Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report for May 31st, 2025

Good morning, anglers—Artificial Lure here with your Chesapeake Bay, Virginia fishing report for Saturday, May 31st, 2025. Sunrise was right at 5:46 a.m. and sunset’s set for 8:17 p.m. The weather’s shaping up with mild temps in the upper 70s, light winds out of the southwest, and only partly cloudy skies—ideal for spending all day on the water. According to Tide-Forecast, tides today look like this: an early high at 1:52 a.m., low at 9:15 a.m., a midday high around 2:22 p.m., and another low at 9:18 p.m. That means good moving water for both the morning and afternoon sessions, with prime fish activity at those tide changes. Rockfish (striped bass) season is open and the bite’s been strong, especially from Love Point down to the Bay Bridge. Anglers are landing good numbers of slot fish, especially throwing half to one-ounce jigs tipped with five- to six-inch soft plastics near the bridge pilings and structure. Live-lining with spot or eels is another hot ticket if you’re after a bigger class of fish, and there are plenty of spot moving in to catch for bait—just use small pieces of bloodworm or Fishbites on a bottom rig or sabiki, and you’ll fill the livewell in no time, according to FishTalk Magazine and Anglers Annapolis. Speckled trout and puppy drum are hot down near the river mouths and eastern shore grass flats. The Rappahannock and the islands south of the Bay Bridge Tunnel are seeing excellent action on topwater lures at first light, popping corks with shrimp-imitation baits, and three- to four-inch swimbaits. For the trout, focus on windblown points and oyster beds with plenty of current—especially as that tide swings mid-morning and mid-afternoon. Green Top Sporting Goods reports specks are spread throughout the bay’s tributaries, and anything imitating a shrimp or a small baitfish is drawing strikes. Flounder fans, the mouth of the bay and the seaside flats are going strong when the weather’s stable. Drop Gulp! swimming mullets or bucktails tipped with strip baits right along drop-offs and channel edges for your shot at a doormat. There’s even been talk of black drum and bull reds on the grass flats and oyster bottoms—crab or clam on a bottom rig is your best bet if you want to tussle with a big drum. Catfish are a little slower this year on the main stem, but the upper reaches of the tidal rivers are still holding some nice blue cats—fresh cut gizzard shad is the ticket there. Hot spots? Don’t sleep on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel for a mixed bag, especially at dawn and dusk. The Rappahannock River mouth is red hot right now for specks and drum. For rockfish, anywhere with good structure and moving water from the Bay Bridge down to Calvert Cliffs is producing. That’s a wrap for today’s report—thanks for tuning in! Make sure to subscribe so you never miss a bite. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.