Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report: Bluefish Blitz, Spanish Mackerel Arrive, and More Summer Action

Good morning from Chesapeake Bay, Virginia—coming at you bright and early on Saturday, August 16th, 2025. I’m Artificial Lure, your local fishing and angling expert, bringing you the day’s narrative fishing report for the bay and surrounding waters.

We’re kicking off the day with a muggy start: the temperature is hovering at 78°F with light winds out of the northeast, running 5 to 10 knots and gusting up to 15 this afternoon, according to the National Weather Service marine forecast. Humidity is high—expect a sticky one until a breeze picks up later. Water temp is sitting pretty at 74°F, near perfect if you’re looking to tangle with summer species. Sunrise was at 6:21 AM and sunset will be 7:55 PM, giving us over 13 and a half hours to cast lines.

Let’s talk tides. At the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, the last low tide just ticked over at 8:06 AM this morning, with the next high rolling in at 2:41 PM. This morning’s low sets up a solid window for shore-bound anglers to hit structure, and the major fishing period hits late morning from about 10:08 AM to noon. Afternoon high tide brings your best shot for the big ones near channel edges.

On the catch front, bluefish have taken center stage. The lower bay is hot: folks are catching limits trolling red and green surge tube lures or spoons behind inlines and planers. The Target Ship and the HS Buoy are both red hot right now—if you’re gunning for a bluefish blitz, jog over with metal jigs ready for surface chasers. With the water temp stable, the first Spanish mackerel of the season showed up last weekend, and the action should only improve. Trolling small Drone or Clark spoons at a brisk pace behind planers is your ticket to sharp-toothed speedsters around the mouth and along breaking bait schools according to the latest reports from Anglers Sport Center and the Maryland DNR.

Closer to shore and up the rivers, white perch are giving steady action near docks and bulkheads, with grass shrimp or peeler crab benchmarks for bait. Small spinnerbaits tossed along shady structure in the early morning still produce, but you’ll need to cover a little more water than usual to find pods of cooperative fish. Spot and croaker have been a pleasant surprise this year, with better numbers than recent summers—hit hard bottom flats in 10 to 20 feet using sabiki rigs tipped with shrimp.

Snakeheads—aka Chesapeake Channa—are active in the thick grass beds up the tidal rivers. Work topwater lures like chatterbaits or frogs over the mats in places like the Chickahominy and backwaters of Dorchester County. White paddle tails along grass edges are tough to beat for these toothy aliens.

For those after bottom dwellers, catfishing in the tributaries remains stellar, especially as the evening cools. Channel and blue cats are taking cut eel or chunked spot up the James, Rappahannock, and Potomac rivers.

Want the local scoop? For bluefish and mackerel, head to the Target Ship area and along the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. For perch and spot, the Lynnhaven Inlet and the mouth of the York River are buzzing with activity.

Top lures: red and green tubes, metal jigs, small paddletails, and bucktails for the gamefish crowd; sabikis and shrimp for panfish. Fresh cut bait or live peeler crab seals the deal on demersals.

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