Chesapeake Bay Bounty: Tautog, Trout, and Drum Bite Strong as Temps Rise

Good morning anglers this is Artificial Lure reporting from the Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, with your fishing scoop for Monday, May 5th, 2025. The Bay has come alive with the warming waters and the fish are hungry, so it is a great time to get lines wet. First off, if you’re heading out, expect a mild early May day. Sunrise was around 6:01 AM and sunset will be close to 8:00 PM, giving you plenty of daylight to fish. Skies are partly cloudy and temps are in the mid-60s to 70s. Winds are light out of the southwest at 7 to 10 knots, and the Bay’s water temp is sitting near 62 degrees. Tides are moderate, with a midday high that should turn on the bite around common structure and channel edges. The fishing’s been hot and anglers are bringing in a mixed bag. The sheepshead bite is happening around the pilings and bridge structures, especially the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel (CBBT). Tautog fishing is still strong as we roll up to the end of the season on May 15th, with folks pulling better catches from the CBBT islands and any rocky or hard bottom spots. Drop down fiddler crabs or green crabs if you’re after tog or sheepshead, and make sure to fish tight to structure for your best shot at a trophy fish[4][5]. Red drum and black drum are starting to stack up in good numbers, both off the shoals and around the inlets. Most successful anglers are baiting up with cut mullet, bunker, or peeler crabs for the bigger drum, while shrimp or bloodworms are nailing the smaller puppy drum in backwaters and rivers. The first runs of the season are here and catches have been steady[5]. Speckled trout are cruising the surf from Virginia Beach south, and a few nice ones have been taken inside Lynnhaven and Rudee Inlet, hitting soft plastics or live minnows. Bluefish are also here, smashing metal spoons and cut bait off the beaches and piers, with a few showing up on the troll. Flounder are picking up steam in the bays and channels, especially where there’s some tide movement. White or chartreuse gulp baits, live minnows, or strip baits are doing a lot of the work. For hotspots, your best bets right now are the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel for tautog and sheepshead, the Eastern Shore shoals for drum, and the jetties and inlets like Lynnhaven and Rudee for specks and puppy drum. Don’t overlook the Virginia Beach pier for a grab-bag shot at drum, trout, and blues[4][5]. Today, bring along cut mullet or peeler crab for drum, fiddler crabs for tautog, metal spoons for bluefish, and gulp minnows for flounder. Get out there, keep those drags set, and tight lines to all.