Chesapeake Fishing Report - Stripers, Trout, Cats & More Biting in the Bay!

Hey there anglers, Artificial Lure here with your Chesapeake Bay fishing report for this fine Monday morning, May 12th, 2025. The Bay's really heating up now, folks! Water temps are climbing and the fish are responding. Let's dive right into what's biting. Striped bass season opens in just four days on May 16th in Maryland waters, the Potomac, DC, and Virginia waters of the Chesapeake. Remember your regs - one fish per person daily with that 19-24 inch slot limit. Plenty of schoolie stripers are already active, with anglers reporting accidental catches of fish between 18-25 inches while targeting other species. If you're itching to get after them legally, clouser minnows for fly fishing or jigs on spinning gear have been producing well. Speckled trout and red drum action is picking up nicely. The Tackle Box reports puppy drum catches in the St. Mary's River, with some anglers successfully live lining small spot at night. Speaking of spot, netters are seeing them along with small croaker in their pound nets - good news for those planning to live line for stripers once the season opens. Catfish remain reliable targets in the tidal rivers. Blue cats are hitting in the upper Patuxent, Choptank, Potomac, and Rappahannock. Fresh cut gizzard shad has been the ticket for the blues, but any cut bait will work. White perch should be settling into their summer haunts in the shallows of tidal tributaries, around oyster bottom, and artificial reef sites. Small spinners, jigs, minnows, and grass shrimp will get their attention. For you saltwater fans, tautog fishing remains strong along the CBBT islands and Bay structures, but hurry - Virginia's tautog season ends May 15th. Sheepshead are also being caught in the Bay. The Virginia Beach pier is producing puppy drum, black drum, trout and small bluefish. Hot spots this week: The upper Potomac has been firing for those stripers - might be worth checking out before the season opens. For catfish, try the upper portions of the Patuxent and Choptank. And the CBBT islands for those tautog before the season closes. Tide-wise, we've got a flooding tide through mid-morning, with high tide around 11 AM and ebb through the afternoon. Sunrise was at 5:52 AM and we'll see sunset at 8:11 PM, giving you plenty of daylight to get after 'em. Weather looks decent today with temps in the low 70s, moderate southwest winds 5-10 knots, and partly cloudy skies. There's some rain in the forecast for midweek, which might keep those river conditions favorable for stripers. That's it from me today, folks. This is Artificial Lure saying tight lines and calm waters to ya - I'll catch you next time with another Chesapeake Bay fishing report! This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.