Artificial Lure here with your Chesapeake Bay Virginia fishing report for Thursday, October 23, 2025.

We’re stepping into classic fall fishing with sunrise at 7:19am and sunset at 6:16pm. Tides today at Virginia Beach are running strong—high coefficients up to 82 this morning, meaning active water movement and excellent current if you work key structure. Look for low tide around 2:56am and 9:20am, with full tide rolling back in by 3:47pm. That’s prime time for stripers hunting bait on the move, so plan your casts around those changes.

Weather-wise, expect sunny skies and mild temps, topping out in the upper 60s. There’s a Small Craft Advisory in effect from late morning through evening, with gusty winds out of the northwest. If you’re heading out in a smaller boat, stay tucked near protected shorelines, creeks, and river mouths—the wind’s a factor, but so is safety.

Let’s talk fish: Action this week has been dominated by striped bass and white perch, with some red drum and specks hanging around the lower Bay and Eastern Shore. According to the Maryland DNR’s October 22 update, anglers are working a bit for the stripers, but the fish are there—especially along channel edges, bridges, and oyster reefs. The bluefish bite has faded, most pushed out by last week’s heavy winds, but you might still find a few stragglers near the mouth or at the Target Ship.

Top striper lures right now: poppers, paddletails, and jerkbaits. Both the Rapala Husky Jerk and the Creek Chub Striper Strike are solid choices, especially in bone or natural shad patterns. Early and late, topwater poppers worked over shallow points and along grassy shorelines can really pay off. For deeper holding fish, switch to soft plastics on jigheads. If you can net or buy live spot or eels, live-lining is still putting some big linesides in the box. Trolling with umbrella rigs down deep is another proven tactic off the channel breaks.

White perch action continues to be best at the mouths of tidal rivers and around hard-bottom reefs, like those off Matapeake or the rock piles near the Bay Bridge. Drop small jigs or baited hooks with bloodworms or grass shrimp straight down and you’ll stay busy.

For those hunting red drum in the lower Bay or Tangier Sound, look to shallow flats and points—use popping corks with plastics or drift cut bait. The largest drum are mostly a catch-and-release game, but it’s hard to beat the pull. There are still a few specks mixed in along grassy Eastern Shore shorelines if you can get out of the worst of the wind.

Hot spots for today:
- The mouth of the York River near Goodwin Islands—active moving water and striper schools chasing shad.
- Back River Reef off Messick Point—white perch and schoolie stripers, plus a shot at a late bluefish.
- The Eastern Shore shallows near Tangier for your best shot at catch-and-release red drum and remaining speckled trout.

Chesapeake Bay structure and current breaks are holding fish; work those rips and edges with moving water for your best shot and try to be on your spot as the tide starts pumping.

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