Artificial Lure here, reporting from the banks of Chesapeake Bay, Virginia on a crisp Saturday morning, November 1st, 2025. It’s shaping up to be classic fall fishing—cool, breezy, and full of promise for the weekend bite.

**Weather & Water Conditions**
Marine forecasts from WBOC Weather are calling for waves about 2 to 3 feet, with a Small Craft Advisory lasting until 6 a.m. this morning, so take caution if you’re heading out early. Winds are blowing steady out of the west, adding a little chop that’s perfect for stirring up baitfish and getting the game fish fired up. Skies are mostly clear, with sunrise at 6:29 a.m. and sunset at 5:05 p.m—an abbreviated window, so maximize that daylight.

**Tides**
The Virginia pilot’s dock at Lynnhaven Inlet shows a high tide at 5:40 a.m. (2.4 ft), a low at 11:44 a.m. (0.59 ft), and another high at 6:02 p.m. (2.48 ft). Work those moving water periods for best results—they’ll coincide nicely with the bite windows for most species today.

**Fish Activity & Catches**
November means **rockfish (striped bass)** are front and center. Reports from FishTalk Magazine say Lower Bay waters are holding plenty of healthy rockfish, with anglers scoring at the mouth of the Potomac and Rappahannock last week. Middle and upper Bay are also productive, especially around bridges and points with working birds. The average keeper size is around 24-30 inches, with some bigger cows showing up on the outgoing tide.

Don’t sleep on the **speckled trout** action, peaking this month. The west side of the Bay has been best for specks, while puppy drum (juvenile redfish) are still biting hard, particularly in the creeks and marsh edges. There’s also the tail end of bluefish and slot red drum—the farther south you get, the better your odds. Tautog action is heating up near structure and the CBBT pilings.

Last year saw cutlassfish and even flounder into November, and recent catches confirm they’re still lingering. Flounder sharpies are fishing inshore wrecks and reefs with nice success.

**Best Lures & Baits**
Rockfish are hammering **soft plastics**, especially 4-6” paddle tails in chartreuse or white, rigged on 1-ounce jig heads. The Chesapeake Light Tackle Kit remains a top choice for versatility. For an edge, try the Prawn USA Original shrimp lure—its gliding action and weedless design are drawing strikes from smarter bass and reds. For specks and reds, jigged Gulp! Swimming Mullet and MirrOlure suspending twitch baits are the ticket. Tautog anglers are sticking to fiddler crabs and cut blue crab pieces on stout rigs.

If you’re bass fishing in the creeks, match your jig retrieve to the forage: quick hops in cold water, slow drags when they're shy. Skirted jigs with bulkier trailers are picking up more bites.

**Hot Spots**
- Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel (CBBT): Target the pilings for rockfish, tautog, and the occasional keeper flounder.
- Lynnhaven Inlet: Consistent for speckled trout and puppy drum, especially incoming tide early morning.
- The mouth of the Rappahannock: Recent rockfish blitzes reported, mix in a paddle tail with your bucktail.
- Eastern Bay and the Choptank mouth: Working birds signal surface busting stripers; toss light jigs to match the hatch.
- Marsh edges and creek mouths south of the Bay: Best for specks, puppy drum, and stray bluefish.

That's today's rundown. If you’re launching this weekend, bundle up, check your local advisories, and get into some of the best action of the season—this November bite doesn’t last!

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This is Artificial Lure with your Friday, October 31st, 2025, Chesapeake Bay fishing report.

We’re off to a brisk, blustery start today—bay anglers, be mindful. According to NOAA, we've had a Small Craft Advisory through early morning, rolling right into a Gale Warning until 6 PM. Gusts will hit up to 45 knots with bay waves 3 to 5 feet, making conditions sporty and testing your mettle if you're heading out. Bay water’s cooled to the mid-50s, which puts fall fishing in high gear and fires up those predator species. Sunrise is at 7:27 AM and sunset at 6:07 PM, with a high tide hitting the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel around 3:57 AM, low at 10:04 AM, second high at 4:23 PM, and last low at 10:39 PM, all courtesy of Tide-Forecast.com.

Let’s talk about the fish. Striped bass activity is prime right now, though numbers are down—the Chesapeake’s been the battleground for scarce stripers all season. Chris Moore from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation calls it a “looming disaster,” and the science backs it; stripers are struggling, and managers haven’t cut harvest. Keep conservation in mind, practice catch and release, and maybe let those big breeders go swimming for another year.

