Artificial Lure here with your Chesapeake Bay, Virginia fishing report for October 21st, 2025. We're kicking off at sunrise, which was right around 7:19 a.m., with sunset coming at 6:16 p.m. The bay’s wearing those true fall colors: cool, brisk, and charged up for the season’s best bites.

Tides today at Lynnhaven Inlet show a low at 4:05 a.m., high at 10:36 a.m., then another low at 4:52 p.m. and a high near 10:51 p.m. If you’re aiming for that major morning bite, the incoming tide sets you up perfectly mid-morning, and the evening run is ideal for a twilight cast according to the Tide-Forecast.com charts.

Weather’s a mixed bag. The marine forecast from WBOC calls for south winds 10-15 knots, with gusts up to 25 knots and steady two-foot chop. Small Craft Advisory hits at 11 a.m. so pay close attention if you’re running open water. These breezy fall days push baitfish and fire up predator feeding windows all across the bay.

It’s what locals call “Rocktober”—prime season for striped bass, or rockfish. Virginia Institute of Marine Science confirms 2025 saw a strong average year for juveniles, a healthy sign for the population, but the big news now is legal slot fish in the 19-to-24” range in the lower rivers and bay mouths. Reports from the Patuxent and Potomac up north (and echoed by locals on Tidal Fish Forum) say anglers are landing daily limits before noon jigging soft plastics over structure and rips. Down here, the bite remains hot—especially where rivers like the James and York pour into the bay.

Outside the rockfish run, there’s scattered action for speckled trout, red drum, and the last of the bluefish, strongest near deeper channels and structure. Spot have started slipping out, but some outsized fish are still showing up at the mouths. White perch and croaker fill in on the bottom rigs, especially if you shift a bit south or hit the deeper holes.

Bait and lure selection this time of year is all about matching the hatch and fishing the flow. Paddletail swimbaits in 4-inch sizes on 1/4- to 1/2-ounce jigheads—chartreuse and white still rule, available at local shops like St. Mary’s Tackle Box. Missile Baits just dropped their new Freedom Flyer minnow paired with the Eye Roll jighead—great for working schools of baitfish or rolling through current seams near the bridges. For trolling, small bucktails and sassy shads behind umbrella rigs find plenty of stripers on a slow but steady retrieve. Fresh bunker, cut menhaden, or live eels on circle hooks are top choices if you prefer to soak baits on the channel ledges and river mouths.

Hot spots? Don’t sleep on the mouth of the Rappahannock near Windmill Point and the rip lines off Thimble Shoal Light. The HRBT (Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel) and the pilings at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel are late-season favorites—fish those dawn and dusk windows for the biggest chance at a personal best. Inside Lynnhaven Inlet, look to the marsh points and drop-offs for trout if stripers are fussy.

Fall is all about working tides and chasing birds. Watch for diving gulls—rockfish and blues are usually blitzing underneath. Be safe, stay mindful of wind and tides, and release those overslot fish quickly for the future of the fishery.

Thanks for tuning in to your local Chesapeake Bay fishing report with Artificial Lure. Don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an update! This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn

This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI