Lower Bay Fishing Reports

Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, November 22 Update:

Contributor Eric Packard caught some nice rockfish kayak fishing in the lower Potomac early this week, but he also mentioned it took work to find them. Five-inch white soft plastics on half-ounce jigheads got them biting. Recent cold front shave increased bird activity on the Bay and several boats reported finding birds in the Potomac this week. One angler said he found them just off Point Lookout and pulled several slot fish out of the school, though the fish were more finnicky than you would expect during a blitz. Schools of stripers are being found from the 301 Bridge down to the mouth of the river with ledges holding both bait and fish. The blue catfish bite has also been getting better in the Potomac as the fish school up and head to deeper waters. The higher concentrations and bigger fish are typically found north of the 301 Bridge and the waters in Washington D.C. have been producing some very big fish lately.  

Trollers in the Rappahannock are reporting a slow striped bass bite, but that will likely change with the onset of cold fronts bringing more seasonable temperatures to the region. There are scattered schools of stripers along the channel edges of the river, so covering depths of 20’ to 40’ and looking for bait or birds can help lead you to the fish. Electronics also play a major role this time of year with side scan being a great tool utilize for locating schools of fish. We had a report of decent jigging action around the Whitestone Bridge earlier in the week with a few slot fish being caught on jigs and bucktails. Bridges and other deep structure will also be good places to search for stripers now that they are exiting the creeks and smaller tributaries. Just like last year, they are also still picking up good size cutlassfish towards the mouth of the river though the fronts pushing through may end that in short order.

Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, November 15 Update:

The weather finally took a turn this week as cooler temperatures and some rain came across the region. The fish seemed to have responded well as reports show an uptick in action. The Tackle Box reports that trollers in the Potomac are scoring on stripers up and down the ledges of oyster bars. Single lures, tandems, and small umbrella rigs are all catching fish. The bite hasn’t been on fire, but it is slowly getting better. Patience and time are often required, but that is usually the case when it comes to fishing. Light tackle guide Chad Koenig of Dog Days fishing reports that the colder temperatures and weather fronts this week finally have the striped bass feeding in a more typical pattern this week. He has found more bird shows on the Potomac and on one trip he drifted for 45 minutes over fish and landed close to 75 fish with two other anglers. Soft plastics and metal jigs are both working well and fish seem to be holding on ledges where there is an abundance of bait.

Anglers fishing in the Virginia rivers are enjoying an increase in striped bass action as fall progresses. Trollers are catching fish towards the mouth of the Rappahannock and light tackle anglers have been able to find scattered schools of fish at times. There are also still plenty of puppy drum hanging around the tributaries and they are still being found in the Great Wicomico River, Rappahannock and Piankatank. Topwater lures have worked well in the shallows in mornings and evenings while paddletails are catching throughout the day. Speckled trout are also still being found in the shallows over grass beds but will start to slide to deeper waters in the coming weeks.

In the upper portions of Lower Bay tidal rivers, blue catfish are offering plenty of angling opportunities. They are being found in deeper holes and along sharper ledges in depths of 20’ to 50’. Cut alewife is one of the most popular baits with American eel and gizzard shad also towards the top of the list. The colder months are when the biggest fish seem to be caught, so keep that in mind as angling opportunities become limited by wind and wintery weather.

Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, November 8 Update:

The Lower Bay had been seeing some decent striped bass action, but that bite has slowed a bit this week. Trollers are still doing the best as they can cover a lot of ground with baits in the water. The Tackle Box reports that channel edges from Colonial Beach down to Piney Point is where most trollers are finding their luck in the Potomac. Contributor Eric Packard found stripers plus a few under-slot reds in the lower Potomac while fishing from the kayak; white paddletails got them biting. The open water light tackle bite has been very inconsistent with bite windows varying from day to day. Some days are great, some days are so-so, and some days have been downright bad. Water temperatures are still in the low 60s and we really need some cold fronts to drop them below the 60-degree mark to get fish in their normal pattern. The only upside is that the shallows still have some fish that can be targeted. On the Rappahannock the shallow water bite for stripers and reds has been good. One angler reported catching both species while throwing a bone-colored topwater spook in the evening. Another boat reported that striped bass fishing has been good at times between the number eight and number six channel buoys. There were also a couple scattered reports of anglers still picking up a few late-migrating ribbonfish while trolling for rockfish with spoons this week.

Blue catfish are prevalent in the Potomac, Rappahannock, and James Rivers and the bite is heating up for them. The stretch of the Potomac from the Woodrow Wilson Bridge south to the 301 bridge is full of these invasive species. They will be schooling up along sharp channel edges and at both bridges. Bigger fish are usually caught with more consistency in the colder months, so keep that in mind if you are looking for big fish to catch during the late fall and winter. They aren’t very picky when it comes to bait, but you’ll want to fish with something oily and smelly like bunker, eel, chicken, and other meaty substances. A fish finder rig with a circle hook is the most popular rig to use when bait fishing for catfish. They can also be caught using the same tactics and lures you would while jigging for striped bass. This tends to work best when the fish are schooled up tight which they should begin to do as the water temperatures get colder.

Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, November 1 Update:

While October is historically famous for rockfish on the Chesapeake, November has recently become the month where the bite cuts loose just about everywhere. Bird shows and breaking fish are becoming more prevalent and now is a great time to hit the water. The Tackle Box reports that redfish are thinning out, but the striped bass bite is picking up in the Potomac, where trollers are doing well pulling small umbrellas, tandems, and bucktails dressed with shad. This matches up with Contributor Eric Packard’s reports. He didn’t see any reds this week but has enjoyed a noticeable uptick in the striper bite casting the docks and shallows. A kayak-fiishing reader on the Potomac near St. George's Island said he had slow action early this week but a few small stripers were biting at the bridge. On a more surprising note, an angler did encounter a school of ribbonfish in the Potomac this week, catching a dozen of the fish while trolling. We can’t expect these fish to stick around much longer but if you start getting bite-offs, deploying small metal spoons might be wise.

An angler fishing in the tribs of the Rappahannock reported that the speckled trout have eluded him as of late, but plenty of stripers and a few puppy drum have been keeping his lines tight. A midweek trip produced stripers on the upper end of the slot and puppy drum that were all just a hair short of the slot. Down around the Gwynn’s Island area, stripers and reds have been the main catch, but pockets of specks have been found. One angler reported two-to-four-inch Gulp! baits worked well for the reds. In the deeper waters of the Lower Bay, sea bass are being found at the various reef sites scattered about on both sides of the Bay. Virginia has a successful artificial reef program that has deployed structure at various sites to create habitat for aquatic species and many anglers enjoy fishing around them throughout the year for a variety of species. A map and more information on the reef sites can be found on the Virginia Marine Resources Commission website. The map gives coordinates and describes the type of material that was dropped on the bottom. Sea bass should be prolific around these sites throughout the fall.