That said, the bite has really picked up along deep channel edges and structure, with fish blitzing on schools of peanut bunker and bay anchovies. Most recent reports out of the lower and middle Bay—courtesy of Anglers Sport Center and Maryland DNR—show hot action just off channel edges, ledges, and around bridge pilings. The Bay Bridge, mouth of the Choptank, Patuxent, and Potomac rivers all get a nod for consistent catches. Expect stripers slot-size to the mid-thirties, especially where birds are active over bait.

Best producers have been soft-plastic paddle tails in the 6-8 inch range—white, chartreuse, and bunker patterns are money. NLBNs rigged on 1 to 2 ounce jig heads are a proven favorite, especially when the fish are tight to the bottom. For a classic Chesapeake approach, drifting live eels, spot, or small white perch is still effective around bridge structure. Some anglers have found success trolling umbrella rigs deep, right along steep drop-offs near the mouth of the Patuxent and Potomac.

Don’t overlook the tautog bite—right now, blackfish are stacked on nearshore wrecks, jetties, and bridge pilings. The go-to rig: a 3/4-ounce orange or green crab jig baited with fresh green crab. Drop it straight down to the rocks, hold tight for those commitment hits, and use stout tackle. Reports out of Ocean City and local piers have seen good keeper fish pushing the slot, perfect for the table.

Elsewhere, pickerel fishing in tidal rivers like the Severn, Magothy, and Patapsco has been excellent, with plenty of action on small spinners and live minnows. White perch and juvenile stripers round out your mixed bag in the creeks, with bloodworms and grass shrimp still producing.

Hot spots to try:
- **Bay Bridge pilings and rock piles** are drawing stripers and tog.
- **Eastern Bay and mouth of the Choptank** are producing blitzes on outgoing tides.
- The **Route 4 bridge and Cedar Point rocks on the lower Patuxent** are solid for stripers on paddletails.
- **Inner and outer jetties of the Ocean View Fishing Pier** for tautog and the occasional keeper striper.

That’s all for your Chesapeake Bay Halloween fishing report. Thanks for tuning in—hit subscribe to catch the next update, and as always, tight lines and take care of those fish for the future. This has been a Quiet Please production, for more check out quietplease dot ai.

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Artificial Lure here with your Chesapeake Bay fishing report for Thursday, October 30th, 2025.

Sunrise rolled in at 7:26 a.m. today, with sunset coming up early at 6:07 p.m. Tides are subtle, with a low coefficient of around 41, meaning only light current action—so you’ll want to work those tide turns for any serious bite, especially around the highs and lows set for early morning and midafternoon. For the Lower Bay and Virginia Beach, high tide is just past 8 a.m. and again close to 9:20 p.m., with lows mid-morning and afternoon. That means your best shot for strong fish activity comes with those tide changes.

Weather’s setting up rough for small boats—WBOC’s marine forecast is warning of east winds 25 to 30 knots today with a Small Craft Advisory in effect and waves running 3-5 feet. There’s a Gale Watch kicking off late tonight and minor tidal flooding expected, so keep a close eye on conditions and mind those channel markers.

Now, on to the bite! Main story for the Bay is a continued struggle for the striped bass population, with this year’s juvenile index still well below average—as reported by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and Virginia Institute of Marine Science. But that doesn’t mean the linesiders aren’t around. In the Lower Bay, recent reports out of the Potomac and Patuxent rivers put striped bass on the attack in deeper holes—especially morning and evening—cued by cooling water temps driving baitfish like bay anchovies and menhaden out of the shallows and down the main channels.

Your best bet right now: jigging with soft plastics or metal jigs along channel edges, and working paddletails or jerkbaits right up tight to shoreline structure on the outgoing tide. Umbrella rigs pulled deep are picking up some better fish along major drop-offs and river mouths. For bait anglers, live eels or spot (when you can get them) will outfish cut bait most times; otherwise, chunks of menhaden can still draw a strike. Keeper stripers have been landed at Piney Point, Cedar Point rocks, Cornfield Harbor, and the mouth of the St. Mary’s—classic late October honey holes.

White perch are moving to harder bottoms on river mouths and oyster bars as waters chill. You’ll score numbers with dropper rigs tipped with grass shrimp or bloodworm, especially near Curtis Creek, the Patapsco, and deeper shoals off Hoopers Island. Also keep an eye out for speckled trout shadowing schools of small baitfish near Tangier Sound and up the eastern Bay islands; soft plastics on 1/4 oz jigheads do the trick.

