Lower Bay Fishing Reports

Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, August 29 Update:

Anglers in the Lower Bay have been hitting the Potomac River now that striped bass season has reopened. Contributor Eric Packard reports mixed results on different days of fishing the Potomac, with some excellent striper action on rockfish casting four-inch plastics up near Morgantown, but a much slower bite a few days later at Point Lookout. Another pair of readers reported that they have found good action for striped bass and some Spanish mackerel in the main stem of the Lower Bay. The shallows of the Potomac River from the mouth to the 301 bridge have had mixed results for white perch and striped bass since the flood tides last week thanks to Hurricane Erin moving up the East Coast. Reports indicate that there are good numbers of small perch in the shallows, but the better grade of perch have been hanging in slightly deeper water (five to 10 foot range) around the oyster bars in the river. Captain Chad Koenig from Dog Days Fishing reported that the first week of striped bass season since the reopening was tougher than expected. The wonky tides from the coastal storm made for a slow bite last week, but one day his crew boated over 30 keepers on the fly. Another trip saw almost double the number of fish landed, along with a dozen over slot fish up to 27.5”.

The puppy drum have not shown up yet in any numbers comparable to last year. A few have been caught on the Potomac, but the catches are few and far between. The better numbers of puppy drum in the Lower Bay are still located from the Rappahannock south. One angler reported a good puppy drum bite while fishing at the mouth of the York River near Goodwin Island last week. The speckled trout bite has also been on the slow side. It should pick up as we head into the fall, especially if we start to see shrimp in the tidal rivers. Speckled trout feed heavily on shrimp, and in years past, the grass flats have been great locations to find them foraging. Popping corks paired with shrimp soft plastic baits should be in your tackle arsenal over the next two months. On the main stem of the Bay, the bite for bluefish, red drum, and cobia has been tough at best over the last two weeks. It has taken a lot of running around to find bites. The blues have not been feeding on the surface as much, making them almost as hard to find as the bull reds. Cobia have been spotted on the surface, but they have been spooky and not always reactive to lures or live bait thrown their way. Hopefully, things will pick up if we get into a more stable weather pattern.

Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, August 22 Update:

Late summer is a fun time to fish on the Chesapeake Bay because you never know what you might catch. FishTalk Contributor Eric Packard has been fishing out of Point Lookout on his kayak quite a bit recently and reports a decent bite. Packard has been catching speckled trout, striped bass (some overslot), small bluefish, lizardfish, and pufferfish. The northern pufferfish numbers have been growing, and they are a neat bycatch that visits our waters in the late summer and early fall. The speckled trout bite has been hit or miss in the Lower Bay recently. The cooler weather will definitely get the bite into gear as we approach the fall. Anglers should be seeking out areas with good water quality in the tidal rivers. Areas with grass beds and deeper ledges close by are also notable areas to search for specks.

A kayak angler fishing a creek off the Potomac reported catching white perch, small rockfish, small black drum, and a few short puppy drum on a recent outing. All the fish hit a small perch sized spinner. The Potomac River is now open to targeting for striped bass and the season will remain open until the end of the year. Rock pile sand ledges in the lower part of the river were good in the early season, and these same areas usually hold fish throughout the fall. Virginia anglers will have to wait until October 4th to keep slot rockfish, but they can still be caught and released right now. A few more reports of puppy drum showing up on the Potomac River have come in, but the fishing is nowhere near as good as it was last year. The better numbers can be found from the Rappahannock south. The Corrotoman and Piankatank have had a decent bite in the shallows for pups, especially around docks.

A reader fishing just south of the Target Ship reports good action on chunky bluefish, with trolled hoses getting them on the line. He thought he saw a pair of (small) cobia as well. Cobia numbers have increased in recent weeks, and there seem to be a fair number of small to medium sized fish around, along with some keepers. Boats are finding them on the main stem of the Bay near ledges and humps. Schools of bull reds and bluefish have also been found feeding on bunker in the main stem. One of the crazier videos we have seen came courtesy of Miss Susie Charters who hooked a large tarpon while trolling surgical tubes this week. They got the giant fish next to the boat before it took one last run and broke them off.

Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, August 15 Update:

The cooler weather has blessed us with good fishing conditions for our late summer excursions. Contributor Eric Packard says there are fairly good numbers of speckled trout in the Point Lookout zone, and although many are small, some decent fish are around as well. Rockfish, bluefish, lizard fish, small sea bass, and puffer fish were also in the mix this week. Quarter- and half-ounce G-eye heads with four-inch plastics have been doing the trick, in pink pepper-fleck and silver/gray colors. Down on the Rappahannock and surrounding tributaries, anglers are reporting puppy drum, speckled trout, and small flounder in the shallows. Out at the mouth of the river, there have been some Spanish mackerel caught near windmill point and at ledges further out in the main stem of the Bay.

We heard very mixed results from multiple anglers fishing the Target Ship this week. Two reported skunks and said it was dead when they were there. One who fished early in the day had an exciting bite on very large tackle-buster bluefish that were breaking water. Another tried sight fishing and caught two cobia including one keeper, plus broke off a third. And one angler said he found active blues with some bull redfish around them, but there was a ton of competition and whenever the fish made their location known, the boat traffic quickly killed the bite. FishTalk contributor Adam Greenberg made it out on the Bay with Griffins Guide Service recently and reports that they caught a few bull reds, a bluefish, and a rat cobia. Adam said there are a lot of small cobia around, and a lot of bluefish as well, but the bluefish are feeding on the surface less and holding close to bottom more. Anglers across the lower Bay are reporting an influx of small cobia, and The Tackle Box reported hotspots around the middle grounds and Target Ship. Chumming, chunking, trolling, live lining, and sight casting are all working. Schools of bull reds have also been cruising around these zones.

Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, August 8 Update:

The Lower Bay fishing scene that we usually enjoy during the late summer is starting to shape up. The Tackle Box reports that trollers have been finding an excellent bluefish bite in the waters around the Target Ship. They have taken a liking for both metal spoons and rubber hoses. In recent weeks, there have been several occasions where the bluefish have been giving away their location by blitzing on the surface of the water. Trollers will want to work the outside edges of the school when this happens so that they do not spook the fish. Light tackle anglers will also find it best to avoid driving into the frenzy and cast from a distance. Some Spanish mackerel are also starting to show up in this zone. Captain Greg Buckner of Miss Susie Charters reported that their crew boxed 11 Spanish mackerel along with a smothering of bluefish during a recent trip. Other boats have reported picking up a few mackerel here and there as well. Cobia fishing has not been great in Maryland waters so far this year, but anglers in Virginia are picking some up. Smith Point and Windmill Point have been two decent-ish locations to target them.

Bull red drum have been much more abundant than cobia in the Lower Bay. Anglers are having to cover a lot of water to locate them, but once found, the schools have been big. In the main stem of the Bay, the drum are being caught at shoals near the Target Ship and other main ledges in the Bay. The Lower Bay tidal rivers have been producing striped bass, red drum, and speckled trout in the shallows. The Potomac River is still under a no targeting closure until August 22nd. The Piankatank River and Corrotoman River have been good bodies of water to catch puppy drum recently. We had a report from a kayak angler who caught four slot reds and a few stripers while fishing docks in the Piankatank last weekend. Some flounder have also moved up the Bay. Most of them are under size, but some keepers are around. They can be caught in the shallows near docks and oyster bottom but will also be found at the steeper ledges in the mouths of the tidal rivers.