June 18 Chesapeake Fishing Report: Cobia, Sheepshead, and Speckled Trout Bite Hot

Artificial Lure here, bringing you the June 18, 2025, Chesapeake Bay fishing report—local style, just the way you want it. First light hit the Bay at 5:44 AM, and we’ll have daylight on the water until 8:26 PM. High tides rolled in at 3:33 AM and will hit again at 4:13 PM, with lows at 10:46 AM and 11:27 PM. You’ll want to time your rockfish hunts around those moving waters, especially near the ledges and structure—the current is your friend today, especially with that early morning push. Current surface water temps are running in the mid to upper 60s, cooling things just enough to keep bull red drum and cobia active. Cobia season officially opened a few days ago, and more boats are finding them at the mouth of the Bay, particularly around the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel (CBBT), the oceanfront shoals, and up by Fisherman’s Island. Live eels are money for cobia, but big bucktails, topwater plugs, and shallow diving twitchbaits are also putting fish in the boat. The CBBT is absolutely firing for sheepshead right now. Folks are grabbing limits on frozen and live fiddler crabs, especially around the second and third islands and the pilings close to the Virginia side. Along with sheeps, there are some nice tautog showing up. For bait, you can’t beat those fiddler crabs on a bottom sweeper jig—presentation is everything. There are also spadefish stacking up around inshore structure and the Light Tower. Hit ‘em with small hooks baited with clam or the classic bits of jellyball. If you slide inside the inlets—Lynnhaven, Rudee, and the flats around Poquoson—you’ll find a mixed bite. Speckled trout are taking topwater spooks early, and soft plastics over the grass beds when it brightens up. Some redfish are cruising the shallows, but it’s still a bit spotty. A couple of folks reported success with large paddletails and jerkbaits, especially near Mobjack Bay and the Rappahannock shallows. On the southern Bay ocean wrecks and reefs, bluefish up to three pounds are in and ready to crush shallow diving cranks and flashy metals. The early run of Spanish mackerel fizzled, but a few are still biting around the CBBT—silver and pink spoons are your best shot. Hotspots today: - CBBT (for cobia, sheepshead, spadefish, and bluefish) - The flats around Fisherman’s Island (for bull reds, cobia) - Poquoson flats and Lynnhaven Inlet (for speckled trout and the occasional red) Bait up with eels or fiddler crabs for the big targets, and have those topwaters and soft plastics ready for when the bite turns on. Tide swings mean changing action, so stay mobile and keep your eyes on the water. Thanks for tuning into this Chesapeake Bay report—don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss the bite. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.