As for hot artificial lures—mid-sized paddletails (olive or pearl), jerkbaits, and soft plastic jigs are standing out. On windier days like this, metal jigs give you distance and control. For the surf hounds, don’t pass on topwater plugs early—a walk-the-dog or pencil popper can still wake up a striper at dawn if you find birds working bait.

Two hot spots to focus on right now are:
- The Bay Bridge pilings and nearby rock piles—especially at high tide, drifting live eels or jigging the pilings produces.
- Point Lookout and the mouth of the Potomac, where deeper trolling near structure is putting solid-sized fish in the boat.

On menhaden, just a heads up—recent regulation changes mean the overall catch limit is down 20% for next year, but Omega Protein and boats out of Reedville are still working the nets, so expect some disruption but also find the stripers and big blues tight behind any bait schools.

All in all, the weather and water are classic late-season Chesapeake—tough for the small boats so pick your windows, focus on the tides, and keep an eye on the bait movement. As always, thanks for tuning in to the Chesapeake Bay fishing report. Don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a bite.

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This is Artificial Lure with today’s Chesapeake Bay, Virginia fishing report for Wednesday, October 29, 2025—broadcast straight from the water’s edge, where the Bay breeze tells all.

Starting with tides: at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, high tides are rolling in at 1:47am and 2:18pm, while low slack hits at 7:55am and again at 8:51pm. Sunrise hit at 7:25am and you’ll lose your last rays by 6:09pm. That means your prime windows for action, especially for bait-chasers, are those first couple hours after sunrise and just before sunset, when the low light has predators most active according to tide-forecast charts.

Weather’s got a little bite—a Small Craft Advisory is in effect through tonight as winds from the northeast are blowing steady at 15 to 20 knots, with two- to three-foot waves across the lower Bay according to WBOC’s marine forecast. If you’re out on a skiff or kayak, play it smart and tuck into leeward creeks or protected coves. Stay tuned to VHF 16 and always file a float plan.

Now for the report that matters—what’s biting, where, and how. According to Ken Lamb and the Southern Maryland Chronicle, there’s steady **rockfish** action—locals know them as striped bass—across the Bay’s main stem, rips, and tidal tribs this week. They’re moving shallower with the dropping water temps (hovering around 65 degrees), driving hard at menhaden and spot. **Best activity is right at first light and dusk**, with surface feeds lighting up from Sharps Island down through the Hooper Straits and Cedar Point. Most fish are falling in the 23- to 35-inch range, but remember you want that 20 to 31-inch slot for keepers based on this fall’s regs. Jigging with 1- to 2-ounce chartreuse bucktails tipped with 6-inch white or pearl paddletails is getting hit hard, especially around rips, rock piles, and major current breaks.

**Hot spots today:**
- **Cedar Point rocks and rips**—great for vertical jigging or tossing bucktails.
- **Rappahannock River mouth, north drift**—trollers working umbrella rigs with shad or spoon trailers at 20 feet are picking up steady numbers.
- Side creeks like **Lynnhaven Inlet** and the **Poquoson Flats** light up at dusk with busting schools.
- The **James and Elizabeth River bridges** are seeing schoolie stripes on soft plastics and metal jigging spoons.

White perch are a bonus for patient anglers—try Hawk’s Nest and Captain’s Point for jumbos over 10 inches. Rig bloodworms or small minnows on bottom hi-los and work the 15- to 25-foot channel edges in the upper Bay and river mouths.

Don’t forget the blue catfish—FishTalk Magazine’s Lenny Rudow reminds us these invasive monsters are thick in the Potomac and tidal tributaries. The best bite is still coming on cut bunker, eel, or the new shad- or shrimp-flavored Fishbites nuggets that save cleanup time and pack plenty of scent. Circle hooks keep those hooksets clean and legal if you’re soaking natural baits.

If you’re itching to land a trophy, late October is prime time. The striped bass hatch is about normal this year, according to local news, which should keep action steady as fall runs build toward Thanksgiving. With menhaden schools still thick in the area, live-lining or chunking fresh bunker in deeper channels or along oyster bar edges could nab a fish over 30 pounds.

For best baits:
- Bucktails and paddletails are the ticket for stripers.
- Bloodworms and small minnows for white perch.
- Cut bunker, eel, and Fishbites nuggets in shad or shrimp for catfish.

