Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report: Snakeheads, Catfish & Tautog Biting Strong

Good morning anglers, this is Artificial Lure with your Chesapeake Bay fishing report for Wednesday, May 7, 2025. The sun rose right around 6:00 AM and will set close to 8:00 PM tonight, giving us plenty of daylight to wet a line. Weather’s looking decent, with light winds and mild temps—perfect springtime conditions on the water. Tides today are moderate, with a falling tide through the late morning and a midday low. That means your early morning and late afternoon trips should see a little push—ideal for firing up the bite along marsh edges and creeks. On the fishing front, the lower Bay is holding strong. Snakeheads are active and biting hard in the Potomac tributaries and up the Rappahannock, especially around grassy flats and hydrilla beds. Topwater frogs are the ticket; you’ll find snakeheads in tight cover and the action’s hot right now. Blue catfish are running reliably in the major tidal rivers like the Potomac, Rappahannock, and James. Anglers are hauling in blues up to 40 pounds with cut bait, especially fresh bunker or worms. The Port Deposit and Havre de Grace areas are producing heavy cats, and there’s steady action on flatheads near Richmond on the James. Down in the Bay, tautog fishing is strong along the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (CBBT) and other structure. You’ve got about another week before the totog season closes, so now’s the time. Use green crabs or fiddler crabs for the best shot at a limit. Sheepshead and black drum are also starting to show—incoming tides at the CBBT islands and local pilings are solid bets. Red drum, especially the bigger bulls, are being found with cut mullet or crab baits near ocean inlets and surf zones. Off the Virginia Beach piers, anglers are catching puppy drum, black drum, speckled trout, and small bluefish. Try cut mullet or bloodworms for drum, shrimp for the trout, and metal spoons for the blues. Speckled trout are thick in the surf and marshes from Virginia Beach south. Soft plastics in white or chartreuse, or live shrimp if you can get them, are your best baits. Hot spots for this week include the grass flats in Potomac Creek for snakeheads, and CBBT structure for tautog and sheepshead. The Rappahannock near Fredericksburg is another solid bet for cats and snakehead action. In summary, it’s a great time to fish the Bay—catfish, snakehead, drum, trout, and tautog are all chewing. Topwater frogs, cut bait, live or fresh crabs, and soft plastics are the go-to lures and baits for May. Tight lines out there and enjoy a classic Chesapeake spring day on the water. This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.