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Fishing Reports
Weekly fishing reports for the Chesapeake Bay and Mid-Atlantic and surrounding region. If you would like to be notified via e-mail when our weekly fishing reports are updated, click here to sign up.
FishTalk fishing reports are presented by Anchor Boats, Brown Dog Marine, CCA MD, Riverside Marine, Suzuki Marine, and Tri-State-Marine
Coastal Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report, October 24 Update:
The winds have made it tough to get on the ocean lately during a month when there can be some great offshore fishing. Virginia Beach Sport Fishing reports that boats heading offshore are targeting reefs and wrecks for black sea bass. They are abundant at nearshore and offshore structures. Fresh cut bait, squid, and metal jigs work especially well when fishing reefs. VBSF also mentioned that boats heeding to the canyons out of Virginia… Read more from Coastal...
Freshwater Fishing Report, October 24 Update:
FishTalk Contributor Eric Packard said the unsettled weather threw a kink in the freshwater bite this week. On a midweek trip to a local lake, he and a friend located stacks of crappie, but very few were willing to bite even with live shiners on the hook. Bass were also off their feed, and only three took the bait all morning. It was a much different pattern than last week when Packard reported catching fifteen largemouth bass, ten pickerel, a… Read more from Freshwater...
Way North Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, October 24 Update:
Fishing reports were slim again this week as the weather was not in our favor. It has been very windy lately, and anglers have been restricted to wind-protected shorelines of smaller bodies of water. There is still some action at the Conowingo Dam pool, where anglers are casting lures into the turbine wash to catch striped bass. If you plan to target stripers here, it is best to use a large surfcasting rod to make long casts out into… Read more from Way North...
Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, October 24 Update:
The winds have been blowing this week, and it hasn’t made for easy fishing. Rockfish are a popular target for Bay anglers as they are schooling up to feed on baitfish that are exiting the tidal tributaries. The Patapsco River has been fishing well recently, and there are plenty of areas to fish that are near wind-protected shorelines. One reader checked in after fishing on the Patapsco this week. They reported that the rockfish were… Read more from Upper Bay...
Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, October 24 Update:
The Angler in Chief says rockfish action has been better than he’d hoped for this fall, with excellent bites at Thomas Point and along the rocks of Poplar Island. Most of the fish have been between 18” and 25” with a few pushing past that mark. White five-inch paddletails have been working great and Contributor Peter Turcik proved that white rabbit fur jigs got them biting hard, too. Topwater has also been good at sunrise, sunset, and… Read more from Middle Bay...
Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, October 24 Update:
The wind has been blowing lately, which has not made it easy for anglers, but it may be worth braving the wind as the bite has been good. A reader checked in and reported that the shallow water bite in the Piney Point area has been on fire for them recently. Half-ounce jigheads with four-inch paddletails have been the ticket while fishing docks or any structure in the seven-to-nine-foot range. Shad and natural colors are working well for… Read more from Lower Bay...
Tangier, Pocomoke, and Lower Shore Fishing Report, October 24 Update:
The winds have restricted anglers from getting out on the water lately. Wind protected shorelines and smaller tidal tributaries are some of the only places to fish when the wind machine is cranked up. Reports were slim again this week thanks to the weather, but there were a few reports showing that the rockfish bite is picking up. Sea Hawk Sports Center reports that the shallows have been productive for rockfish and a few… Read more from Tangier and Lower Shore...
Way South Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, October 24 Update:
The wind has been blowing, and blowing, and blowing this month, which has not made for the best fishing conditions. Anglers have had to rely on smaller tidal tributaries and wind-protected shorelines lately, but there has still been some very good fishing despite the weather. The striped bass bite has been going very strong in the lower James River and in the Elizabeth River. Night fishing has been especially productive around lighted… Read more from Way South...