That wraps this morning’s report from Artificial Lure. Thanks for tuning in—don’t forget to hit subscribe for all your daily fishing updates. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

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Good morning anglers, this is Artificial Lure with your Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, fishing report for Tuesday, October 28th, 2025.

Another classic fall morning’s greeted us here on the Bay. Sunrise came at 7:24 and you’ll have good light right through to sunset at 6:11. The weather’s cool and calm to start: morning temps in the low 50s inching up to the mid-60s as the day wears on, with light winds shifting northeast and a chance for increasing chop this afternoon, so if you’re heading out, be smart and plan to beat those building winds before late afternoon. According to the latest forecast from the National Weather Service, Small Craft conditions could develop as wind picks up, especially later in the day.

Tidal action matters today. Down at Virginia Beach and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, the tide was low at 6:23 a.m., rising for a 12:53 p.m. high at 3.6 feet, and dropping again for a 7:29 p.m. low. Tidal coefficients are on the low side (just 34–41 throughout the day), meaning moderate current—fish structure, rips, and edges to find that concentrated bite.

Here's what’s hot around the bay: Speckled trout and puppy drum keep lighting up the inlets and rivers, especially in Lynnhaven and Rudee where the water’s riding a sweet 62 degrees. Out at the Bay Bridge Tunnel—the pilings and islands are a classic fall target zone and they’re living up to their name, with solid red drum reported by Captain Craig Page on the Paige II.

Rockfish (striped bass) are heating up all over. Fish to the new slot are holding along deep edges off Cape Henry and the CBBT; early birds have been catching by jigging white and chartreuse paddle tails or working bucktails with Gulp! trailers. The outgoing tide seems best right now, especially around the artificial reef sites.

Tautog are making a strong showing this week at inshore wrecks and bridge structure—anglers dropping green crabs and fiddler crabs have had luck sticking nice fish. Offshore, headboats are running successful trips for black sea bass on the deeper reefs, though watch your timing to avoid running aground at low tide near the inlets.

Bait-wise, you can’t go wrong right now with:

- 4–6" white or chartreuse soft plastic paddletails on ½ to 1 oz jig heads for stripers
- Gulp! swimming mullets and 5" Bass Kandy Delights in "electric chicken" for trout and slot stripers
- Green crabs and fiddlers for tautog on structure
- Cut bunker or chicken for blue catfish in the tidal rivers
Live spot, mullet, or peanut bunker are still turning big stripers if you can drift them near bridge pilings or channel edges.

Hot spots to try today:

- **Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (CBBT) 1st Island** for red drum, big trout, and tautog—work jigs and crabs tight to the structure.
- **Lynnhaven and Rudee Inlets** for puppy drum, speckled trout, and mixed slot stripers on paddle tails during moving water.
- **Cape Henry to Cape Charles channel edges** drifting baits or jigging plastics for stripers and late spot.

Offshore, there’s talk of dolphin (mahi-mahi) and even the occasional swordfish still showing for the lucky few on the deep drop. And don’t forget, with shrimp now more common in the Bay, any shrimp-imitating lure could be a game changer for both trout and drum inshore.

That’s the bite for Tuesday, October 28th—classic Virginia fall fishing. Thanks for tuning in to Artificial Lure’s Chesapeake Bay fishing report. Don’t forget to subscribe to keep getting the latest, and share your biggest catches with us next time you’re out.

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Here’s today’s Chesapeake Bay fishing report for Monday, October 27, 2025.

We kicked off at sunrise, 7:23 AM, with a brisk fall chill—air temperatures starting in the high 50s, rising into the mid-60s by midday, with light northerly winds around 5 knots and calm waters. Sunset tonight will be at 6:12 PM. The tidal schedule is in anglers’ favor: low tide hit just before 6 AM, and you’ll see a high around 12:35 PM. That incoming tide through the late morning into early afternoon usually brings a feeding window for most species, so plan your top efforts from 10:30 to 1:30 today.

Speckled trout have been hot all week in Rudee Inlet, Lynnhaven, and Back River, with steady reports from Captain Todd Beck and local shops. Soft plastics—Z-Man or Gulp! paddletails in root beer or chartreuse—are sticking fish; MirrOlure MR17s do the job in cleaner water. Live shrimp and mud minnows knocked on a slip float have been consistent, especially closer to slack tides. Good numbers have come through with fish from 17 to 22 inches, and most boats are seeing limits or near-limits per trip the past three days.

