Way South Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, April 24 Update:
With travel and access restrictions still limiting fishing opportunities in some areas, we note that if you’re headed out to fish all the regular regs for the season are still in place and social distancing orders are a go, even if you’re on the water, whether you live in Delaware, Maryland, or Virginia. Don’t forget that our Social Distancing While Fishing page has links to all the different state authority webpages with the latest info and updates on when, where, and how fishing is allowed. With many businesses still closed, we’d also like to give a big thanks to all you readers who sent in reports and pictures. Please keep them coming to [email protected].
With spring making its presence know, the area around the mouth of the Bay is seeing a bit (okay, a lot!) more action than elsewhere. Oceans East reported that the flounder catch is continuing a strong kick-off, with plenty of keepers coming in as far up as the CBBT. They let us know that most anglers are catching them by bouncing pink or pearl soft plastics off bottom or drifting chunks of squid. The speckled trout fishery is continuing to take off as well. Plenty are coming out of the inlets and local rivers, including the Elizabeth, and some anglers are coming in with eight or 10 fish after an outing. Plastics, MirrOlures, and Rapalas are all working well right now. Slot red drum are also in the mix at times. A few bluefish are beginning to show up in the inlets and along the beach as well, although only in small numbers and sizes thus far, and the first of the spot and blowfish have also been reported by pier anglers. It's beginning people... it's beginning.
Anglers fishing the shoals are also seeing more and more drum show up, both blacks and reds, with boats reporting zero to three or four fish for their efforts. The Fisherman’s Island/Cape Charles zone has been providing the most reports, but some have also now come in from inside the CBBT. Speaking of the CBBT: the tog bite has also continued to improve there (crab baits fished close to structure) and some continue to be caught at the cement ships, as well – they’re in for a couple more weeks, so get ‘em while the getting is good!
Way South Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, April 17 Update:
With travel restrictions still limiting fishing opportunities in many areas, we remind you that if you’re headed out to fish all the regular regs for the season are still in place and social distancing orders are a go, even if you’re on the water, whether you live in Delaware, Maryland, or Virginia. Don’t forget that our Social Distancing While Fishing page has links to all the different state authority webpages with the latest info and updates on when, where, and how fishing is allowed. With many businesses still closed, we’d also like to give a big thanks to all you readers who sent in reports and pictures. Please keep them coming to [email protected].
This may not be entirely unexpected considering the time of year but it certainly does make a nice headline: the drum are here. We heard of both blacks and big reds off Cape Charles and in the shoals, but more importantly for anglers in search of a full cooler, we heard from multiple readers who limited out on slot fish this week. Meanwhile, other options for anglers in this zone of the region expanded rapidly this week. More and more flounder reports are streaming in from anglers who’ve been hitting the inlets and reefs near the mouth of the Bay. Most are using six-inch chartreuse, pearl, and pink soft plastics and Gulp! lures bounced off the bottom, or drifting squid chunks for them. Many of the flounder reported to Ocean’s East this week were keeper-sized, and will put dinner on the table.
Tautog reports are also holding up from anglers hitting the CBBT, Cement Ships, and other structure with crab baits (both peelers and fiddlers). And the better than average speck bite has continued toprovide solid action in the Elizabeth and in the inlets, with more fish becoming more active by the day and hitting four-inch soft chartreuse, white, and pink plastics and Gulp! lures. Bait fishermen are having success on the specks using shrimp.
Way South Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, April 10 Update:
Hey, anglers! With fishing in many parts of our turf limited to sustenance only, we remind you that if you’re headed out to fish all the regular regs for the season are still in place and social distancing orders are a go, even if you’re on the water, whether you live in Delaware, Maryland, or Virginia. Don’t forget that our Social Distancing While Fishing page has links to all the different state authority webpages with the latest info and updates on when, where, and how fishing is allowed. That said, in light of the current circumstances many of our local, well-loved tackle shops have closed their doors for the time being. Every week since FishTalk’s founding they’ve contributed much of the information for this report, which we’re immensely thankful for. As many of them are shuttered for now, we’d like to thank you readers for the reports you sent in via email this week. You’re all helping us keep the reports going during these unprecedented times, and we hope that they help everyone – especially those who have a real need for harvesting their own dinners – hone in on their fishing plans for the weekend. Again, a big thanks to everyone who’s chimed in, and please send future pictures, reports, and updates to [email protected].
Oceans East still has reports of flounder rolling in from anglers jigging the inlets and inshore, but the focus recently has shifted to speckled trout. They’re showing up in greater numbers along the shoals, grass beds, and edges. The bite in the Elizabeth has remained good, and this week the inlets also produced some action. As well as increasing in numbers, some bigger fish have showed up too. One angler this week reported catching a speck that topped the 25-inch mark. MirrOlures, sparkly soft-plastic jerkbaits, and spoons have been the ticket to landing them. Around the CBBT and the cement ships, tog are still taking peeler crab chunks. We didn’t hear of any black drum being caught inside the Bay this week, but several have now been caught in the surf so it’s only a matter of time. We did also hear a rumor of the first bluefish being caught, but just a rumor... for now.
Way South Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, April 3 Update:
Fellow FishTalkers: We know you’re all rearing to get out of the house and on the water like we are. We live and breathe fishing, and are quite bummed about the limits placed upon being on the water right now. With limits regarding who can be out and about right now, as well as reduced hours and customer contact in most tackle shops, we’d like to forewarn you that the reports are going to be a bit thin this week and probably will remain so until this blows over. We also know there’s been a lot of confusion over exactly what the current regulations are regarding when and where you can or can not go fishing. We can’t tell you the regs in this report because they differ by the area and are changing by the day, but visit our Social Distancing While Fishing page, and in the fourth paragraph you’ll find links to the different regional, state, and federal agency websites and announcements regarding the legalities.
Reports of flounder have been coming in at Oceans East. Most fish are being caught inshore and in the inlets, in shallow water. Jigging for them has been the best bet. In the Elizabeth River, reports of speckled trout are starting to pop up in greater numbers. They’ve been hanging around grassy beds and edges, taking MirrOlures, spoons, and sparkly jerk-baits. Tog are still around the CBBT and the cement ships taking peeler crab chunks, and we had one reader report of a limit catch this week next to structure in about 25 feet of water.