Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report: Breezy Conditions, Bluefish and Drum on the Bite, Stripers Quiet, New Regs Coming

Artificial Lure here with your Chesapeake Bay fishing report for September 7, 2025.

The weather is giving us a solid day to be on the water across southeast Virginia—expect a fresh north wind, 10 to 15 knots early, picking up this afternoon with gusts pushing 20 knots and waves running 2 to 3 feet. Skies should be partly cloudy with highs around 81, so bring some shade and hydrate, but conditions are comfortable for a late-summer trip.

Sunrise this morning was at 6:36 a.m. and sunset is coming in at 7:30 p.m., giving us nearly 13 hours of daylight. Over at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, the first high tide hit at 3:06 a.m., with a low at 9:12 a.m.—if you missed the dawn patrol, try to get lined up for the next high at 3:50 p.m. That’s when you’ll see the best tidal current—a crucial factor with the fairly low tidal coefficients today, so fish movement might be sluggish except for these peaks, according to the tide tables for Virginia Beach and the CBBT.

On the fishing front, the bite has been steady though not frenzied this week. Reports from Tidal Fish Forum have anglers pulling in bluefish in the 2-8 lb range all across the Bay, with the best action from kayak and shore casters working the windward sides of Oyster and Kiptopeke. Cobia have tapered off but a few solid fish are still coming over the rail on live eels and big cut menhaden. Red drum are mixed in, especially at the shoals near the High Rise and over towards Fisherman’s Island, with several citation drum released this week.

Spanish mackerel are thick when the weather settles—trolling 0s and 1s Clark spoons behind planers between Cape Henry and the mouth of the Lynnhaven has been putting fish in coolers, with a few fish topping 20 inches. Flounder are on the move around structure; the usual spots like the 1st and 3rd islands, the pilings, and wrecks off Little Creek are worth slow-drifting with bucktail-and-Gulp combos or live spot.

If you’re targeting stripers—reminder: new regulations are looming for next year with harvest cuts coming, but the local striper bite is quiet right now outside of dawn and dusk. If you’re in the tribs and creeks, topwater plugs and soft plastics near grass lines at first light are your best bet.

Your best lures and bait this week:
- For bluefish and Spanish mackerel: silver or gold spoons, Got-Cha plugs, and 1/2 oz bucktails.
- For drum: 5- to 7-inch soft plastics on heavy jig heads, fresh peeler crab, or live spot.
- For flounder: chartreuse bucktails tipped with 4-inch Gulp swimming mullet, and mud minnows or live spot if available.
- For cobia: live eels remain the top ticket, followed by big live bunker or cut bait near channel markers and bridge pilings.

A couple of hot spots you’ll want to try today:
- The 3rd and 4th islands of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel—the structure there is holding a mix of blues, flounder, and the occasional drum.
- Little Creek Inlet—popular on a breezy day, with good bait movement and easy access to deeper water for flatfish and specks.

Special note: According to The Southern Maryland Chronicle, the striped bass population is still in a rebuilding phase; Virginia is hosting a public input session on tougher harvest regs on September 9th. Practice good stewardship, be mindful of size limits, and consider catch and release for larger breeding fish.

That’s all from me—thanks for tuning in. Be sure to subscribe for your next on-the-water advantage! This has been a Quiet Please production, for more check out quietplease dot ai.

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