Red drum are still pushing along the southern beaches and especially around the 1st Island of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. Paige II reported some bruisers landed over the weekend, the biggest stretching past the 46-inch mark. Cut menhaden on 8/0 circle hooks is the standard, but the old school bucktail tipped with crab hasn’t let anyone down, especially after dark. Surf casters working Sandbridge and Croatan are connecting with drum on both cut mullet and gulps, chunked for a stinky trail.

Puppy drum (juvenile reds) and stripers light up inside Lynnhaven River and along the CBBT islands. For stripers, Swimming plugs (Bomber Long A, Yozuri Mag Minnow) and 5-inch paddletails on 3/8 oz jigheads are getting bit. Schools of 22–28 inch stripers are cruising bridge pilings from dawn till about 10 AM, with bird activity spotted around higher tide.

Tautog are waking up—active on bay structures and rockpiles, especially the tube piles of the CBBT and the HRBT. Green crab or fiddler crab is the go-to on a tautog rig. Several reports over the weekend showed solid fish in the 3–5 lb range; if you can find the structure, tautog are waiting.

Offshore reefs are thick with black sea bass right now. Jigging with 2–4 oz diamond jigs and squid strips is filling coolers fast. Keep in mind Rudee Inlet is still a bit shallow near low tide, so adjust departure times if heading out on a headboat. Tilefish and even a few late dolphin (mahi) have been caught by deep drop crews, and swordfish action continues strong.

Bait colors: Speckled trout and puppy drum are hitting best on “Electric Chicken,” root beer/gold, and pearl white for plastics. On the plugs, silver sides and mullet patterns win. Striper and drum often want natural: think bunker, menhaden, and crab chunk.

Best baits:
- Live shrimp and mud minnows for trout
- Cut menhaden for drum
- Green crab or fiddler crab for tautog
- Squid strips for offshore black sea bass

Hot spots today:
- Chick's Beach and CBBT 1st Island for red drum and tautog
- Lynnhaven River for speckled trout and puppy drum
- Back River and Rudee Inlet early for trout on the rising tide
- Eastern Shore bayside flats for late fall flounder—look for warm, shallow pockets mid-morning.

With bay temperatures hovering near 62°F, and juvenile stripers showing encouraging numbers per VIMS, this fall run is shaping up nicely. Bass migration is just starting but plenty of oversize fish are getting released. If you’re out for stripers, look for bird clusters and rising bait on the surface, especially mid-tide.

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Chesapeake Bay sunrise came at 7:21 this morning, and if you got out early you were greeted by calm, cool fall air and a sky teasing a bit of overcast. Sunset tonight is set for 6:14, so you’ve got a solid autumn day to chase the bite. Tides are rolling on the moderate side: low tide at 7:22 AM, high at 12:53 PM, and back to low at 8:22 this evening, so that midday push should set up well for peak action, especially around structure and creek mouths, according to Tide-Forecast.

Water temps are cooling—you can feel the seasonal shift, and that’s priming the big Chesapeake Bay rockfish (striped bass) to get hungry. Reports out of the Daily Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report say stripers are on the move, with strong catches coming in the 18-30 inch range, especially near the pilings and bridge fenders. Mid-Bay Bridge Tunnel and HRBT are producing best. Anglers are also finding solid drum action, with red drum and some late bull reds popping up out toward the mouths of the rivers, and the perch bite is steady in the creeks and over oyster beds.

If you’re looking for a blue catfish, now’s the time. The state’s just lifted the daily limit on trophy blue cats in the lower James, York, and Rappahannock, and some monster cats are coming over the rails for folks fishing with chunked menhaden and cut eel. For panfish, white perch remain reliable on grass beds and dock pilings.

As for tackle, go heavier and brighter. Anglers are moving from light, quarter-ounce lures to 1- to 2-ounce jigheads paired with 6- to 8-inch soft paddletails in chartreuse or white, as recommended by On The Water and Sport Fishing Mag. Flutter spoons in the 7- to 9-inch range do damage when stripers are holding deep near structure, and topwater plugs are worth a cast at first light, when the fish are busting bait on the surface. Straight-tail plastics and large curly tails are also pulling reliable bites. For bait, live menhaden and eels are top choices—especially down around the pilings.

On the weather: winds are manageable out of the northwest, 8 to 12 knots, so the Bay should stay fishable for most vessels. Clouds are patchy but not threatening rain until late evening. That stable pressure and overcast sets up great conditions for the midday and dusk bites, which should align with the high falling into low tide late afternoon.

