Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report: Catfish, Shad, and Changing Conditions in the Tributaries

Artificial Lure here with your Chesapeake Bay, Virginia fishing report for Friday, April 18, 2025. We started the morning with a low tide around 4:29 am and can expect another low at 4:20 pm. High tides are hitting around 10:22 am and then again late tonight. Tidal coefficient’s up there today, so expect strong currents and water movement, especially around tidal changes—not a bad thing for pulling a bite. Sunrise was right at 6:21 am and sunset’s coming at 7:28 pm, giving us over 13 hours of daylight to wet a line[6]. Weather’s on the unstable side with some on-and-off rain over the last week and a general warming trend. Surface temps are in the low to mid-50s, and river temps are creeping up. With all this high water lately and a bit of mud, conditions in the Western Shore tributaries are changing fast, but that’s got the catfish and shad fired up[2][5]. Blue catfish are the big story in the major rivers—the Potomac, Rappahannock, and James. Plenty of fish in the 20-40 pound class, and some even bigger. The best action’s coming from cut bait on the bottom—mud shad, chicken breast, chunks of crab, or menhaden are all solid. Just get it into a deep hole or the channel and hang on[1][5][8]. Catfish are biting just about everywhere right now, especially when the water’s high and dirty. The shad run is still on. Anglers are doing well in the upper Potomac, James, and Rappahannock with small spoons and shad darts. Put your line down deep, particularly near Fletchers Cove and Chain Bridge. Some days are a bit hit or miss, depending on how muddy the water is, but when you find a pocket of fish, it can be nonstop action[1][5][7]. Snakeheads are increasingly active in the feeder creeks off the Potomac and Rappahannock. Big bull minnow under a bobber works, but with water temps rising, try topwater frogs or white paddletails around brush and emerging grass. Some bonus crappie and largemouth are in the mix, too[2][5]. Down closer to the Bay proper and in the inlets, Oceans East Tackle Shop is reporting flounder, black and red drum, stripers (rockfish), and some bluefish. Flounder are hitting on jigs and soft plastics, while black drum are taking clams, sand fleas, or crab on the shoals—Cape Charles and Latimer Shoals are two spots to focus on, while the Cabbage Patch and the shoals near Kiptopeke are also producing. At the CBBT (Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel), tautog are going for sand fleas and green crab[5]. Best hot spots this week: Try the mouth of the Rappahannock for catfish, Fletchers Cove on the Potomac for shad, feeder creeks off the Potomac for snakehead, and the Cape Charles shoals or CBBT for drum and flounder action. If you’re chasing perch, look for them heading downriver from spawning grounds—bottom rigs with bloodworm or grass shrimp are the go-to[2][8]. For lures: Z-Man soft plastics on jigheads, shad darts, small spoons for shad, and white paddletails for snakehead are top picks. For bait, it’s hard to beat cut shad, menhaden, or This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.