Way South Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, June 2022

Way South Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, June 23 Update:

Although the breeze may have depressed effort a bit over the Father’s Day weekend several reader reports of catching big bull reds from undisclosed specific locations at the mouth of the Bay came in this week after the wind slacked off a bit, with spotting the schools and casting bucktails dressed with twisters a top move. Many of the fish being caught are utterly massive and one was reported just an inch shy of the 50 mark this week. A few sheepshead are also in the reports, hitting crab chunks along the CBBT pilings and at the islands. Hampton Correspondent Chuck Harrison made it out for a morning early in the week and found bluefish plus a Spanish mackerel scattered around the second island, but couldn’t find spades nor triggers willing to bite; a kayak angler he spoke with back at the dock had one just-keeper flounder aboard.

sheepshead at the cbbt
Jack got into the sheepshead, catching one over 10 pounds and a couple more close to that mark.

A few cobia reports came in as well, though not as many as one would have hoped for after the first weekend of open season. One reader who tried chumming rather than sight fishing noted that the biggest problem was weeding through the rays, and though he had countless bites, only two of them panned out to be actual cobia and only one of those was a keeper fish. Still, we had better reports from this zone than further north. In upcoming weeks we expect to see more moving in!

The same is true with bluefish and Spanish mackerel. We had some good reports of them off the coast, and should see more fish coming up the Bay soon. Coastal reports of flounder are also excellent this season, and continued this week; one angler we checked in with landed four in the ESVA surf, so again the outlook is good for an uptick in the action we’ve seen to date.


Way South Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, June 16 Update:

You want options??? The VA coast and mouth of the Bay has some of the best fishing you’ll find in the Mid-Atlantic right now. Rudee and Lynnhaven inlets maintain a poppin’ speckled trout and redfish bite. Both species have been very active and taking their preferred eats: four- to five-inch paddle-tails, with some sparkle are really standing out for the specks. They’re also holding around the edges of marshes. At the CBBT, we had good reader reports from anglers who fished for spadefish (clam bits) and sheepshead (sand fleas and crab baits). Just as exciting is the influx of Spanish mackerel and bluefish. The Spanish mackerel have been chasing spoons, and trollers targeting them report that although they aren’t totally on yet, more and more are coming to the area by the day and some multi-dozen catches have now been made. A few ribbonfish were reported in the mix, as well.

redfish in the chesapeake
The "Bay Boys" got into 'em THICK!

There are some epic schools of redfish at the mouth of the Bay, and a couple of readers reported getting into them thick. 1.5-ounce bucktails given a five second sink on 40-pound braid did the trick, after schools were sighted or the fish were sighted on the meter. Reports have come all around the dial, from outside the CBBT, around the islands, and inside the Bay, so these big schools are roving around and could be encountered just about anywhere at this point in time.

Cobia are in town and now officially in season. By all reports chummers have been doing best, though they have to fight the usual ray factor. Live eels set on bottom next to the chum have been catching the most fish. Ocean’s East is reporting that an 80-plus-pounder has already been weighed in, and the luckiest among the sight fishers are spotting reds on the surface even when their sights are set on the cobia. Talk about the potential for epic angling!!


Way South Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, June 10 Update:

The cobia are coming! Well, actually they’re already here — though the season doesn’t open up “for real” until the 15th, multiple catch-and-release reports came in this week including fish up to 60-plus inches. A few have even been spotted as far up the Bay as the Rap, so when the season opens up the numbers should be solid.

bluefish fishing
Blues are in town and some big ones have popped up, though the bulk of the reports are of snappers.

A few chopper blues have been reported along with plentiful snappers, but Hampton Correspondent Chuck Harrison reported that the bite seemed to be off last weekend at the CBBT. The bluefish didn't bite for him and spades and triggers refused to cooperate as well even though the presence of all these species has been thoroughly confirmed at this point. Switching up tactics and trolling produced a single 20-inch Spanish mackerel. Reports of mackerel in general are on the uptick, and while the bite’s still better outside of the Bay, anglers on the Virginia Beach fishing pier have had some strong catches and loners have been reported all the way up to Maryland - so this bite could really bust loose at any moment.

In the inlets there’s still a good bite going for both specks and slot redfish, though on weekends you can expect a crowd in many areas. Bigger bull reds are being caught near the islands and on the shoals, but the blacks that had also been keeping anglers busy recently seem to have scattered a bit. Crab baits are still a good move but this week we also heard from a reader who tied into reds via sight fishing and casting jigs, after spotting a school at an undisclosed location.

Where the heck are the flounder? We don’t know. Sea Hawk and others are reporting a great bite in the ESVA bays, but in the Chesapeake we still haven’t been hearing about them in any real numbers. Bottom fishing also seems a tick behind, with more reports of roundhead than spot or croaker… and bloodworms the best bait but costing more than three gallons of gas…


Way South Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, June 3 Update:

Reports are currently excellent throughout the Chesapeake, but the mouth of the Bay is certainly holding the most species. Speckled trout, bull reds, black drum, sheepshead, and flounder are all in town! And the big news… cobia are now off the oceanfront and entering the bay!!! They aren’t open for keeping until June 15th, but anglers have caught and released (photo confirmed) good numbers already so hopefully we’re in for a bang-up season.

cobia
Guess who's come back to town?!? Cobia season doesn't officially open until June 15, but the fish have officially arrived.

The speckled trout have been providing some wicked good action, particularly in the creek salt marshes and grasses. Ocean’s East let us know that reports of speckled trout over 20 inches continued throughout this week, as well as many in the upper teens. Most fish were caught on four-to-five-inch paddle or twister tails; chartreuse, pink, salt and pepper, electric chicken, and white were favorite colors identified by both Ocean’s East and Sea Hawk. Speckled trout and puppy drum can also be found in the inlets; Rudee and Lynnhaven have had wicked bites recently. However, now that summer has begun, once again we’re hearing that it can get crowded in both inlets particularly on weekends. Night fishing is a good way to combat contending with the fleet. A few striped bass have also made a guest appearance in the shallows, on soft plastic paddle-tails and jerk shad generally intended for the specks and reds.

Bull reds seem to be hitting the spring peak, as we heard from one reader who was on a boat fishing near the CBBT zone which landed a half-dozen over the 40-inch mark. Most people are slinging jigs but some anglers are opting to troll for them with large spoons and Drones. Latimer shoal was noted as a good spot for trollers this week. Dropping down cut peeler crab is also highly effective, but some anglers are shying away from this option due to an over-abundance of skates in the area. They’re proving highly disruptive for bait fishers dropping any sort of edible tidbit into the water. Black drum are taking clam around Fisherman’s Island to Cape Charles, the Cabbage patch, and off Kiptopeke.

Sheepshead are around the CBBT in decent numbers now, happy to take crabs baits, and the islands and the High Rise both got a nod this week for producing fish. A few flounder are also showing up, though not in the numbers one would hope for.