Hot spots today? The HRBT and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel are both producing—work those shadow lines and pilings, especially during the running tide. For shore anglers, Point Lookout and the mouth of the Patuxent are turning up solid stripers and some keeper specks. If you’re after cats, target the deep holes around Jordan Point on the James with fresh-cut baits.

A reminder: American shad are still missing from the Bay, as reported this week by the James River Association, so let’s do our part to respect fisheries and handle any bycatch with care. Meanwhile, keep an eye out for those eagles—they’re thriving again and make for great company on the water.

That’s your report for October 25. Thanks for tuning in to Artificial Lure, and 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.

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Artificial Lure here with your Chesapeake Bay, Virginia fishing report for Friday, October 24, 2025.

We’re waking up to crisp, cool, and sunny fall weather—real classic October on the Bay. The **sun rose at 7:21 a.m.** and she’ll set at **6:14 p.m.** tonight. Winds are moderate but have calmed down slightly compared to earlier in the week, so it’s a fine day to get on the water and soak in some of that autumn color.

**Tidewise:** At Cape Henry, we’ve got **low tide at 4:29 a.m., high at 11:15 a.m., and the evening low at 5:29 p.m.** tonight, before bouncing up again just before midnight. The tidal coefficients are high today, which means stronger currents—good news for getting bait stirred up and drawing in hungry fish.

**Water temps** in the main Bay sit in the mid-60s, dipping to the upper 50s in the rivers. Water clarity is about average, and salinity is running higher than normal for this time of year, so you might see some different fish moving through.

**Fish Activity & Catches:** According to Maryland DNR and FishTalk Magazine, **striped bass**—known locally as rockfish—are starting to feed aggressively ahead of the big winter move. You’ll find them along steep channel edges and around structures like bridge pilings and rock piles. Anglers are catching them by jigging with soft plastics, trolling umbrella rigs, or live-lining spot and perch. The shallows are still producing in 5-6 feet of water where these bass have a high metabolism and are on the hunt. Recent catches have included some keeper-size fish, though folks are working hard for them around Love Point, Pooles Island, and the Bay Bridge.

**White perch** are shifting out of the tidal rivers and showing up over hard bottoms and reefs. The lower Bay is still holding a few big spot—get them soon before they migrate south. **Blue catfish** remain hot, especially on channel edges and deep holes in the rivers. Chumming with cut bait or using ground fish draws them in. If you’re after something unusual, northern snakeheads are active near brush and remaining grass, particularly with a big minnow set under a popping cork or bobber.

**Lures and Bait:** The top lure choices this week are **umbrella rigs, Mojos, parachutes (white/chartreuse), paddletails, poppers, and jerkbaits**. Trolling with six-inch shad in white or chartreuse on tandem rigs is the staple for rockfish. A fast jigging speed keeps those feeding stripers engaged—FishTalk says give ’em lots of action while they’re still energetic, before water temps really drop. For catfish, fresh cut bait and stink bait are king. Snakeheads and perch are biting on minnows or marabou jigs worked near structure.

**Hot Spots:**
- **Bay Bridge Piers and Rock Piles:** Reliable for stripers and perch, especially during moving tides.
- **Mouths of the Potomac and Patuxent Rivers:** Still holding striped bass and the last of the big spot.
- **Tangier Sound/Eastern Shore Flats:** Large red drum for catch-and-release and a shot at speckled trout, especially on popping corks and paddletails.
- **Susquehanna Flats and Elk River Mouth:** Prime for blue catfish.

A special note—folks are starting to see a comeback of **bay scallops** in some areas, especially the Eastern Shore, which signals cleaner water and maybe even better fishing to come soon.

That wraps up today’s Chesapeake Bay report. Thanks for tuning in! Don’t forget to subscribe for more local updates and fishing tips.

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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.

Thanks for tuning in to the Chesapeake Bay fishing report with Artificial Lure. Don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss what’s biting and where.

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Good morning, Chesapeake Bay anglers—Artificial Lure here with your local fishing report for Wednesday, October 22, 2025. The sun cracked over the Bay around 7:19 AM, and we’re looking at a sunset right about 6:16 PM, so you’ve got plenty of daylight to work with today. The tide’s a little more forgiving—low just after 4 this morning, high just after 10:30, low again near 5 this afternoon, and a gentler high around 11 tonight, so plan your drifts and drifts accordingly (Tide-Forecast). The water’s still feeling a bit churned up, with a Small Craft Advisory in effect as of last night and it’s likely to stick around;

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