"Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report: Stripers, Trout, and More on the Fall Bite"

Artificial Lure here with your Chesapeake Bay Virginia fishing report for Sunday, September 14, 2025. Out on the bay this morning, we’re greeted by a **sunrise at 6:45 am** and sunset is coming up at **7:12 pm**—giving us about twelve and a half hours to wet a line today, with solar peak just before 1pm. **Tides are moving slow to average**: high tide hit around 1:14 am, followed by a low at 7:19 am, another high rolling in at 1:54 pm, and then low tide wrapping up the evening at 8:42 pm. Tidal coefficients are on the lower side at 42, so expect gentler currents and softer transitions between high and low water. That means finesse presentations and subtle bait movement will get you more bites than loud splashy action, especially on the flats and backwaters (Tides4Fishing). **Weather’s mild and fair**, southern breeze about 5-10 knots early morning, climbing a bit later with temps holding in the upper 60s to mid 70s. No real chop till late afternoon. Skies are mostly clear with some high clouds pushing through, and the humidity’s down so comfort’s up. **Fish activity’s been strong on the outgoing tides**—it’s early autumn pattern, so we’re seeing a mix: - **Striped bass (rockfish)** are staging on the edges of deeper channels near the CBBT and the mouth of Lynnhaven. Early risers landed schoolies near the third island using white and chartreuse soft plastics, as well as bucktail jigs tipped with gulp. - **Speckled trout** are still active in the grass beds up in the Elizabeth River and around Little Creek; most came from mirrolures in electric chicken or natural olive, and live mud minnows have been hammered on slip floats. - **Red drum** are still being hooked around Kiptopeke and off Hampton Bar—big brutes took cut crab or mullet on bottom rigs. - **Flounder** action has been modest, with two keepers reported from the HRBT on live spot and pink gulp mullet bounced on the bottom. - **White perch and spot** are thick at the mouths of feeder creeks and up around Poquoson—bloodworms, Fishbites, and small pieces of shrimp put numbers in the cooler. Those in pursuit of **largemouth bass** in the fresh pockets around the upper James and Chickahominy are still putting up good counts with 5-inch green pumpkin Yum Dinger worms, especially rigged Texas style around submerged timber—yesterday, one angler hauled in 35 bass on that setup alone (Tidal Fish Forum). **Best lures this week:** - **Bucktail jigs** tipped with gulp for stripers. - **Paddle tail plastics** in white or chartreuse for trout and drum. - **Cut crab, mullet, and live spot** for bottom rigs. - **Mirrolures** and suspending twitch baits for trout when the light’s low. - **Fresh shrimp or bloodworm strips** for spot and perch. **Bait shops are pushing live eels, spot, and peeler crabs**—can’t go wrong during the September runs. **Hot spots to try:** - **CBBT (third and fourth islands)** for stripers and flounder. - **Lynnhaven Inlet bridge pilings** for the trout r