Striper Blitz, Jumbo Perch, and Offshore Action - Your Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report

Good morning anglers—Artificial Lure here with your Chesapeake Bay, Virginia Fishing Report for Friday, November 14th. The late fall chill has finally settled in, but don’t let that fool you: the bite is still heating up. Sunrise hit at 6:40 this morning, with sunset coming up at 4:58 pm, giving us those prime daylight hours for fishing. Tides are running on the strong side as we roll away from last week’s supermoon. Expect above-average currents heading into the weekend, especially during those morning and evening power generation cycles if you’re fishing near the Conowingo Dam or main channels. Out at Virginia Beach, we're seeing a low tide around 8:22 am and a high at 2:53 pm. Weather-wise, we've got a stiff westerly breeze, 15-25 knots on the Bay with 1-3 foot waves. NOAA’s Small Craft Advisory is in effect, so stay sharp and make sure your gear is storm-ready. Now to what matters: the fish. Stripers are the stars right now—reports from the Bay Bridge all the way to the lower Potomac and Patuxent say anglers are landing “schoolies” and some solid slot-sized fish. The bite's best when you can get out of the wind and work those channel edges. According to Eastern Shore Light Tackle Charters, the stripers are chasing baitfish hard—cast big soft plastics with skirts and work ‘em fast for action. Trolling tandem-rigged bucktails dressed with sassy shads or umbrella rigs is also producing, especially near the bridge, rock piles, and abutments. If live-lining, eels, small white perch, and those hard-to-find spot are tops. If you can’t find spot, a lively perch will do. White perch have moved from the rivers to hard bottom near river mouths and oyster lumps. Dropping bottom rigs baited with grass shrimp or fresh bloodworm is putting fish in coolers all over the lower Bay. For jumbo perch schools, check out the mouth of the Nanticoke and Tangier Sound. Blue catfish are feeding strong in the deeper channel sections of tributaries like the Rappahannock and James. Cut bait is the old faithful, but folks are also scoring with scent baits, and some slab blue cats are even hitting soft plastics and crankbaits. If you’re after variety, chain pickerel are hunting around sunken timber and will smash almost anything moving in their zone. Largemouth bass are working the drop-offs, intercepting baitfish and crayfish. Offshore trips have been tough with recent rough seas, but those who squeezed out between weather windows found good numbers of black sea bass and a few big flounder on the wrecks and reefs. Deep drop techniques landed blueline tilefish and even a swordfish out at the canyons before winds picked up. For lures, stick with **large soft plastic jigs**—bright colors like chartreuse or white are consistent winners for striper. Jigging spoons and metal jigs will also get attention when stripers are schooled up. Live bait like eels and perch are solid if you’re targeting the bigger bass. Hot spots to hit this weekend: - The steep channel edge from