purple, or tan can produce hook ups. Now through September is when some of the largest fish seem to be weighed in so get out there before the season closes on September 15th. The red drum are still cruising around, although catches of the larger fish have seemed to have temporarily slowed. Black drum are starting to be caught in the same areas as the reds as well. Hampton Roads Correspondent Chuck Harrison got out this week for a few hours and found a school of red drum at the HRBT. He had the school all to himself and caught fish from 18 to 35 inches. He also managed to catch a nice 17-inch flounder.
Schools of large yellow belly spot will start showing up in local waters soon. They can provide some great fishing for anglers of all ages. When they are biting good, you’ll be getting hits as soon as your bait hits bottom. Bloodworms are the best bait to use but with prices high, bloodworm flavored Fishbites will do the job just as well. VBSF also reports that spadefish, sheepshead, and a few triggerfish are still hanging around the CBBT pilings and islands. A reader checked in with some beautiful sheepshead in the box, caught while fishing at the cement ships. A very interesting reader report also came in of an albino catfish (the second one we’ve heard of this month!) that was caught in Hampton. The speckled trout bite has picked up slightly in bayside creeks along the Eastern Shore. If cooler temperatures persist, the bite should continue to get better.
Way South Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, August 12 Update:
The cobia bite is still great in the southernmost part of the Bay. Reports this week showed many boats catching multiple fish during trips but it was a steady mix of legal and undersized. A reader report from Cape Charles targeting cobia said the sight fishing bite was red-hot mid-week, with one boat reporting nine and most being keeper-sized fish. Sight casting eels on calm, sunny days continues to prevail as the most productive method for targeting these fish. Those throwing artificial baits had success casting Bucktails and Z-Man Mag Swimz. When conditions weren’t ideal, bottom fishing with cut bait did produce some hooks ups this week, but it was an overall slower bite than those sight fishing. Cobia breaking the 50-inch mark are becoming more common as we move later into summer.
Large schools of bull reds continue to frequent the southernmost areas of the Bay. If you are lucky enough get a calm day, you may be rewarded with a school breaking on the surface where you can catch and release a bunch. Hampton correspondent Chuck Harrison had success targeting puppy drum this week, launching out of Hampton and catching fish near the Mercury Boulevard Bridge in Mill Creek.
An exciting development this week was reported from Long Bay Pointe Bait and Tackle. They confirmed a solid pompano bite around the CBBT islands. That’s right, Chesapeake Bay Pompano, and even some citation sized fish over three pounds! The spadefish also continued to be in good numbers this week around the CBBT. Dropping down clam bits on a few size two to 2/0 circle hooks is a reliable choice when targeting spades. We checked in with Oceans East who reported that Spanish mackerel and ribbonfish continue to keep inshore anglers busy. Trolling Clarkspoons behind number one and two planers has been the best set up for mackerel. Lipped diving plugs about 15 feet down are the go-to for those targeting cutlassfish. Virginia Beach Sport Fishing confirms several nice flounder limits were had this week. Drifting live bait has been enticing the larger fish but jigged bucktails are also producing. Hot spots appear to be the CBBT and near the Cell, along with some keepers coming from inside the local inlets during the last of the flood and first of the ebb tides.
Way South Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, August 5 Update:
We have a new Fishing Reports editor, folks! FishTalk welcomes Dillon Waters to the team, an angler who has sent in reader photos in the past that have made us thoroughly jealous — stripers, specks, and reds that any of us would be thrilled to catch. Dillon says:
“I’m a lifelong resident of Maryland. What an awesome state for fishing, right? I’m an avid outdoorsman and my main hobbies include fishing, hunting, and photography. If I have any free time, you will either find me on the water or in the woods! I graduated from St. Mary's College of Maryland in 2021 with a B.S. in Biology and Environmental Studies and currently have a full-time position with the Department of Natural Resources Wildlife and Heritage Service working as a wildlife response technician. My favorite freshwater fish to catch is crappie (St. Mary's Lake has been very reliable) and my favorite saltwater fish to catch are speckled trout (the Tangier Sound is a beautiful place to target them). One of my other big interests is baseball — go O's! I look forward to being able to provide detailed and accurate reports to FishTalk’s readers moving forward.”
Welcome aboard, Dillon!
Unfortunately, the effects of the recent Omega Protein fish spill are still being felt on the east side. Fishing in the York and Elizabeth Rivers has continued to be best during the early mornings and late evenings. A fair number of slot reds are being caught in both rivers and Gulp! tails seem to be doing the trick. Try to hone in on areas with clean water. Hampton Correspondent Chuck Harrison made a short trip out to the HRBT and didn’t find much there, but a quick shift in tactics to trolling along the beach from Old Point Comfort to Buckroe produced both good numbers of Spanish mackerel and bluefish.
The most spectacular reader report of the month goes to Anthony — for sure — who checked in after fishing the CBBT pilings and not only getting into sheepshead on fiddlers, but also Spanish mackerel, blues, and (short) flounder while jigging red/white and chartreuse/white metal. The real capper, however, was then getting into multiple schools of pompano feeding on schools of bait near the pilings. Congrats on an EPIC day on the water!
Oceans East continues to report good numbers of cobia and steady numbers of bull redfish in the areas around the CBBT. It appears this is still the area with the highest concentration of cobia, so if you want to target them, this is your safest bet. Sight fishermen have had the most success when conditions have allowed it, otherwise throwing out live eels is the way to go. Anglers aiming to target bridge-tunnel structure have continued to find good numbers of sheepshead with reports of many citation sized fish up to 13 pounds! Dropping down fiddler crabs is the bait of choice for these anglers. If you feel a bite, you better be quick — those fish are thieves.