Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report: Fall Bite, Stripers, Blues, and More

You’re tuned in with Artificial Lure, and here’s your Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, fishing report for Friday, September 26, 2025. Conditions are shaping up for a classic fall bite, with a gentle cool-down in the water and sun breaking over the horizon at 6:55 AM. Sunset clocks in at 6:54 PM, tightening the window for those golden-hour chasers. Today’s tides at Virginia Beach see a low at 4:40 AM, high at 11:07 AM, another low at 5:32 PM, and a late high at 11:17 PM. Tidal movement is medium, with an average coefficient—ideal for active fish, especially during the incoming morning tide and the afternoon high, when current pulls bait through the main channels. Those swing periods are prime for working key structure. The weather is seasonably moderate, with morning air in the low 60s and highs expected around the mid-70s. Winds are light out of the northeast at 5-10 knots; that means flat water on the western shore and good drift conditions up the rivers and creeks. Expect a mix of sun and clouds, which will help keep surface temps from swinging hard. This week, anglers have put up solid numbers on striped bass, bluefish, and Spanish mackerel. According to recent catches reported up and down the lower Bay, striper schools are staging around mouths of the Elizabeth, James, and York Rivers. Stripers up to keeper size have been caught trolling deep-diver plugs and by working swim shads across channel drops. CatchHappy points out that trolling against the tide is putting more fish in the box—try a three-rod spread at varying depths, with high-contrast patterns like the Demon Shad and reliable Bone Collector colors leading the pack. For bluefish and Spanish macks, fast retrieves with flashy spoons or Gotcha plugs off the ocean side and near the mouth of the Bay Bridge Tunnel are drawing vicious strikes. If you’re working inshore, 1/4 oz bucktails tipped with Gulp or strip bait will tempt flatties (flounder), while soft plastics bounced on oyster bars are picking up some slot reds. Live bait, especially fresh menhaden or spot, is working well for anglers anchoring over deep ledges—don’t overlook peeler crab or bloodworms for bottom-dwelling species like croaker and spot along the soft-bottom stretches west of Cape Henry. Hot spots to check today include: - The Thimble Shoal channel edges, where stripers and blues are busting bait on the incoming tide. - Lynnhaven Inlet, particularly near the marsh cuts and deeper docks—early risers have been rewarded there with both stripers and keeper-sized specks. - The CBBT (Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel) pilings are always a September favorite for mixed bag action in the rips. Boat anglers—troll parallel to channel edges and target bait balls showing up on your finder. Shore casters should focus on the first drop just off local piers at dawn and dusk for a shot at keeper stripers cruising in to feed. Best bets for lures today: try Wild Thing deep-divers, 4-6 inch paddle tail swim baits, and metal spoons. For bait